"I worry my personality isn't right for it. I'm not bubbly and energetic. I'm friendly, but calm and serene and people sometimes take it to mean I'd prefer not to be with them. I'm also generally quiet around new people. I'm not the take charge person you would expect an OT to be. But, I can take charge if necessary. " Having a child with special needs and involved with the special needs community in my city, OT's come in every personality type, the main thing is to genuinely love what you are doing. Some (special needs) kids do really well with the bubbly type and some kids do much better with someone who is more serene, but firm and in control We have had OT therapists of both types, and really, depending on the diagnosis, one personality type may be preferred over another for a patient. Word of mouth gets out quickly in the special needs community (or mine anyway) about what various OT therapists are like and if they are a good fit for their child. I live in a large medical city and have several friends who are fabulous OT therapists. They are all very nice (young) women who work with special needs, and I would only classify one of them as "bubbly." :) Self-conscious about working with kids when parents are watching: that will change when you build confidence in your classes and training in what you are doing. I do things now that I would NEVER have thought I could/would do based on my personality (which sounds similar to yours). Parents bring their kids to OT because they need help; help an OT therapist is able to provide that they cannot. I appreciate your concerns (about that) but at the end of the day, I would go with what you love if you can afford it. One of the best bits of advice I heard once about choosing a career path or making a choice between jobs (and cannot decide with most things being equal) ~ "which job would you do for free." The point being, sometimes we can be driven by other things that we are not aware of and forget to find something we truly find meaningful, which in turn would reduce the amount of career changes that you would like to avoid. Have you thought about shadowing someone in the various fields for a few hours this summer? An OT therapist, a medical coder, etc? My high school senior is doing this (somewhat reluctantly though he admist it IS helpful, because he walks out with a sometimes different feeling about the job than he initially had). I do not know a lot about OT as a career, but it seems most of the OT's I know have had a lot of flexibility in their jobs when needed (various working venues, and hours) which was nice when they married and had children to not be tied in full time, but still allowed them to work part-time and keep up their licences. Again, shadow a job and ask around. Just throwing some things about there. I'm not well informed, but just making some friendly suggestions. I believe OT makes fairly more money that a coder and some of the other things you mentioned, and if you are paying back loans, that might be a consideration. You might also consider when with some of the other jobs, if you would be a contract employee (with few benefits) or a full time employee with full benefits. Just something to consider and think about on the practical side.

What about taking the GED in the meantime? I don't have any specific answers for you and hopefully your local HSLDA will be able to help you. However, I'm in TN and this same type situation was happening with local homeschool kids who wanted to attend the police academy or join the fire department. All the while, homeschool kids are applying and being accepted to universities in the state without a hitch (so don't let this current situation deter you from homeschooling). I don't remember all the details but they were all government jobs. These kids were having to pass their GED in order to even apply for the police academy. Since then, the local government had to be educated and some of the policies changed with the help of homeschool legal support. IN the meantime, can your child take the GED in order to qualify?

As some of you may have already read, we are just getting serious about narrowing down majors for DS, so we can narrow down schools. I'm going to through this out there and you guys who are informed about these paths can chime in: DS enjoys learning about people, learning their stories, and then retelling them in his own words. He likes the idea of adapting a book to a screenplay. He is not interested in being in front of a camera (currently) He is not interested in radio, though he does enjoy the longer interviews on NPR with various personalities and sees that as really interesting. He is not interested in just reporting news stories. He wants to write about things more in-depth. He is very observant about people and circumstances (he went to a writing workshop with an investigative journalist/writer and was very intrigued with this path. We have looked on-line at Journalism programs at Ohio, Western Kentucky and Missouri. They seem very "news" oriented in the courses which is something he is not interested in at all, though will likely have to begin there. Though many of the ethics, law, editing classes would be worthwhile. The question (finally): Can you be a journalist for a magazine or elsewhere with just an English degree? From what we gathered, most of the journalism programs are geared toward working for news publications or news organizations (print, radio or TV). If you are just starting out and wanted to work for a paper, could you get a staff writing position without that journalism degree, assuming you were a worthy writer? We were looking at schools today and trying to decide if we really need to be looking at journalism programs or not. Or if English will suffice. We are clueless. I have a fine arts degree and hubby an engineering degree. This is out of both of our realms of experience. Thanks in advance!

We got that huge Yale thing too. What is up with that? Thanks for sharing. I would be interested in why some of the schools were dropped for pre-med when you get a chance.

Yep. We have found that out as well!

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Wow Kris and Jane ~ sounds like almost identical situations to mine. I think I need to appreciate the differences in teens/people and just go with his grain....I think Kris, you hit it on the nail ~ delayed maturity. It's just challenging for me to remember that because he is SO smart and very verbally articulate. He is who he is! Thanks again! I think I'm at peace with this. Off to set up some deadlines and find a hotel for our three college visits coming up.

