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It’s been an interesting couple of weeks, as our son, with his dad’s help, has figured out a way to use public transportation part of the way to community college, and has continued to try to improve his reading skills in preparation for his first classes. They’ve walked around on the campus; they got his student ID and his bus card and so on and so forth.
He came back from one of these trips gleefully announcing that he loved bus trips; his father’s face showed a lot less enthusiasm. R- is being a trooper about this, while I sit home and write (which is my job, but still.)
Tomorrow is the big day. R- is going with him for the whole day (not into the classes, but on the buses to the campus, walking with him to the classes, etc.) in case the sensory overload scrambles his navigation, making sure he finds the little snackroom thing, making sure he gets the computerized learning passwords he needs written down, etc.
Is the maternal parent nervous? Yes. If I didn’t have writing deadlines I have to meet, which require hours spent at the computer tomorrow, I’d want to be the one trailing along behind the long-tall-Texan that is our son. Then at least I’d know–I wouldn’t have to wait all day to find out. (R- doesn’t like cellphones and won’t take mine… they may not get home until after 7 pm.)
And yet…this is the best thing we can think of to do at this time, where we are, with the resources we have. And he wants to go. And that is good.
Comment by Jeff — January 19, 2010 @ 1:52 pm
Well, I hope everything goes well for your son today. We’re working on ours – he tried to go to community college a couple of years ago, but just couldn’t handle the math homework in the remedial class. We’ve been gently encouraging him to try again, and I think he’s coming around, but not there yet. I know you have to be grateful that your son has the desire to go.
Comment by Elizabeth — January 19, 2010 @ 4:09 pm
I hope the same, of course. But if it doesn’t, (as I’ve tried to convey to him) that’s not the end of the world. But it’s so tough for him to accept his own mistakes as mistakes–things to grow past–and not doors with NO all over them.
Comment by Elizabeth — January 19, 2010 @ 11:48 pm
Day One can be considered (as of first report and look on the new student’s face) as “We survived.” He is clearly a little worried, but can’t (of course) really articulate that worry; he was proud of being on time to all his classes, unlike some other students. Good work habits and a pleasant disposition count, even if he’s still got shaky auditory processing and may not have understood everything said to him.
But: no serious freeze-ups, no meltdowns, no obvious overload (R- said) and the practice on riding the buses over the past couple of weeks seems to have had a really good effect.