Definitely have her consider Occupational Therapy Assistant programs. My 17 yo sounds similar and is really happy with that choice. She considered special education or gerontology, but OTA combines a lot of those interests and is practical. She has been taking the prerequisite courses through dual enrollment so she can apply to the program and start right after she graduates next year.

There are a lot of different reasons. Not giving enough options to students in highschool to take advanced courses or take any specialized courses in fields they are interested in. Many high school students are capable of intro level college classes, especially when they are prepared with strong academics in middle school. Most start from the beginning of the subject anyways and/or can be taught at a slower pace. It can also save time and money for students during undergrad or to begin working right after highschool. The majority of students in my area graduate with college credit, but for many of them it is career and technical education programs.

I agree with everything above. It's been a good way to validate understanding of basic courses and get past general education requirements.