All very good questions! :) "I kept after him. The first deadlines to go by are the scholarships. Who is paying for this?" VERY good point. I guess in my mind, he would be ultimately paying for it in student loans (though certainly not ideal) though I'm sure we will contribute some in the end. But, I get your point and I think you are correct. Enlisting ~ we know a LOT of homeschool kids that are and he is simply not that interested. The only appeal to him in joining (so he says), is that he someone else would be making decisions for his life to some degree and he just shows up. I know that is not the complete reality, but in his mind, that is the case. What does DH husband think DS is going to do next year, etc.....? That made me laugh!! I said the same thing to DH. His response was something along the lines of "look back at the lack of initiative he had and missed a lot of things that will change his life, and learn a very hard life lesson, and decide to take charge of his life. I don't completely agree. We grew up in very different parenting style homes, one very hands off and one very hands on. You can guess from his response which one he grew up in :) However, DH and I did have a nice chat last night while walking the dog about changing our stategy and the college search based on everyone's feedback. In the end, I'm just going to treat it like homework around here: I cannot do your homework for you, however, I expect to see it fully completed, well done, by XXXX time and you will not go anywhere (to see GF) until it is done well. That has worked well at our house. I guess at what point does he start doing this for himself? I cannot go to college with him and set up boundaries to getting the homework done. I guess that is the core of the issue and the college search. Hubby feels like that if he doesn't have the initiative to look on-line at colleges, shoot some emails to get more info, talk to folks, etc.....how in the world is he going to take the initiative to complete assignments in college? Really, that is a very good point. DH feels like we will be setting him up for failure to send him off on a merit scholarship that he doesn't have the time management skills to maintain, and that perhaps, he needs to do something else, get his own personal bearings, and delay college a few years. So, there it is ~ though, for this summer, I will set-up the college visits, take him to look at additional colleges, require him to look up info,etc to prepare to go to visits, and in the end, we'll have to let him make the decision. I guess I feel like I need to help lay out his options so he is better informed about them....college visits, self-surveys, etc as tools to do that, gap options, work options, ....... Many thanks again to you all for your frank questions and . assistance. Debbie

Thanks everyone! I needed a little encouragement. I've been on the phone talking to DH about it all off and on today and I'm weary. This is my oldest of the two boys, and what is funny is my younger son (who has Down Syndrome) is much more structured, takes a lot of initiative for all kinds of things, seldom has to be reminded to do anything, etc....and the boys are simply just complete opposites. Thankfully I will only have to deal with this college dilemma once :) Thanks Nan for the reminder that they will not always look like they do now at 17 (though, he "looks" grown up and sometimes acts very grown-up) he will actually mature more in years to come. Martha ~ we have baby birds as well. Great analogy. DS is the last bird in your story. In my own parenting fatigue, I just sometimes wish he was the first. Dirty Ethel ~ you speak a lot of things that are probably true ~ paralyzed with the options. I probably would be too. About the GF - I talked to the parents about a month or two ago concerning the degree of their relationship. They seemed to think they were not all that serious (based on what their daughter is telling them). From what I have "found out" on my own (don't ask) and through conversations with DS, they are pretty serious but really are not telling anyone. I feel like one of those 19th century novel families that wants to send the son away on a european grand tour for a year to create space :) Not really....well kinda. She is very lovely and would be a perfect match for him....in about 3 years. But all of that is another thread. College in general - he really wants to attend college (in his head) and I know he cannot fathom NOT attending college, though I feel like we have been open to options if well thought out (at one time he throught about culinary school which we fully supported). Thanks for sharing your own journeys! I've been on the boards for about eight years and will be done next MAY! Yea! I will make it! Debbie

I think I am just tired. And worn out. And whining. Maybe this is normal for some high school students. I think I just need a reality check from you all. DS will be a (high school) senior this fall. We went to our first college preview last fall when he was a junior. DS did NOT want to go because he wanted to sleep in. He didn't care about life after high school. We got him up in the wee hours of the morning and made the drive anyway with him sulking most of the way. Going on campus tour, attending the admissions meetings, meeting other students....DS came home that night happy, VERY glad he went, had a great time beginning to think about his future, etc. Due to the busy school year and sports, we did not make any other visits that school year. I planned three for mid July via email. I feel like "I" should not be doing this - but DS should be doing this. I send him links, print of info to leave on his desk, etc., that he glances at (or doesn't read). His tests scores will very likely qualify him for merit scholarships, but, the kid just doesn't know what he wants to do, and doesn't seem too interested in trying to figure it (or something) out. People/tutors/college professors (he Dual Enrolls) tell him some ideas and his strengths....but he just really doesn't seem to care. He really dislikes looking at colleges on line. He has no plan for working after high school (though he works part-time now) and basically all he can think about is his girlfriend and mentally planning when and if they will get married, how he will support her, etc. One would think THAT would motivate him....but I haven't seen it. He dreams of being a travel writer (who doesn't), but just has not concept of trying to put some kind of plan in action. I think I'm starting to vent ~ so I hope you get the picture. What would you do? What happened to your kids when this happened? DH thinks we should just tell him to let us know what we can help him with as far as college, work, gap year, ...whatever, but that we will no longer initiate anything for him (college visits, suggestions, etc), but will gladly help him when he is ready. This is REALLY hard for me, because I KNOW, colllege admissions/scholarships will come and go this fall and he won't even think about it until after Christmas (if then) - past many of the deadlines. OR do I keep plugging information his way, remind him of deadlines, make him stay home (social activitities) until he completes them, etc....and hope he matures into this over the year? And yes, we have talked about gap year. He simply is not interested unless we are willing to pay to send him abroad for a year (we do not have the $$ to do so). We had him consider working f/t and staying in town to take a few classes part-time until he finds his bearings. He is not interested. Thoughts? Experiences? Many thanks ~ Frustrated

