<p>mini: You do? Ahh I would really appreciate your help… can I pm you some questions about what type of specialist to go to, what kind of test to request, etc.?</p>
<p>taxguy: Thanks! That’s all I ever wanted, realistic expectations.</p>
<p>nngmm: I understand, and I’m still debating if I should take those pills. Ughh</p>
<p>“mini: You do? Ahh I would really appreciate your help… can I pm you some questions about what type of specialist to go to, what kind of test to request, etc.?”</p>
<p>My work is mostly on the substance abuse-side of the equation, and I am not a clinician but a planner. I do know, however, that there are folks on this site who are MH professionals, and perhaps they can PM you.</p>
<p>That would be wonderful if they did.</p>
<p>Or I’ll just do some more research - the upside of having to diagnose myself with everything before requesting testing. I know my parents think I’m a hypochondriac, but hey I’ve been right every time.</p>
<p>ee33ee : if you think you have executive function issues you should get diagnosed & documented and contact the student center or learning disability center to give you appropriate support. </p>
<p>My s have executive function issues - his LD is right next to Asperger’s on the spectrum. Like you, he didn’t have too much issues in high school. He was just a bit slow in test taking and not great in Math. I thought he was just “immature”, “being a boy” - What we eventually learn is that he is also gifted, so his strengths compensated for his weaknesses. His deficit is actually quite severe. </p>
<p>In high school executive function deficits does not have as great an impact as in college - college students are expected to take charge and plan and organize much more than high school students. It’s all a part of growing up. Some colleges support centers do not really understand this LD, and do not give appropriate support. My s went from a scholarship student to failing his first year.</p>
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<p>Again, having watched Swarthmore for five years now, the fixation both you and your parents have with GPA is not the way I would recommend gearing up. IMO, setting rigid GPA goals is the absolute worst approach to take when preparing for an academic experience that is unlike anything you’ve seen in high school. The school is trying to send you that message with the pass/fail first semester. But, I can only offer my somewhat informed opinion.</p>
<p>Here’s my concern as a parent. What if you really do struggle in a couple of courses freshman year? It happens. My daughter’s GPA would have passed your parents’ full-pay threshold after her first and second years (after which I quit asking), but I can tell you she was feeling the college adjustment her first semester when she got back her adv. calc mid-term. She didn’t need the additional heat of a threat hanging over her head, given that she was working her butt off in that course and doing just fine in other courses.</p>
<p>I’m a hardass when it comes to parents not funding college kids who aren’t making the effort. But, I think parents need the flexibility to respond appropriately. A kid struggling with a course despite a massive effort is different from a kid partying like the town drunk and blowing off classes. I’m not wild about a rigid, limiting approach going into this particular college.</p>
<p>PS: You actually sound like the kind of kid who gets so into things of interest that you are likely to end up with a very high GPA at Swarthmore. The real secret to college is to study things that you find interesting.</p>
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<p>I completely agree with both statements</p>
<p>I am quite familiar with executive function issues and some Asperger traits, because of my son. I can give you some information if you are interested. I can’t find your cognitive issues you talked about before. It is quite common to have ADD with Asperger’s. </p>
<p>You should get tested ASAP, I think it’s too late to get the high school involved now, so you have to consult a neuropsychologist privately. I hope your parents insurance will cover that.</p>
<p>Guys:</p>
<p>This is a young man who, at least going into senior year, had gotten As in every class he’s ever taken except one and whose SAT scores suggest no test-taking disability.</p>
<p>I see nothing to suggest he won’t be thoroughly engaged academically and take to Swarthmore like a duck to water.</p>
<p>It’s interesting how much this thread has meandered, but hmm…</p>
<p>I do have strong interests, but the reason I suspect a disorder is because I get distracted so easily. Right now, my Firefox browser tells me that I have over 200 tabs up, an accumulation of weeks of “strong interests” that I don’t have time to pursue and which a computer crash will eventually, and necessarily, wipe clean from my obligated mental slate.</p>
<p>There is more to it than that, but I won’t get into it here. Munchkin, are there any especially good reads about this disorder? Most websites I’ve found on it are quite shallow.</p>
<p>Oh here’s the thread, though it won’t help much:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/457018-i-feel-like-if-i-get-into-college-i-might-not-go-class.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/457018-i-feel-like-if-i-get-into-college-i-might-not-go-class.html</a></p>
<p>That was before I was diagnosed with my sleep disorder, and deals with issues that are a bit more superficial than what I’m trying to handle right now.</p>
<p>interesteddad: there is more to it than that. I have crippling procrastination, time management, and planning issues. Crippling is not an exaggeration.</p>
<p>When people describe their mental processes, they’re like foreign concepts to me - things like self-regulation and pacing and concrete plans</p>
