Then I thought about the Peace Corps because they say it's fulfilling.
We actually looked into the Peace Corps before we found this college and they want people who already have degrees and skills…
The executive function may not catch up without therapeutic work of some kind. To be honest, there are plenty of bright autistic adults who don't reach the ability to hold jobs.
I agree, therapy is a must for her future success, whether she gets to go back next fall or not. Although I do have faith that her EFs will catch up as I have already seen marked improvement – she has only missed 4 days of classes and those due to illness, she has kept up with all of the very rigorous reading assignments and shown mastery through orals with her tutors, she recognized a need for help in Greek and arranged for a private tutor which she has followed through with successfully (if only she would do this for writing too!!!).
The fact that she thinks she's going back next fall without acknowledging that she's failed demonstrates that she's not thinking realistically. I don't see that sending her back to college at this point would work.
It’s not 100% certain that she has failed yet, there is a slight chance she will have a “moment of writing flow” like she did on the last day of last semester and manage to turn the freshman essay/s in late and in that case, a chance they will accept an appeal and allow her to return. I think she is banking on that happening (and she has past experience to reinforce the idea that it is a realistic possibility). She is not thinking prudently, but she does precedent to argue that her thinking isn’t necessarily entirely “unrealistic”.
Perhaps this sort of leniency is what they are offering for accommodation…
the Dean you spoke with, what was the individual Dean of? I ask because it sounds like she is receiving no accommodations, which is inappropriate and I think illegal. Why is she not being allowed to turn in the freshman essay? We have a dean who handles students with documented disabilities and they get all sorts of help and accommodation.
This is the Assistant Dean of the whole college and she is the ADA contact. I didn’t know what accommodations to ask for, because the diagnosis was so new and we really didn’t/don’t know what the root cause of the problem was/is. I shared the eval and the “university class anxiety fiasco” with her last summer, but the program at this college is so well structured and supportive, having so few of the traps that usually need accommodating, we were just kind of hoping that the issues would work themselves out. I think all the help my DD needs is available at the college if she could overcome the anxiety and denial enough to ask for and accept it. It isn’t clear whether she will still be allowed to turn in the freshman essay, it was due over a month ago and I am not sure they would have time to review it at this point.
My read and I apologize if it isn't the case, is that they want her to take the year off rather than work it out now, and that's sort of surprising to me.
I am sort of torn between a very small part of me understanding the thinking that failure now might be what she needs to wake her up, and the rest of me knowing that a whole year of separation from this program now could be far too damaging for her to overcome.
The program assesses students and places them at the level of individual support that they need, which can bring the price down if they really are not requiring daily intensive support. I went to an informational session for CIP Brevard, and several of the students in the program spoke at the session. The Asperger's students in the program who spoke were not people that would necessarily stand out if you passed them on campus, and all seemed to be gifted or highly gifted, but with executive function challenges, anxiety, and problems dealing with professors, navigating romantic relationships, and scheduling, regulating, and pacing study and rest. All had previously been admitted to excellent schools and then "crashed and burned" for various reasons related to their disabilities and level of coping skills. From what you indicate, your daughter may not be "higher need" in the sense of needing reminders to shower or do her laundry, but she certainly is "higher need" in the areas of being able to show up to class, complete and turn in assignments, and advocate for herself, which are pretty basic for success in college.
Thanks for clarifying. Not only would my DD not stand out on the street, I would worry about suspicions of fraud if we were to apply for disability benefits. Really at this point she just needs help with completing and turning in writing assignments and advocating for herself/understanding what exactly it is she needs to ask for in order to be successful. I guess I could see what they would charge for help with just that, in the event that returning to college becomes no longer an option. Given that she would have to pay travel, room and board in another state in addition to tuition in order to take part in this program, even though it would be much better than just giving up on her, it would make funding for college no longer an option, and that might impact her desire to be helped.
I wonder if it wouldn’t be more cost effective and beneficial if I could hire a personal assistant/accountability coach type person at or near the college who would work with her on a weekly basis to make sure the writing is getting done and also accompany her to counseling/therapy. She might go along with that if it was made a condition of her return this fall.
