DawnM Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Just curious how many of you are worried/not worried about this? My almost 13 year old is "technically" 7th grade, but for most things (like church), we have moved him in the class below his grade. This is because of maturity, social skills, etc....he is also small for his age. It is hard for me to gage when he might be ready to graduate because if he were in public school he would most likely be in resource classes for language arts at least, and possibly any other subject that would require a lot of reading and writing. However, he excels in math and is doing 7th grade math. I personally don't care if he graduates at 18 or even 20, but I am curious as to what you all have thought about this issue. He wants to go to college or a technical college and major in something to do with art or the arts. I know we will just have to see when he gets older what we think he might be ready for and he might surprise us as he matures.....but right now I think it will be AT LEAST age 19 before he is ready for anything like college, even community college. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I always tried to keep my older son with the age group he naturally fell into for public school. He has a mid-summer birthday and lots of private schools want to hold boys back a year if their birthdays fall in summer or fall. I might have been willing to do this, but he was so big for his age (at that time) that I was afraid he just wouldn't fit in. He also didn't have much patience with younger kids and most of his friends were always older than him by at least a year or two until he got into high school. That meant that he was still 17 when he graduated last May and had only been 18 for about a month when he moved on campus. Thankfully, he chose a smaller, more conservative college (which I think he needed for many reasons) which I think has served him well thus far. I think living at home while attending a larger college or community college can also work out well.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Mine 3 middles will all be 19 unless they end up graduating early (which is very easy.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I don't think my dd will have a problem being completed by 18. My ds is a very different child in that he is very difficult to school. He is smart, gets it when he applies but....... He may be 21 before he graduates which at that point I would have him take the GED.:auto: :lol: I will be 69 when he reaches 18 so I may be the one that......:auto::D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Just curious how many of you are worried/not worried about this? My almost 13 year old is "technically" 7th grade, but for most things (like church), we have moved him in the class below his grade. This is because of maturity, social skills, etc....he is also small for his age. It is hard for me to gage when he might be ready to graduate because if he were in public school he would most likely be in resource classes for language arts at least, and possibly any other subject that would require a lot of reading and writing. However, he excels in math and is doing 7th grade math. I personally don't care if he graduates at 18 or even 20, but I am curious as to what you all have thought about this issue. He wants to go to college or a technical college and major in something to do with art or the arts. I know we will just have to see when he gets older what we think he might be ready for and he might surprise us as he matures.....but right now I think it will be AT LEAST age 19 before he is ready for anything like college, even community college. Dawn My older 3 graduated at 18. My next one in line was scheduled to graduate at 17, but due to chronic lyme disease...and its nasty effects, I will be very happy if he graduates at 19. So, basically, you never know...and I do take a wait and see sort of attitude about it al. Good Luck, Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I actually have NO IDEA. This is proving a year of such ups and downs that the future feels completely obscured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niffercoo Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 My son with Asperger's is a grade level behind because we 'held him back' with the expectation that he would return to public school. He was going to have to repeat Kindergarten and we decided to hs him that year. At the end of that year, though, he was still doing the things that caused them to want to have him repeat K, so we continued to hs and have ever since. He was diagnosed with Aspergers at the age of 10 - but he has been on the spectrum since birth, hence the preschool and public school troubles I wouldn't acknowledge. He will graduate from our homeschool 2 weeks before he turns 19, so he can say he graduated at 18 like his friends. He starts high school work next week but it's going to be a very basic high school education, certainly not college prep. I don't know what he will do after high school. I used to think he would go to tech school, but our local tech colleges now require SAT scores for admission and it's doubtful he could score high enough. At this time, he won't agree to extend high school because his younger, quick-to-learn sister is right behind him and it would be insulting for him to graduate with her or even after her. I'm not sure if that will change as he grows and matures. As for my youngest, I consider her to be the grade level for her birth date. If she were in public school, they would likely want to have her a grade level behind. Academically she is very behind but is making good progress this year - the best ever. I have no idea when she will graduate, or if it even matters. At this time, it's hard to say if she will live independently or not. Honestly, I try not to even think that far ahead. Worrying over my son's high school and future is enough to keep me freaked out currently! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 HFA boy will graduate no earlier than 19, and he may end up going to ps until he ages out at 22. It all depends on where he is academically and whether he can take auto shop through the ps. Right now he's in 3rd grade because we held him back both academically and for outside activities. That was definitely a good call because he's been able to make some friends and fit in better with the younger kids. He's working on a 2nd/3rd grade level and has made some real improvement in his writing this year. He doesn't mind his sister being ahead of him, he even likes it when she teaches him. I think he mainly keeps chugging on academics because I've emphasized that he needs to be able to read, write and do arithmetic if he wants to be a mechanic. Since that's his dream, he's motivated to put in the effort. We'll see what happens when he hits puberty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 Thanks all. HOnestly, I really don't care how old my Aspie son is when he graduates, although we did "hold him back a grade" in church and I wonder if it will be an issue when those who do go to regular school graduate if he doesn't??? It might not be. He isn't that social and really doesn't seem to care what others are doing. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Thanks all. HOnestly, I really don't care how old my Aspie son is when he graduates, although we did "hold him back a grade" in church and I wonder if it will be an issue when those who do go to regular school graduate if he doesn't??? It might not be. He isn't that social and really doesn't seem to care what others are doing. Dawn We did that too for a couple of years. We still haven't decided if we should move him to the high school group next year or wait another year. His current small group is 7th & 8th grade, so it is easy. Ds will graduate on time. I have no doubt of that now, but I certainly didn't know that when he was in elementary school. I thought about giving him an extra year all the way up until last year. Sometime during the year last year, I realized he didn't need it any more and now I'm sure of that. I think you just have to take it a day at a time with special needs kids. Sometimes they slow down, sometimes they speed up, sometimes it is there academically but not socially or emotionally, sometimes it is the other way around. I think the beauty of homeschooling is that I just keep trudging and working exactly where he is, emotionally, socially, and academically. Now that he is a teen, he is wanting a lot more independence and that is an exciting change too. Give it time. Clarity comes with time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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