son deals with "brain fog" due to chronic pain, need advice regarding how to write essays

My son has been struggling with a chronic pain disorder since just before he turned 12. He just turned 18. I’ve homeschooled him for high school and haven’t required him to write much because it is now such a struggle for him. He was near the top of his class in middle school before he got the disorder. He can handle short answer questions fine, but he has trouble organizing his thoughts to write essays. However, something about having an assignment due in one hour seems to kick his brain into functional mode enough to throw something together that will at least get him a passing grade. He was able to write the essays for the college entrance exam that allows him to take dual credit, but he’s really struggling with the Philosophy class he’s taking partly because he’s not interested in the material. When he wasn’t feeling quite so bad he used to stay ahead of his assignments. He’s pretty much homebound because of fatigue and sound sensitivity, so we think he’s going to need to find a flexible job he can do from home eventually. I had hoped he could at least get an associates degree in order to make that goal more reachable, but I’m afraid the required writing for even one class at a time may be too much for him. I don’t even know what to call this difficulty or where to turn for help. He does have accommodations in place with the disability office at the community college, but they can’t exempt him from turning in essays.

Hi–this is very difficult for you. I’m hoping to send you energy and hope, as much as is possible through the internet.

You sound resourceful and so I’m guessing that you’ve already thought of this. Is it possible for him to dictate his essays? I guess the question is, is it the physical act of typing or writing that is so difficult or is it the time involved in thinking through the writing?

One of my children didn’t write fully until 4-5th grade. Dictation was how this child got through the state exams.

Does he have POTS? If so, there are specialists that can help him improve his health.

Thanks, brantly. No, he definitely doesn’t have POTS.

Dustyfeathers, we tried dictation and word clouds and graphic organizers. And even Adderall. I wish I could give him a shot of adrenaline a couple of days before an assignment was due to test out if adrenaline is what helps him focus. It’s so frustrating, his writing was well above grade level before the brain fog. His doctor and the disabilities office haven’t been able to come up with anything else. I may just have to insist that he spend a half an hour a day working on assignments even if he winds up just staring at a screen or a sheet of paper the whole time. I really wish I could motivate him to work harder to solve this problem.

This is so awful. I’m sorry for how hard this must be for you.

One strategy my loved ones with similar brain fog coped better was having the floor be the desk and hanging their head off the end of the low bed or couch. Sitting up in a chair required more stamina than they could muster but being able to lie down they could accomplish more. They figured it out themselves after trying different strategies.

It also helped that they had small, lightweight netbooks (like iPad mini with keyboard), so they could find their most comfortable position to work, on the bed, couch, floor or wherever, and move as needed.