JenniferMom wrote:
I'm looking for some help from folks on the autistic spectrum to help me out. My son is a junior in high school and is severely depressed. He's been hospitalized 3 times in the last year. School is his major stressor. He is currently going to school for 2 classes and will add the third one he needs to complete high school in a week.
I'm being pressured by his doctors to have him go back full time. The school would like to see him back as well. My son does not want to do this. My husband and I now agree with him. It would help us a lot if you could share with us what high school was like for you. I can take your comments to school and to his doctors and show them that this is not a spoiled child manipulating us - that his stress is real. Will you help?
Maybe he can do better in trade school. Regular high school isn't pointing to a future career. It's wide open. It can point to college but that's even more scary. Is it possible your son feels like he doesn't have enough ground under him? Like he doesn't see his education leading to some kind of future?
Can he get his GED and then go to some tech school? Maybe car mechanics or HVAC? It just might boost his self-esteem provided the school is safe and the faculty is understanding.
My sister was a mess until she got admitted into beauty school. Now, she's a hairdresser and quite happy. Her education there had a somewhat short, reasonable path that led to getting a job and earning money. She felt secure having a trade. She had a title and knew how to do something well. Regular high school was a torture for her because she knew she could not do college. Academics don't train you for a job in order to make a living. It's just pure education. She needed something more grounded in reality. She DID graduate from high school but by the skin of her teeth and she was in the slowest of academic traks. But when it comes to cutting hair, she's an ARTIST!! Booked solid 6 days a week and makes a fortune on tips.
26 Oct 2010, 8:52 am
