I once had asthma for a few months, following a bout of pneumonia. That winter, cold air would make my lungs feel tight-- so I would hold my breath while walking from car to store, and wore a scarf over my nose and mouth if I had to be outside in the cold (since rebreathed air is warmer... although the higher CO2 level might be bad for asthma, not sure). Pulse Oximeters are very cheap now-- you can buy them on Amazon for $12-$40. They clip on a fingertip and give a constant readout. Or for more money (about $90), the COMTEC CMS50F will save and download your pulse and oxygen saturation history. You could record yourself walking up stairs, up hills, etc. If your saturation drops, you could show that data to the doctor.

I've just searched college confidential, and you are right; many people have reported receiving frosh scholarships with an AA. However, I know we were strongly warned against it three years ago-- they said it would trigger the wrong category in the system. Perhaps it varies by scholarship program or university? So-- I'll amend my previous note to: 1) Be cautious in getting an AA degree, as you may lose eligibility for some freshman scholarships.

Exactly-- and if you go slowly, they will naturally learn to plan and organize their schoolwork without becoming overwhelmed. Both of my kids began with one class, and we added more as they felt ready.

I'm late to this discussion, but wanted to second the idea of dual-enrollment classes. They are tailor-made for kids who are ready for more academic rigor, but who are not yet ready to live away from home. Plus, they are good practice for the real world. :-) Community colleges and universities publish course equivalency lists and transfer guides on their websites, explaining exactly which courses will transfer automatically and which won't. If your CC is large enough, it may also be in Transferology . My eldest son entered university with almost 60 hours, and they all transferred in seamlessly. The extra credits gave him the breathing room to take two minors in addition to his major and an honors certificate. My younger son is currently in classes at CC, and will enter engineering school with all but one of his freshman classes, plus a smattering of other requirements, finished (about 70ish credit hours including some credits that won't count for his degree). Since engineering school can often take 5 years to complete, having these classes out of the way will increase the chances of his finishing in 4 years, plus should reduce the time-pressure stress that most engineering students suffer from. A few important things: 1) Be cautious in getting an AA degree, as you may lose eligibility for some freshman scholarships. 2) List every dual-enrollment class on the high-school transcript, and attach the CC transcript separately. This will allow the student to be admitted as a college freshman, and receive freshman scholarships on an equal footing with other incoming freshman. After being admitted, the official CC transcript will be used to populate their courses-completed list. Some colleges transfer the grades, and some don't. 3) Be cautious if taking college courses in the summer following high school graduation. For some colleges, taking any college coursework post-high-school-graduation will trigger their computer system to mark the student as a transfer instead of an incoming freshman. 4) Keep on eye on the class withdrawal dates. Since CC grades can transfer along with the credits, a poor grade earned as a 15-year-old might haunt a college student during their entire bachelor's degree (remember, GPA is important for annual scholarship renewal). I offered my kids the opportunity to drop CC classes without repercussions if they were not getting a high grade; this safety net encouraged them to try difficult classes, but was used only once. Often a professor will allow a student to finish out the class unofficially anyway, even if they drop, so the student will learn the material. 5) When evaluating high school transcripts, many universities consider one semester of community college work to be worth two semesters of high school work. For example, if the university requires four semesters of foreign language for its incoming freshmen, you may be able to meet these with two semesters of CC foreign language. **edited to reflect change in scholarship eligibility

I found this today, thought it was interesting and illustrated the point that chlidhood is not a race to the finish line: "Brain Maturity Extends Well Beyond Teen Years" http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=141164708 . ~judi

Maybe it depends on the CC. My ds's CC classes have been excellent, and his professors were just as dedicated as any I remember from university (although the class sizes are much smaller!). I've been impressed. For example, for his Honors Comp II class he was required to read different materials than I would have thought of (better), and he had to write a weekly paper. My ds has taken mostly special-interest and honors classes. We always check out the teachers first on ratemyprofessors.com to make sure the class will be worthwhile. For example, the teacher for the class I mentioned above is here: http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=1129890 HTH ~judi

My ds's chosen university recommended that he NOT get an associate's degree while in high school, because of its effect on scholarship eligibility. He can still come in as a freshman, regardless of how many CC credits he has, as long he doesn't take *any* CC credits after officially graduating high school and doesn't get an AA certificate. The AA degree would force them to recognize him as a transfer student, and then he would only be eligible for a two-year instead of a four-year scholarship. ~judi

>>He just can't or won't get out of bed. >> I need some advice...if you were on my situation, what would you do? I'd concentrate my efforts on tackling the depressive illness, and forget about pushing school right now. The unfortunate truth is that depression can be a fatal illness with peaks and valleys-- better that he weather this dangerous period safely and start university a little later. After all, no one cares what age you are in college! I hope I don't sound too alarmist, but I have an acquaintance whose son succumbed to depression at age 18, so now I never take this diabolical disease for granted. If you can reawaken his interests, maybe by concentrating on activities that he used to like (anything that gets him outside, off the computer, exercising, eating healthy foods; maybe something hands-on like music) that may be more valuable than knowing more math right now. After all, it's been 18 years so far, so what's another year or two? >> He was supposed to graduate last year but he didn't Some kids just need a little longer to grow up. I know plenty of teenagers who weren't really ready to graduate to adulthood until their 20s, but they all turned out fine in the end. About the depression treatment-- has his doctor tried giving him Deplin yet? It's specifically recommended for antidepressant resistance. Deplin is just a strong vitamin (active B9, also known as methylfolate). Many people have a genetic problem where their enzyme to convert folate doesn't work well; this creates depression because folate is needed to to maintain healthy neurotransmitter levels. If his depression comes from this genetic problem, then antidepressants won't work well because they won't have enough raw materials to work with. If he has MTHFR problems, the extra methylfolate will normalize his folate levels, his neurotransmitters will rise, and he should feel much better. This process usually happens quickly-- within a week or two, you'll know if it is helping. Taking Deplin should have no side-effects if he doesn't have the mutation, so there is no downside except for the cost of the tablets. The faulty enzyme is called "methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase", but is called MTHFR for short. You can also test for the MTHFR gene mutations (known as C677T and A1298C) and see if he has them. They are very common mutations. Dr. Neil Rawlins (an ob/gyn) has a lecture on it starting here: I believe his son developed depression from MTHFR so now he's trying to "get the word out". Another video about how low folate levels can affect depression is here: http://www.neiglobal.com/Default.aspx?tabid=485 Best of luck to your family. ~JB