Reply to What if you think your SN kid is in no way ready for college?

Forum Index » Kids With Special Needs and Disabilities

Reply to "What if you think your SN kid is in no way ready for college?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote]

Anonymous wrote:
Are you actually saying that you DC2 is not worth investing money in? Is that really what you want him to hear? Personally, I would invest more in the child that is behind than the the academically inclined one. It’s fine if he learns a trade but most colleges have programs geared to SN. Look carefully at what options are available before you steer him away from college.

I didn't get this from OP's post. The way I understand it, her DS wants to attend a four year college-- not only is he unprepared but and doesn't seem to understand the amount of effort required to succeed in college. Not only would it be a poor investment, but there could be all kinds of fallout for her DS. Moving him toward something that is more aligned with his current maturity and skill set is the right choice- it's just very hard to find the worlds without hurting him.

It sounds like her DS is too immature to live away from home, even if there is a special needs program. I susoect that OP is most concerned about all of the unstructured time where her DS needs to self motivate toward school work, regulate impulses, self-advocate, and stay organized- as these will be our concerns when my DS reached college age.

Helping her DS become more independent and mature is a better choice, so he can take advantage of what schools offer of that is his ultimate path. And it's okay to not want to pay thousands of dollars on a program that your child isn't ready for.[/quote]

thanks, I am the OP and you summarized my position exactly.  And quite honestly, if DC1---who is developmentally "on-target" goes to college and goes off the deep end on partying and/or is otherwise irresponsible---I will pull DC1 out and bring them home to regroup, as we are not investing tens of thousands on college for that type of irresponsibility.

I want to be able to talk realistically with DC2 regarding life options without demoralizing him unnecessarily.  He hates academics.  Always has.  His language processing and abstract reasoning skills are shaky at best, and severely limit what he can do with higher level academic work.  
Do I think DC2's best chance at independent living lies in getting some type of useless 4 year degree from a fifth-rate college---just to say he is a "college graduate"?  No, I don't.  Do I think that DC2 could support himself and a family by learning to be a plumber, electrician, elevator repairman, or some other type of hands-on skilled trade?  Absolutely.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics