Want to share our good news to thank you for your support these many years and to encourage you who share our dream and our resolve. Today our son, a high school senior, received a letter of acceptance to the college of his choice. It is a small 4 year liberal arts college here in California and one that fits his creative talents and wonderful intelligence.
We have planned, pushed and insisted since kindergarten that he be given an education. We have worked on his disabilities, but insisted that his intelligence be recognized too. When it became clear that the toll public education would exact on our son and our family was too high, too doomed, we packed our bags and moved to place him in a private ld school. We know we are fortunate to be able to do this. We know too that we paid a huge price in many ways. Despite all the negative things we were told. Despite goals that were pitifully inadequate - just lip service from institutions that had no clue how to help him. We found a small group of people who helped us keep our dream alive and one step at a time we have reached the goal that our son wanted.
Trust your knowledge of your child, hold each other close to help overcome obstacles. Don’t let ignorant people tell you what your child will be - let your child show you his path and pray for the strength to guide and nurture this young life that has been entrusted to your care.
I am so happy!
Re: We have done it!!!
Repeat and emphasize what Sue said. Watch out for the college ups and downs, which are even more than the high school ones.
Re: We have done it!!!
absolutely amazing and so important for the rest of us to hear.
Angela, did you son attend an LD school through high school? Or did he mainstream at some point?
Re: We have done it!!!
As one who has a bit of fear when faced with middle school next year, it is so encouraging to know your son has made it all the way through high school and is now college bound.
You all have done an excellent job!!!
Beth
Re: We have done it!!!
Thank you all for your congrats and suggestions. He went to public school through middle school, but it was my district and my middle school where I could hand pick teachers who were at least going to be fair. It was very important to me that he have access to as much regular curriculum as possible so that he would keep up with his peers regarding information. It may be important to note that he has almost perfect memory for information that he hears and that he is very verbal. I did not want him repeating remedial information over and over. He needed to learn grade level material even though he could not read or write well. I did a lot of reading and typing for him. Our home high school had no reading instruction for him and would have tracked him in remedial courses and then would deny him a diploma based on who knows what criteria. Knowing how he would be lost in a huge high school and fearing which direction his alienation might take him, we made the move to the private, college-prep school for students with learning disabilities. We paid our own way thereby cutting all strings with a school district that would want him to return, take state tests, etc. In junior year we did try to do a dual enrollment with the local public school. They did current testing for him, but wanted him to attend their special ed classes for 4 periods a day. I wanted one or two regular or AP classes, so he could learn with the peer group he would be with in college. The district refused to compromise.
The ld school was such a good fit and we continued doing extra things as we saw fit. We were still unsure about college possibilities until I saw the SAT scores earlier this year. He did take the test at his ld school with a tape, and his excellent verbal skills did show with scores in the 93%. The college we chose was strongly recommended by his ld school, but students are considered on their merit although he did disclose his disablitiy in his application essay. He did not take a foreign language in high school and his acceptance letter has a post script that he will be required to take a foreign language in college.
I know that he still has a way to go before this huge step to college. As Sue and Victoria cautioned, I know he has challenges ahead. We are all careful planners and at this point he will go to a few information meetings and hopefully an overnight visit. We are all pretty sure he would like to defer his entry for a year and work and take a community college class or two. At the community college and at his 4 year college he has to work closely with the ld services. The 4 year college is about an hour from us, but 6 miles from his grandparents and an uncle. I wanted a college where most students live on campus because he needs many opportunities to socialize and join acitivities.
I know we have many serious challenges ahead for him to succeed at college. For now, though, I feel that we have gotten him to base camp when most thought it was not possible. Now we will help him prepare for his climb toward independence.
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I should also tell you that the new SAT has a writing portion. Last year our son took an Advanced Placement test for his Honor English class. That test had written portions. When I checked with the College Board (SAT folks) about accomodations for writing (dictation/scribe) their rules said that was only possible if the student was paralized. I’m sure state tests and college entrance exams will we challenged by the ld community, but you should keep an eye on that progress.
In our public school any test accomodations were difficult to obtain, but the ld school had been through it for dozens of years and took care of the steps even before I asked.
about the SAT
Angela,
I am so happy for your son and your family.
I do want to comment on the new SAT and the writing portion. My son is a junior in high school and college board has approved him to take the written essay on the computer due to his visual-motor problems. The test must be administered at his school on a school day rather then at the normal test sites.
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Icing on the cake!!! Today he got a letter and certificate today offering him a $12,000 scholarship renewable for four years! I am just stunned and so pleased. All his hard work, all our sacrifices…we saw his gifts when others only saw his difficulties. It is a heartwarming message for all of us and our dear children. (Maybe that suit and tie helped too!!)
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What a delightful turn of events! Good for both affirmation and of course the pocketbook!
I can’t imagine my LD son getting a scholarship to college so can identify with how amazing it must all seem.
Beth
We’ve been following you through your journey’s ups & downs… now he’s off on another journey :-)
Warn him, please, that at some point if he’s a normal college student, he will feel overwhelmed, and be utterly “sure” that he just doesn’t have what it takes to be a college student. (Generally there’s an accompanying certainty that almost everybody else *does* know what they’re doing… close kin to that certainty at a certain age that everybody is looking at **you**… and just as inaccurate…) That’s the time to hang in there & see what resources are there that he hasn’t used yet, not the time to hitchike to Norfolk or something :-)