The Academic Paper

[jisp]

Ugh. DS has to take a Maritime History and Literature course as part of the program he is in. The course is a look at the role of the SEA, culturally and politically specifically addressing the parts of the world and the routes his sailing trip will visit next month. My son's professor for this course is a pretty interesting lady who is one of those super-intellectual hyper verbal bookish types. She has written books and articles on this topic and also teaches at Harvard. I knew as soon as I heard her speak that my son was going to struggle in her course.

Our son worked really hard to produce a first draft of a paper due today. His classmates were all amazed that he was working on it ahead of time, but our son knew that this was going to be a challenge for him. He went and sought help from the instructor. Then yesterday he showed the instructor his first draft. She explained that it was all wrong and that he had to completely re-write it and that she was going to show him how. A big part of the problem for our son is understanding the difference between assumption and fact when writing a humanities paper as the one college paper he wrote last year was an Astronomy paper. To her credit she gave our son an extra week to complete the paper and she did tell our son that this was a great opportunity for him to learn how to write this type of paper in college. But our son said he feels "retarded" as he struggles emotionally any time he has to confront the fact that he has a disability. Hopefully he will pull through this. But I can't help but worry right now. We keep telling him this is a great opportunity and he should be glad that he is getting this level of intense instruction from this woman.

[SharonF]

I guess I'd compare it to this:

You work darned hard on a project at your workplace. You do everything you THINK you are supposed to do. You even go above and beyond on some tasks. You complete the project and feel pretty good about it.

Then your boss calls you in and politely points out that you neglected to do certain things, didn't take key factors/demographics into account, didn't get the correct paperwork to Finance to authorize an associated expenditure, didn't coordinate with a parallel department, etc., etc.

It's really easy to become defensive. Even upset. But when you step back, you realize the boss was correct. While you did work your tail off, the end result still didn't meet the company's objective.

So you thank your boss for her input. You make a list of what you need to do differently. You walk out with your tail between your legs. Then you do over. And if you are wise, you learn from it all.

It doesn't just happen to kids with LDs. It happens all of the time to well-meaning, capable adults in a rapidly changing workplace.

I guess that's how I'd explain it. Sometimes, it's easier for my college-aged kids to hear that these kinds of situations are not just limited to school, unreasonable teachers, or kids with LDs. Like you said, this actually could be a great opportunity. But when we're frustrated or defensive, it's hard to see even constructive criticism as an opportunity!

[empeg1]

Jisp:

I feel for your ds. Sharon F descibes the situation quite well. Yet, your ds is looking at colleges who are likely to challenge him in just the same way the SEA class is challenging him. Fair, sort of. Easy, no way. Reality, absolutely yes. The prof is talking to your ds about a skill he will need, fair or no, in college.

[socalgal]

And he did an important part of this task just right!!! He got started early and showed it to his professor -- this is exactly where most LD kids fail. Most kids don't get the extra week. I know that you are worried about him but you could remind him that if he knew how to do all of this, he wouldn't need to waste his time in college...

Congratulations to you for raising a kid who is so successful!

[jisp]

Thanks everyone. Today he had another knock because he was upset that he did not do as well as he felt he should of on an exam in a different course. In reality he didn't do that badly and the professor told him he did fine but thinks he rushes to much (which is definitely true). The kid is learning. And the only way to learn is to make mistakes and struggle. It was these types of mistakes that we had hoped to create last year by having him take college courses. Because last year he was working with a cognitive doctor who could help him with these challenges. Instead he excelled in the courses he took. Now he is getting a reality check that maybe he still has areas that he needs to work on despite last year's success.

I also think that coping with the social scene and managing the academics is a lot for him and he is going to have some tough times this fall.

Our fear is that our son will give up. Unlike many of his peers in this program our son has had more failure than all of them combined. The good news is that the program is committed to having every student succeed. And the challenges our son is facing are as Empeg pointed out, going to be challenges he needs to confront in order to handle college.

