My daughter is 18 and recently completed high school. She wants to go to college but requires in class support. She is socially impaired as well although she has a great sense of humour and when she speaks she speaks intelligently. She talks alot with our family and my oldest daughters boyfriend where she feels safe however is very shy even with life long friends in school. She likes to be around them but speaks very little. I have always felt that the socialization aspects and communications have held back her learning. I would like any advice on choosing a college, work opportunities and your thoughts on her social anxiety issues. I feel that if this could be unlocked that her real potential would be unleashed. Katie is a happy kid, loves horses, reads voraciously at a high level and holds strong principles. She perticipates in all types of activities and has been a peer leader in school, joined FFA, volunteers at handicapped riders and even went to the prom by herself.
Re: Colloge for perceptually impaired child?
SOmetimes a big lecture hall can be a good place for someone wiht social anxieties - you’re anonymous. However, you have to be able to learn in that environmnet and that can be tough.
What about online courses? The good ones have lots of “conversations” - online, where you can take a deep breath, type and edit, and nobody is looking at you until you’re ready.
And, of course, small colleges can have people who really care about the students - the key there is getting a small college where you *do* fit in, because if you find a small college and you don’t fit in, it’s excruciatingly painful… but it can just as excruciatingly *wonderful* if it is a good fit, like finding brothers and sisters you never knew you had.
It would also be worth investigating colleges that have pre-college orientation classes. *Many* colleges have “Freshman experience” summer programs where students get to know each otehr, and how to get around, and where services are, and just the kind of thing to keep it from being terrifying.
[quote]My daughter is 18 and recently completed high school. She wants to go to college but requires in class support. She is socially impaired as well although she has a great sense of humour and when she speaks she speaks intelligently. She talks alot with our family and my oldest daughters boyfriend where she feels safe however is very shy even with life long friends in school. She likes to be around them but speaks very little. I have always felt that the socialization aspects and communications have held back her learning. I would like any advice on choosing a college, work opportunities and your thoughts on her social anxiety issues. I feel that if this could be unlocked that her real potential would be unleashed. Katie is a happy kid, loves horses, reads voraciously at a high level and holds strong principles. She perticipates in all types of activities and has been a peer leader in school, joined FFA, volunteers at handicapped riders and even went to the prom by herself.[/quote]
#1 I think that you should be commended for ‘making it this far’ with your daughter, and I just think that your post was lovely because it is obvious that you wrote it out of love for your child.
#2 Why do you not define in class support? That type of thing, has different rules at University than at high school. If you are helping your daughter find a University, then go through that list of University’s and learn of what the Student Disabilities Office does [b]exactly[/b] and get that in writing. There are also books that are all about choosing Universities for an L.D. young adult, so hit your local bookstore or go online for that on the quick.
#3 Being shy is no crime. If your daughter already volunteers, she can totally find a club for that sort of community involvement type of thing, and then she will more than likely meet folks with her same sort of shyness.
That is all I got which is solely based on what you posted., But good luck and GOD bless.