<p>I tried finding a coach, or someone who would just check in on him, but got no where. Tried to get his existing psychologist to skype with S, but he had never done it and didn’t feel comfortable doing it. Funny thing is, my 12yo could set him up to skype in 10 minutes. I told H I needed to advertise on craigslist for a “nag.” LOL It doesn’t solve the problem long term but gets him through the here and now. </p>
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<p>LOL. I remember a trip from Boston to Birmingham AL in my Honda Civic, with boyfriend and his brother. We went down and back in 2.5 days. I still remember my boyfriends brother had to honk and wave to all the truckers. oh, and we had plenty of beer. Of course, that was back in the days when you could drink and drive.</p>
<p>MaMom, thanks for asking. The team is doing very well and is undefeated in their event/s.
It takes ALOT of dedication, practices 6 days a week…and often 2 a day…</p>
<p>Our k1 is considering a masters after the bs… we will see.</p>
<p>Summer…umm k1 may have secured an internship. Was contacted and asked to do an internship (and I think they are looking for $ for a stipend of some sort) k1 will also likely compete int’l. So that stipend $ will help with those costs.</p>
<p>So the mtg with the school…the advisor jumped all over k2 about some things… It was noticable. K2 commmented that “i told you she doesn’t like me”. idk if that is true however her agenda was waaaay too obvious.</p>
<p>The Eng teacher didn’t know k2 is twice exceptional and that College Board had extended accomodations. This private only gives accomodations if CB will…
How did the fact that k2 is supposed to have time+ 1/2 and keyboard etc …get missed?? </p>
<p>DH spoke up and said that the school really missed it when k2 had been sick for 4 weeks, and that having all teachers expected ALL work (including busy work) to be done by end of quarter on top of a heavy end of qtr push… (instead of eliminating fluff)…was not helpful. Reading the report card of “oh gosh, k2 was so so sick…and missed alot of hw…” HELLLOOO???
and the advisor was like “oh, I could have done something…blah blah…”
Excuse me, where were these people and why didn’t they do anything…
puuullease…</p>
<p>Oh Fogfog, Can’t believe you pay tuition for that! I would be so out of there! What is the deal with accommodations but only if College Board says so? Did they agree to amend the grades? I sure hope so. The adviser, still can do something, I would make them!</p>
<p>Leaving for Boston in the afternoon for a late arrival! Will be a nice weekend. D3 at Yale is coming up on train on Saturday afternoon and all 4 kids will run together in the Boston marathon 5K race on Sunday morning. On Monday we will root Dad on… Will be a fun weekend.<br>
Mamom hope the meds will work. Have a friend whose son is 3rd grade, they have been pulling their hair out and teachers have wanted to hold him back etc. Finally had a Dr. insist on ADHD meds and he is a different kid, has finished homework is focused and is at the top of his class in 3 months! Amazing. Think ADHD med can be over prescribed but for those who really need it, it is a Godsend!</p>
<p>mamom, I am living your life…I just started in 2009. I always say that finding a coach is like finding a unicorn. Son’s coach is comfortable with skype, but would be so far away from you that even an initial first meeting wouldn’t work.</p>
<p>Mitch Nagler is in New York. He works with kids with Asperger’s but his big thing is executive function issues. Google him. Since you are in the northeast, he might be able to suggest someone in your area.</p>
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<p>Every professional that my son has seen (psychiatrist, psychologist, clinical social worker, aptitude testing person) has looked at his testing and said to him “you can do anything you want to do.” Hmmm…not helpful, right?</p>
<p>Fog-Yes, we used to drive all over when we were in college. I lived in AZ, so really going anywhere was several hours (2-3 hours between big cities). We Didn’t think much of driving 9 hours to West Texas for college events. DS1 and many others around here don’t seem confident in their driving and many seem to wait longer to get their license. DS was 17 when he got his. I know a number of kids who are already in college before they start driving. He’s driven long distances, but always with one of us in the car (as navigators when needed). I think it’s partly due to learning to drive in the insanity that is the DC metro area–it’s intimidating. Probably partly our fault for not pushing him more, but he drove to his job all senior year. He’s one of these kids that doesn’t pay attention to directions, though so I think that’s part of the issue. I know he will be fine and once he gets home he will have gained more confidence in himself!</p>
<p>Shaw–good luck figuring out your move-out situation for DD. Once you figure out the options hopefully the solution will fall into place. Good luck with the driving lessons, I hope your DD’s eye issues don’t prevent her from working on it this summer. I’m sure if she mentions a free ticket to Europe one of her friends will make the effort to be available! </p>
