Some encouragement for late bloomers and LDs

[Miss Marple]

I've finished the formal schooling of the boys but still, of course, obsess over their performance and experiences in college.  As many of you remember, I have a son who has a LD - not profound, but he definitely felt that he was academically inferior to his brothers.  He struggled not only with academics but with self esteem.  A relationship with a little tart (who I really liked before the relationship but obviously didn't know well) increased the lack of self esteem.  So he graduated in 2013 and was planning to go directly to college.

 

I felt he needed some time to "find" himself :) so I suggested taking a year and attending a Bible College in Europe.  Not only would that give him some distance from us and his routine, it would allow him to work in a low intensity setting and develop self reliance skills.  He was nervous, but decided that it would be good to get away.  He read, wrote papers, attended lectures, took notes, had chores, and learned to interact with other fellas, girls (this was a good thing due to being in a brothers-only household), other adult authority figures, and live in a different culture.  He traveled through Europe on breaks (oh, yes, that made me a nervous wreck) and probably did things he isn't planning to tell me about lol.  

 

He came back this summer and is enrolled at the state university.  Oh what a difference a year makes!  This boy has self confidence that I never expected, is doing fantastically well in his classes (calculus, chemistry, physics, etc.), and has found out that he is attractive to girls :)

 

All this to say, I highly recommend a year off for kids who aren't ready for the usual university experience.  We have yet to find a "con" amid all the "pros" of this experience.

[Catherine]

That is music to my ears!!! My current high school senior is planning to take a year off and I am hoping for the same outcome. He has struggled in some ways and I just have a feeling that some time outside a formal academic environment will grow him up some.