I’d say it also varies based on the difficulty of the classes and amount of work; freshman year DD (ASD before age 2, ADHD, APD) took 18 each semester; they were “easy” classes for her Chem, Calc 3, Physics, intro engineering and programming classes, etc. A lot of it was review from classes she had in HS. Last semester she took 12 because one class was a 5 credit weedout engineering class with a high fail rate. She has another notorious weedout this semester and is taking 15. Even with her AP/DE classes, we budgeted 4 1/2 years in case she needed to reduce her course load. She may or may not need it, but I’d rather plan and not need it than be surprised. Another thing to keep in mind is not underestimating the impact of change and new social situations on studying and class work. A reduction could be necessary from an overall mental health standpoint instead of from the processing speed standpoint. We’re happy she chose a school with a supportive ADA office; they’ve been great about offering advice and guidance. Not saying this will happen, just that it’s good to be prepared. We let her steer the situation, since she knows her limits the best. That may mean dropping a class a week in if the load is too much. It’s not that she can’t do all the work and fit it in, but we want her to have a good work/fun balance. I don’t want her to be studying 24/7 just to keep up.
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