@mstomper I’m sorry things didn’t work out at Temple for your son. I can imagine how hard it must be for you to deal with this. I’m glad you are supporting him and am hopeful that this will work out for the best in the long run.
@mstomper
At different points during application season, and even in the summer before school started, I had asked D’s therapist “Okay, are we (still) sending her in the fall?”
I was not attached to sending or not sending, but I did recognize that it’s a big deal for some kids to not march along with the rest of their peers. Sometimes you decide to send, even if it’s on wobbly legs.
Others don’t seem to mind so much, and will gladly take a gap year, or just work for awhile, or take their time at CC.
Our older daughter had a very good experience at community college, and it wasn’t bad having her at home. She was busy with classes, her ECs, and she worked a lot too. Those were some years (she took longer than two years) where she grew to feel competent and that she could manage her life well.
@mstomper sometimes our path in life changes- and that is okay. Your support as your DS makes this change is immeasurable and I believe he will find his way along this new journey. Wishing your family all the best in the future.
@mstomper best of luck to DS and your family as he heads down this new path. As for me, I have one final left but I am here for another week for graduation help. So it’s definitely sad to see all my friends leaving. Especially knowing next year we will all be living in different buildings.
@mstomper The blessing in all of this is you still have you child. A long way back in a different thread I spoke of kids who see this as “the end”. The love and understanding that you have shown your son will benefit him sooo much more in the long run. He will look back on this and you will all grow from this. I know of two people with children who went through this…one became an apprentice carpenter and now owns two business (general contractor and landscaper). He is happily married with two beautiful children. The other couldn’t bear to tell his parents and is no longer with us. Keep talking to your son and keep supporting him. Much love to you and your family.
@mstomper Hang in there. You are not alone. My daughter came home in January at the school’s suggestion. Thankfully her grades were still high but her mental health had deteriorated beyond what was wise to keep her away from home. She has spent a semester taking a couple of community college classes, working, going to therapy, and learning to knit. She is planning to go back to her college 1000 miles away in the fall. I’m not sure she is really ready but it is what she strongly wants (and we have family in the college town) so it is the plan. It is so hard to have your child take a different path than you and they expected and it can feel so isolating and lonely but really I’m finding out how common it is. Take care of yourself too in all of this. That has been a challenge for me and the support of some good CC friends I can vent to has made all the difference.
One takeaway from my son’s experience and my own many years earlier is that there are different reasons for not liking school. Some kids fall behind and get frustrated. Some aren’t challenged and are bored. Some, like me (and I suspect our son as well) just don’t like school because we don’t like it. I was able to get through by being willing to do things halfway. Our son tends just not to do it at all. I dropped out of the first school I went to after high school and my first graduate program, both in the first semester. I still have to take classes to maintain my license and find them excruciating. I like my work, but I didn’t like the schooling I had to go through to be able to do it. I cross my fingers that I never need to change careers!
@mstomper - I’m sending good thoughts to you and your son too.
I think it is important to know that the road is not always smooth. We can probably all tell a story or two where our kiddos have stumbled in a pot hole or completely veered off and into a ditch.
My own academic journey was littered with dropouts and near dropouts. Fortunately I’ve done much better career wise.
@mstomper I am sure that this news was disheartening. But you are correct, there are worse things. My DD16 is very bright and in the top 1 % of her high school class. She is struggling this year and has found her self not anywhere near the top she is used to being at. But she is growing, and learning about herself. Your son has learned some things despite the circumstances. I have faith he will find his way.
@mstomper, thanks for sharing your son’s journey. It’s really helpful to other parents to realize they are not alone.
My D13 has struggled throughout college and missed one quarter. She is in a much healthier place now than she was as a freshman, and will graduate in a month. In her case, she did better with the structure of school and the resources of a large city, but taking time away and changing things up is certainly a reasonable option.
Her fiancé left college after freshman year, got his CDL, and has had a decent job since then. But now, at 24, he’s ready to give school a try again. Life’s path is rarely a straight one. 
@mstomper I was just over at the 2014 Parents thread and someone there was giving an update on a kid that dropped out of college after just a few weeks, three years ago. This kid is now doing great at community college and about to transfer to one of his(her?) original college choices. Best wishes as your son works through what to do next. There’s plenty of good options still ahead.
@mstomper I think your S16 is fortunate to have your support and understanding - I’m sure it will help him as he transitions back from life at Temple. They are all still so very young, and the shift to freshman year is so different from anything they’ve ever experienced before. He’ll grow from the experience and it will help him with future decisions. Best wishes to you and your son!
DS16 is finally home . So happy to see him, and he’s so happy to be home and be able to spread out into his own space. I’m afraid this summer will move quickly. The day he moved out from the door, he received an email that a student from his building had been hospitalized with Bacterial meningitis ( the bad kind) . That was a little anxiety provoking. He has been immunized for meningitis , but I need to check with his physician to make sure that it is for bacterial meningitis . Y’all may want to check prior to your child returning to school.
My sweet girl got her meningitis shot before heading to school. I had spinal meningitis when she was two years old and it was horrible.
There are two different bacterial meningitis vaccinations. One is recommended to be given to all 11 year olds, and requires a booster at 16. It covers serogroups A, C, W, Y I believe (Menactra and Menevo).
A new vaccine covering an additional serogroup B has been available since 2015 I think. Available as Trumenba and Bexsero.
I had to ask about it at our doctor’s office, and my D got it before she went off to college.
Marquette required the B vaccine, if I recall…at any rate DD’16 is covered!
Yep, your son is so fortunate that you understand (based on your own experiences).
Keep the faith.