Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi
I'm new to the site but in need of some advice. My beautiful daughter started College last year after a very difficult time at secondary school. I thought things would finally look a little better for her but unfortunately things got worse.
My daughter has a diagnosis of ASD and very bad Anxiety which we didn't get until year 10. The build up of constant panic attacks and not being able to sleep for more than a few minutes at a time or not at all, awake for days or going the other way sleeping for days, she would also go none verbal which made things very difficult as I didn't know what the problem was or how to help. College did try to help but she just found the whole experience so traumatic that she had to take a medical absence. I'm not sure she is going to be able to return come September as this was the plan.
I don't know what to do! I'm not sure if she could even do an apprenticeship. I am not sure what we do from here, she has weekly psychology sessions which had to be put on hold due covid. They also agree that college might not be the best choice.
What happens now? If we don't do college or some form of work? I know that young adults are supposed to be in some for of education until 18 but that clearly isn't right for her.
We would be grateful for some advice if anyone has any.
Many thanks
Jo
Hi Jo,
Sorry to hear your family is experiencing this kind of trauma. I speak from experience when I say that the typical college system (or school system for that matter) does not suit everyone. There's nothing inherently natural about forcing young humans to all go to the same place, at the same time, to get them to sit together in the same room and digest the same information given to everyone else. I know it's still the standard way of doing things, and we've all come to accept it as the primary way to educate ourselves and our children, but it's not the most efficient way.
Have you tried any alternative approaches, such as online learning for example? The key is to try different things and see what interests her and excites her. There are many other options in life besides going to college. And there's very little that's provided in traditional college settings that you can't get from alternative educational platforms.
Hi Michael
Thank you for your suggestion, I will look into online learning it might be our way forward.
hey how are you I'm Matthew