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<p>Then he probably does not have LDs or executive function issues - maybe he just have the social aspect of Asperger’s. My S struggled with test taking - slow processing, among other things.</p>
<p>ee33ee:</p>
<p>Here’s a tip. Get with the group of students going to the library every night after dinner in your dorm. Just make it a routine part of your college experience. You aren’t the first college student who will procrastinate if you try to study in your dorm room. I honestly think that is the number one tip for getting on schedule in college. If you go in a group, your buddies will make the rounds every hour or so and wake up anyone who has fallen asleep reading and is drooling on the arm!</p>
<p>Again, I don’t expect your classes at Swarthmore to be anything like what you have experienced in high school.</p>
<p>I’m all for your parents setting expectations. I’m all for addressing issues that need to be addressed. But, I also know that sometimes families go into collectitve “freak out” mode about going off to college and the fear of the great unknown. I don’t want you guys to get all tied in knots with negative energy over an adventure than is most likely to be exhiliarating for you.</p>
<p>I just read the thread from the link.<br>
I think you may have Central Auditory Processing.</p>
<p>However, I reintegrate that you should get tested by a neuropsychologist. The different tests are long and rather complicated with scores galore and interpretations. I read that you do not like to take drugs. My son was prescribed Concerta but he seldom takes it nowadays. He researched and found some natural supplements and he claims they work as well as Concerta for him. I am not suggesting that you do the same however, just that there are other alternatives. We also tried acupuncture for him but he absolutely do not believe it that form of treatment and discontinued after 2 times. </p>
<p>There are Asperger support groups out there whose members are very knowledgeable and they would be a great source of information. </p>
<p>As for the GPA contract, your parents sound like me. I considered having something similar with my kids. An A - free ride, B - 50%, C - they are on their own. I never implemented it or even presented it to the kids, because, when I thought it through, not supporting them through undergrad if they got a C is not something we will/can enforce. For me, it is a bad idea to threaten without having any intention of doing whatever we say we are going to do. </p>
<p>I have the inkling your parents will be the same, that is, should you fail to reach their expectations, they won’t cut you off. They are probably stressed about all the money they are going to spend and want to convince themselves that they are doing everything they can to motivate you.</p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong with your parents expecting you to do well. for example, my parents are financing my $46,000 a yr education and my mom expects me to make a 3.5 every semester. My dad expects me to make deans list (3.4). To keep both happy, I have forced myself to make a 3.8 or higher just to keep their mouths shut and myslef satisified. However, my parents would never make me sing a contract. It should be up to me to WANT to do well. It’s all in your head. You can sign a contract if you want but if you do want it enough, you won’t get it.</p>
<p>I don’t have time to read through all the replies, but I just wanted to say that we did the same with our son. He was a very successful HS student, but the college he wanted to attend was a reach, so he got a modest merit scholarship (he turned down much more lucrative offers from his matches and safeties).</p>
<p>Even with the merit scholarship, we (the parents) were looking at a huge bill for the next four years. We weren’t expecting him to take on any loans on his own, though he does work summers for his school-year spending money.</p>
<p>In exchange, we had him sign a contract promising to maintain the GPA his school required to renew his merit scholarship until he graduated. If he fell below, and lost his scholarship, we would not (nor could we) make up the difference in tuition. He signed on the dottled line, and took full responsibility for the terms of the contract. He understands that if he loses his scholarship, he’s somehow got to come up with the difference – or transfer.</p>
<p>So far, so good. 
His GPA has been >3.5 every semester, and he just finished his soph. year.</p>
<p>We had other clauses in the contract, as well, pertaining to drinking/drugs, etc. that we intended to keep his eye on the prize.</p>
<p>We did the same with all three – requiring Bs or better-- of our kids. Based on their high school stats and SATs, we felt comfortable with this. We also specified that it depended upon the department, level of the course, and how active each kid is in college activities. Child #1 was always a focused, intellectual, hard working student even at a top Ivy and this was never a worry. Child #2 was in a narrowly focused, specific artsie program at a top university but required to take liberal arts requirements – and we worried about this. Think there might’ve been one C but kid was up front with us and not close-mouthed, uncommunicative like in high school – this type of open communication was more important to us than all the B’s in the world – and we now have wonderful relationship with this kid. We worried a lot about child #3 who was top student in high school but loves socializing – child just completed soph year at college and are pleasantly surprised about great grades and heavy involvement in campus life. This talk about grades and no
C’s or D’s has worked well for us – but there’s been no talk about specific
GPA or Dean’s List.</p>