Hey, @STEM2017, if your ds ends up at USC, they have an amazing new medical center in campus that will be opening up in the fall. Kids will have their own primary care physician. There will even be an optometrist in the building and they can get eye exams and eye glasses there. There will an on-campus pharmacy. Really awesome facility.
@socalmom007 @Mom2aphysicsgeek I"m also glad that “Aspergers” was removed as a term, because the parents of the two boys I know who have high functioning autism both said that when acquaintances learned their sons’ diagnoses, their faces lit up. “Oh, what’s the special thing he can do?” Like Rain Man and counting cards. It made them feel like their sons were thought of as mystical magic beasts or something!
DS did not get into UGA on friday, he was sort of bummed about it but he is ok now. So we went out this weekend and bought him a Bama tee shirt and license plate holder for his car. Today he wore his UA tee shirt to school. I figured that a number of kids would be wearing there UGA shirts today… I’m not sure how many kids at his school got in to UGA but over 200 applied… So this way if the topic comes up he can say he’s going to UA with free tuition.
Nothing to be embarrassed about with a full tuition scholarship! @MichiganGeorgia
@dfbdfb OMG, thank you for sharing this video! I forwarded the link to DH. He will love it. He’s all about the evolutionary reasons human mates are attracted to each other. As for me, I guess I’m agnostic when it comes to the existence of soulmates. Sounds lovely and I would like to believe in it, but the scientific argument against it is pretty strong.
I’m also a member of the “mom of a son with high functioning autism” club, @socalmom007. My S is 15 and I’ve been terrified by the giant dip down kids in the spectrum are hit with in puberty. So far so good, but we aren’t done with it all yet …
QOTD: @STEM2017 I’ve been thinking the same thing and started a list as well. For meds, I would add Saltines, Pepto Bismol, Emetrol, Tums and Pedialyte for any stomach issues. Having just been through this with D, the Pedialyte was the first thing she could drink even before Gatorade which just has too much sugar!
@CT1417 I like the idea of school supplies, in addition to your list: hole punch reinforcements - D always asks for those for Christmas. You could probably send cases of water via Amazon too!
Other handy thread I bookmarked for when the time comes:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1769222-checklist-for-parents-of-incoming-freshmen-p1.html
@STEM2017 in my area, I’d add Zyrtec, maybe Zquill, Emergen-C; band aid’s… BTW, My junior daughter has recommended this type of kits for her sisters’ friends as graduation gifts. she’s been jealous of her roommates who have those types of supplies and don’t have to go get or “pay” for them…
@smcirish I hadn’t really thought about puberty. I’m been working like a dog for 6 years to get my son the help and treatment he needs. This year he mainstreamed as is doing awesome, plus he’s just a delightful little person. I’ve been enjoying the “I’m a badass, I’ve got this covered” feeling for a bit! :))
Make sure they know to NOT take Tylenol after drinking alcohol. It could cause liver damage.
@Fishnlines29 --yes, you can order cases of water via Amazon Prime but then the student has to lug this giant box back from the mailroom to his dorm. I know this b/c I sent 12 packs of soda along with tissues & snacks, and he asked that I not do that again! The box was unwieldy to carry. Also, the case of water consumes a lot of the usable weight/volume calculation of Amazon Pantry.
Fortunately no stomach issues yet!
yep, @CT1417 good point, I’m sure nothing gets delivered to their doorstep!
@Mom2aphysicsgeek Thanks for sharing. I found your post very helpful. While my 12 year old son does not have autism, he had an in-utero stroke which has caused some of the same symptoms. Now that he’s entering puberty, it was really helpful to read your post and learn about some things I should anticipate. Thanks, too, for the post about USC’s new health center. I passed the info. along to my friend’s daughter who will be attending USC.
@2kidsinky Mental health is important, thanks for adding it to the list. D is in counselling now for anxiety and has suffered from depression in the past so continuity of care is important to me and I did look up what mental health services are available at the colleges that she was seriously considering.
@Ynotgo Congratulations on UCLA and the other admissions! @MichiganGeorgia Sorry about the UGA denial, but I think sporting Bama swag is the perfect antidote!
@socalmom007 I took the original post about soulmates the same way you did - not soulmates in the romantic sense, but soulmates in terms of finding your tribe.
@STEM2017 The irony of DH and I having the same reaction to the video is going to make me smile all day! Thanks again for sharing your wonderful sense of humor!
@socalmom007 @smcirish My son who is 16 is also “on the spectrum” . His has very little in EC because of his poor social skills. Also the personal hygiene really gets to me. He just sits in front of the computer all day. total opposite of his sister.
@MichiganGeorgia I know a lot of great kids that did not get into UGA. Some of their admissions process did not make sense.
@Fishnlines29 --and the WSJ subscription he asked for never made it to his mailbox. NYT is free on campus, but he also wanted WSJ as I had both delivered at home. May just be a quirk of his school. A couple of birthday cards also went missing but the checks were never cashed.
Amazon deliveries or Fed Ex always made it there with a text and email notification of their arrival, but US Mail was a much lower priority.
Many schools now have water dispensers all over campus. Get them a few good leak-proof water bottles to tote around and refill rather than bulky cases.
I think it’s been mentioned here in the past, but if you are friends with other parents think about getting together to make care packages. In our group of 8 each mom brought 8 of something (candy, moisturizer, warm socks, etc.) and we made a card with all our signatures.
And speaking of water bottles, if your kid comes from a place with really, really good tap water (hurrah! for glacial water sources!), a high-end filtration bottle is worth the investment. Dehydration (even fairly mild dehydration) isn’t pretty for academic focus, and it’s easy to fall into.
@CT1417 Yikes about mail not arriving, that’s kind of annoying!
@jmek15 Yes, get a CONTIGO “FIT” they are the best! They keep my water cold all day. I have one on my desk at this very moment. http://www.gocontigo.com/20-oz-autoseal-chill-stainless-water-bottle.html
Since there has been some mention of Amazon deliveries, you can get Amazon Student Prime for $49/year with your kids .edu email address (you can set it up on your existing account). Main difference between that and regular Prime is that you can’t share it with other family members. But you still get free delivery, Amazon Video, Kindle First books, etc.
@curiositycat333 I did some research on the new ACT writing section because my D17 had wildly differing scores on the two tests she took, but she wanted to submit both sets of scores because they superscored well.
I ended up calling admissions at the schools she applied to, and asked them directly. Based on their feedback I submitted both scores. In general, I think a lot of schools who regarded writing in the past are de-emphasizing it – if not completely discounting it – this year because the results have been so strange.
ETA: I just realized that you asked about the SAT. Our experience was with the ACT. Since the SAT changed so much, I’d venture a guess that the rationale is the same.