Socalgal you are right. It is very impressive that our son is doing all the right things. He is talking to his professors and he is pre-learning and getting started early and trying to learn from his mistakes. This kid has struggled so much part of me just wants him to have one thing in life that is easy. But alas that is the challenge of having a disability.

[jisp]

Sharon,
Good analogy. It probably won't work for us to use it on our son. But it is a good analogy. Actually our son had this happen with his CS course that he too this summer. The course asked the kids to write a program that created a print out of an American Flag. They gave the kids a picture of what their output ought to look like. Our son wrote the program but didn't make the picture look exactly like the one they gave him but instead made it "prettier" and more "accurate" with better color choices and proportions. Well guess what? He lost points on that assignment and he had worked really really hard on his "better" American Flag. It would of been easier to have just done the image that was given with the assignment.

[SharonF]

jisp--

Ever since my dd was accused of *intentionally* failing the 7th grade state reading test because she rushed through it, I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out why kids rush.

As you probably know, it's not as simple as "impulsivity" or even "anxiety."

When people rush through something, it's usually because their brain's input circuits are overwhelmed. They cannot take in any more information. It's just words on the page. When input is limited, so is their output.

Teachers see that the kid:
1) was one of the first ones done
2) made careless mistakes
3) has the capacity to do better.

They assume (wrongly) that SLOWING DOWN will fix the problem. Nope, it just prolongs the sense of being overwhelmed and the inability to take in the information. That's where the anxiety and, at times, impulsivity come in. Slowing down doesn't increase input. It just prolongs the torture--and the inability to generate appropriate output.

Very, very few teachers seem to understand that. I'm sure your son's cog doctor understands. And maybe some of his professors understand.

[michellea]

I'll add to what Sharon says - it is often an inability to plan, organize and get started - either because the assignment is too large, complex, novel, ambiguous etc. Again, if the person is overwhelmed, they'll guess, rush, do anything to get it done.

Teachers used to say my ds was impulsive - even though he was a pro at waiting his turn, raising his hand, keeping his verbal and physical reactions under control. But, he rushed through all his work.

Once he began attending his current school, all that "rushing" disappeared. He was taught how to approach each assignment, assignments were contextualized and structured, he had the skill to complete them.

So - was he impulsive in the public school or overwhelmed? I think the later.

Jisp - I hope today brings some encouragement for him (and you!).

[healthy11]

Like socalgal said, I'm impressed with your son's initiative in getting started on the project early, and approaching the instructor. It seems to me as if this SEA environment is an excellent learning opportunity for him. (My own son continues to leave assignments to the last minute and then rushes throught them, and that approach is not helping him to learn, and usually doesn't result in an output to be proud of...)

[jisp]

I agree rushing with our kids is often do to their being overwhelmed and tired and wanting to just get the experience over with. In our son's case some of the rushing is part of his "act" to prove to the world that he is NOT disabled and that he can do the work in a timely manner. Most kids with his level of disability would be thrilled and overjoyed to get extended time. But our son actually sees it as a crutch and is determined to not have any crutches. In Chemistry last year, which was a very large lecture class, our son would time his leaving so that he was leaving with the bulk of the kids, even if that meant maybe not taking the few extra minutes he needed to review and check his work for careless mistakes. The kid so badly wants to appear normal and not be disabled that he will do anything he can to look "normal".

We talked with his doctor yesterday who feels like all of this is good stuff. And then he said, "And you guys seem pretty anxious about this." DUH.....he didn't need all those years of medical school and training to figure that one out. Of course we are anxious. But we know that this is something our son is going to have to go through in order to move forward. And as the doctor pointed out, he wanted this. He chose this path. He signed up for it. And because of it he is determined to make it work and is motivated to overcome the challenges he faces.

Thanks for the support. Launching this kids into the real world is outright painful.

[healthy11]

" Launching this kids into the real world is outright painful. " ~ I couldn't agree more!!