We are in the process of the same. Son will be a senior this year. I think we have a good handle on the application process. Three college visits coming in July. We have only visited one thus far (last fall). Our biggest issue is DS trying to figure out what direction of interest he wants to go for now because that may dictate where he attends. I feel like we are wildly choosing schools to send all his SAT/ACT tests to, since he is not sure. He is multi-talented, not motivated about any of the options, will likely qualify for merit scholarships, though we are uncertain he will be motivated enough to maintain them :glare:. BUT, we'll go through the process anyway and hope for some motivation to kick in soon. Thank goodness for common applcations since it reduces some of the paperwork!

It's a very unseasonably hot summer here in Nashville (10 degrees above the norms) ~ dress appropriately! Parking is a pain in the neck at Vandy~ figure that out ahead of time. Hopefully they are telling you exactly where to park. Trafiic is bad over there in the early mornings and mid-late afternoons. Plan accordingly.

I didn't even know you could do that until I searched on-line - concordance table. DS is retaking the ACT in 2 weeks, so that is interesting to see if he might actually improve ( maybe 1 point). Thanks for the tip.

This post was on Friday evening. ~ :)

Isn't that excellent!

It's been a moving date (the 26th. then the 28th, and finally posted today). Debbie

LOL! I found that it didn't make much difference either way. My house has not been any cleaner, I have not cooked more thoughtful meals, etc when my kids have been in school. I found that I filled up my time with other things and not even doing the things I "thought" I would spend more time with. But, that is probably just me :)

No. You pay them nothing :) They get all their perks from the hotel companies, airlines, rent a car companies, etc. Call one and ask. However, sometimes it is easier to shop around on your own for a lower price. I think it depends on what you are needing from a travel agent. If airlines fares....I would just call the airline directly.

We have been VERY interested in Berry BUT ~ it's a transfer program where you do a few years at Berry and then have to transfer to Emory to finish (most students being accepted to Emory). We're still looking into that, but didn't want the "transfer element" if possible. Yes, it's a beautiful campus. Hoping to get down there in person to check it out.

Thanks for all your responses! We'll be sifting through the suggestions about school and what to consider at schools.

My 17 year old son is looking to get his BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) from a traditional four year university. He has no interest in the fast track RN programs. He wants the four year university experience, and is planning on nursing (with electives to meet the MCAT in case he changes his mind to go on to med school). We have found some 3-2 programs at smaller schools (start at one school and finish the nursing program at another school for a Masters), but again, he wants to finish 4 years at one school. We live in the Southeast and have looked at a few already. But, he would really like a "pretty" school as well, if he can find one. Sounds crazy, but aesthetics are important to him. He likes old and traditional, liberal arts, and preferably a Christian school. Any recommendations? We have looked at Belmont and Union, but want some out of state options, preferably East to NE. Many thanks ~

I manage 4 different blogs and various Google sites. I'm not sure why the heading is showing up on the new blogs you are setting up. More information would be helpful.

Jean ~ travel agents generally work on commissions, paid by the service provider and not the customer. That being said, a TA may send you in the direction of a particular carrier/company, because the commissions/benefits/perks, may be more beneficial for the TA. However, a reputable TA will find the best deal for you, hoping on return business in the future.

How young is the "youngers"?

I am doing a middle school co-op. We have a group that did General Science this year, and will do physical Science next year. However, we have new students joining next year, that will want to do General Science. Could we, instead, have the new students do Physical Science next year, and do General Science the following year? Yes. Also, a friend has told me that Physical Science and Biology are difficult to do in 2 years, and she recommends spreading them over three years - that means 1 1/2 years for physical science, and 1 1/2 years for biology. Does anyone agree with that? Only if you are going at a slow pace. I think doing the 1.5 year is hard due to new kids coming in 1/3 into a book already. I would consider doing Biology two years (and nix the General Science) and ADDING material/labs to that book.