<p>Fog–I feel your pain! We just met with my DS2’s team for his annual IEP. I dread the meeting each year because we never know whether they think DS2 is an intelligent guy with LD issues to address or someone they want to cubbyhole into the most restrictive situation so they don’t have to put the effort into providing the support. Luckily this time was good. I thought it would be since I was impressed with his case manager who is also his English teacher. The two years of middle school were a nightmare. My best advise mirrors Shawbridge’s–go in with knowledge, a plan for action and back it up with documentation (like the articles, etc). We have had to disagree with their advise and believe me we weren’t their favorite people, but too bad (I’m sure they also thought we were in denial about things since we didn’t agree with them). You are the best advocate for your child and you have to do what ever you need to! Good luck, and I agree you should get them to modify his semester grades after allowing him the appropriate time to turn in missed assignments. </p>
<p>Here’s hoping all our great kiddos finish their first year of college on a high note and go on to enjoy their summer internships, classes or work! We’re almost there. I’ll be happy to host the happy hour to celebrate the successes of the year!</p>
<p>S is OK driving pretty much anywhere, no matter the distance, but his reliance on his GPS bothers me. I use a GPS also, but always consult an online map too beforehand in case GPS is wrong. I at least want an idea of where I am heading, S just plugs in an address and off he goes. Sometimes he doesn’t even know what direction, N,S,E or W the place is he is heading to. LOL.</p>
<p>mamom, I used to work with a guy who I am POSITIVE had undiagnosed Aspergers. He had the first GPS I had ever seen. He had lived in our city his entire life (execept for college) and used a GPS to get from one side of downtown to another.</p>
<p>Like you MaMom… l like to have a mental pic of where I am going (general n,s,e,w etc…) Love google maps and google earth pics too–as I can then zoom in and get landmarks etc.</p>
<p>GPS can often make mistakes and sometimes with traffic or construction something can change. …</p>
<p>Speaking from experience as someone who LOVES her GPS, you have to get burned a few times before you start looking at a real map (google maps or whatever) first. The worst was when I lost satellite reception in the middle of downtown Philly (where I’d never been before) with DS1, trying to find our hotel for a college visit. By some miracle, we did find the hotel. DS1 and I both have the worst sense of direction in the world, so it really was a miracle ;-)</p>
<p>emilybee - had to laugh at your son’s comment about stressed out girls! D is definitely one of them - it seems like she has been “stressed out” the entire semester. If it is not one thing, it’s something else. I don’t usually get phone calls but I get long text messages…</p>
<p>I love my GPS. But I almost always look up the directions online using google maps. Really really helps to have a rough idea where you are going, although the gps is great for telling you when to turn and to readjust if you make the wrong turn! We were in the adirondacks a few years ago with our first GPS - had a flat tire in the middle of the park, six miles from the entrance, close to closing hours and just couldn’t get the tire removed! A few burly guys stopped by to help - couldn’t since the bolts looked like they had rusted. A few young college kids stopped by next - they had Fix a Flat. Amazing - we got the tire fixed and then they followed us all the way back to a gas station outside the park. But the fun part was that when I looked at the GPS for the closest gas, it pointed to one in the opposite direction, towards the lake. When we got back home, I looked it up and sure enough, it was asking me to go across the lake to get to the closest gas station :)</p>
<p>mamom - sorry to hear about your S’s issues and your fruitless search for help for him. missypie has some good suggestions based on her experience - perhaps they will help.</p>
<p>arisamp, that’s one of my major complaints about my GPS’s POI finder – it’s all “as the crow flies” distances. I want to be able to ask for a gas station or restaurant <em>on my route</em>. Seems like an obvious thing. Maybe the newer ones offer that.</p>
<p>arisamp- Wow you have a really cool car if it can drive on water! ;)</p>
<p>DS1 got asked back to the job he did last year. Pay is good, but I know it wasn’t very enjoyable. We’ll see if he takes it since he’s only here part of the summer.</p>
<p>TV ALERT: Anyone in the DC area, DS2 will be participating in the DC National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade. It’s airing at 10am on DC’s ABC channel 7. If he’s lucky the cameras will be rolling as he goes by (never know when they will cut to commercial, so no guarantees). He’s with the Capitol Clown group–should be easy to spot because I <em>think</em> he’s the only youth. He’ll be in his patriotic (red/white/blue) costume riding a scooter. Entire group will be on wheels–bikes, scooters, etc. He’s excited–this is the biggest parade he’s been in to date!</p>
<p>Hope everyone has a great weekend! Weather is beautiful here today and hopefully will be for the parade tomorrow!</p>
<p>H loves his GPS, but I still prefer looking up routes beforehand. For one thing, I like to know how long the trip will take (!) so I know when to leave to be on time. Nevertheless, I do love the GPS’ ability to navigate around traffic problems in real time. That can be cool. Not as good as a flying car, but it does make one feel smarter than the other people on the road. Can you tell that I have lived in the urban Northeast for too long.</p>
<p>The comment about girls stressing out made me laugh. We did lots of that in HS and last semester, but after the housing debacle, D seems to have settled down. She has one more week of classes befores reading period, so I am probably counting my chickens before they hatch, but so far so good and I will take as many consecutive days of peace as I can. We’ll see her on Sunday (on her own turf) and hope that does not lead to any explosions. Probably not; she holds it together in public. And she was being funny on FB the other day about staying up until 3am writing a paper, so I hope she is finding a balance.</p>
<p>missy - thank you for the info. I will look Mitch Nagler up. </p>
<p>thanks to all who had advice. S took meds for first time today, only one class. Will take them daily til we see if they work, then maybe cut back. </p>
<p>EAO1227 -god luck to your H! Have fun, weather is suppose to be fabulous. Well, except for the runners who may find it a bit hot.</p>
<p>Coffee and tea are on, fresh fruit is out, and there is bread and jam for toast!</p>
<p>D is on the rowing team at Tulane. Their last regatta is next weekend. A couple of the women had gotten hurt and so there were only six women for the novice team. The coach had to decide to not take an 8 person novice boat, only a 4, and to leave a couple at home. D was one that was told to stay home. She was upset because she has made all practices and worked hard. They were told that if they made all practices and worked hard then they would row. But what is a coach to do if he has 6 such rowers and only 4 spots?</p>
<p>Anyway, she texted yesterday saying someone broke a wrist and could no longer row, so she gets to go next weekend. I imagine she is now glad she kept going to practices…</p>
<p>We are “free birds” for the weekend…
Dh and I shopped at “Whole Paycheck”…errr I mean Whole Foods.
Had a nice pate, goat cheese with quince preserves, cornichons, etc and baguette to start with cocktails…
Grilled lamb chops and ceasar salad…
Grilled pineapple and cheesecake…</p>
<p>Tonight-- swordfish steaks…</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Good luck to your DD Bajamm!! Yes, sad that injuries have affected the whole novice 8+ to go yet nice that your DD will row the 4+. I am sure coaching decisions can be difficult. She has worked hard and that has paid off …Will you go see her race?</p>
<p>On the news front for our k2 and the meetings etc…we will be scheduling retesting this year. It has been 3 yrs this summer and College Board requires testing be current (within 3 yrs) for accomodations. Our student’s school does not have staff skilled in these areas…and so they rely on College Board determinations…<br>
We also have an appt with a psych guy this week as the ped isn’t comfortable with the meds change. The previous med caused side effects. When I spoke with the ped’s office about it–and what the therpist had said that confirmed k2’s complaints…the ped kinda “wigged out” and referred it out…
Am looking for an EFD coach…I have one name from the school though a google of that person reveals her background in french and not psych or learning challenges…made me wonder…
like did she pick up being a EFD coach as a career change and what makes her qualified.
I emailed her to ask about her background, fees etc and she has not responded.</p>
<p>Have left a message with the MDs office that did the testing about the retesting and also a referral for EFD. Hope to hear from them soon.</p>
<p>Missypie is correct - he/she is tough to find-- and frankly I am unclear about qhat qualifies someone to do it. I don’t want to pay for someone who is doing it as a career change from an unrelated field and has no background…</p>
<p>I can not believe how fast this year has gone by. When I dropped dd off in August, I never thought I get through it. DD has just over 3 weeks left of college and I don’t know if I can stand to have her around all summer. She has grown up so much this year. She still does not have a job lined up for summer. I don’t think I can stand the staying up all night and sleeping in until lunch time. She did this all of winter break. Hopefully, she will figure something out because she is not the only kid in this house.</p>
<p>I am fortunate that my son will be in Europe 6 weeks (I guess-I will miss him!) but when he comes home he still is one that doesn’t sleep late-10 o’clock for him is highly unusual and he is usually up by 9. He also isn’t a late night guy-this has caused him the most issues in college which I thought might be the case.</p>
<p>I don’t think I could stand a kid keeping hours like that. Good luck!</p>
<p>MomofthreeGreatGirls -you make a great point.</p>
<p>What is everyone thinking about summer (if your kids are going to be home) for having a college student under the same roof for a few months…
rules
chorse
use of car etc (we will be a 2 car household with 3 drivers again (4 if we let k2 get a license)</p>
<p>Fog, thanks for the note! Yes, I would hate to be a coach needing to make decisions on who to leave home when all have worked hard. I am sure it came down to speed, arm strength, etc. When D first told me she wasn’t going, my response was that as long as she had worked her hardest and done her best then she shouldn’t take the coaches decison personally, he has to do what is best for the team.</p>
<p>The regatta is in Tennessee and we won’t go, it is to far away. We went to the one in New Orleans in March as part of S’s spring break.</p>
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