Son wants to leave college - help!

majorstress

FatVonD wrote: »

Is it too late for him to apply to art college for this coming September and look on this year as a false start? I'd be thinking about doing that if it was at all possible. To keep him in education would his old school let him go back for 6 months to resit something that maybe he could get a better grade in or to help build up his portfolio?

Art college is one of the options we are discussing (he cannot transfer as it's too late but could start in Sept), but the school bit is not possible, so he'd need to find a job for 8 months, which as I said in my first post is very very unlikely.

Person_one

The scariest thing in your post is that he doesn't give a damn about controlling his diabetes. I don't know to get through to a teenager how serious that is, but unless he wants to lose his sight, his legs and the use of his kidneys before he's 40 he really really needs to take it seriously.

Maybe Diabetes UK have some advice for helping rebellious teenagers with ADHD, or your doctor?

tescobabe69

[QUOTE=majorstress;50280493
We are in the throes of a new business, and building client base nicely, but at present we are still heavily reliant on Tax Credits while we get more work in. If he leaves education, we will lose Tax Credits and Child Benefit and will be struggling without him bringing in a little to contribute to the household.
.[/QUOTE]
Explain to him how much he is "worth" in benefits and ask him how he expects this money to be replaced. If he cannot come up with a solution ask him how to rebalance the houshold budget ? At 17 he should be aware of these factors, at his age I was painfully aware of the financial facts of life, its called becoming an adult.

easy

majorstress wrote: »

he'd need to find a job for 8 months, which as I said in my first post is very very unlikely.

Do you have any friends who have businesses, anyone who could offer him any part-time work at all, just as a gopher/box packer/tea boy.

You are right, he needs to do SOMETHING, quite apart from the financial implications, and he needs to know that 'faffing about' just isn't an option. If he isn't in work or a course, he will have to do the washing/ironing/housework/cooking while you work to support him.

Have you spoken to the college at all? Are they aware of his special needs ? have they offered any help or encouragement - other than threatening to kick him out. It might be worth YOU talking to the college, just to see if they can offer any suggestions for your son's next step.

kingfisher1961

I do feel for you and I know exactly how you feel.

Our son left school last may after GCSE's. He is not very academic so A levels were not an option. He wanted to do an IT course at college and started in september. He only lasted one day, :mad: came home and refused to go back. The course wasn't what he thought it would be, he didn't like the other students, or the lecturer and so on.

We eventually found a Princes Trust programme through Connexions.
It included team work, community projects, Work experience and an adventure week. It has given him loads of things for his CV and helped his confidence no end. Some things he found very hard like the adventure week as its not his kind of thing but he stuck at it and we are very proud of him:T for completing the course. It is a recognised qualification and I understand is highly regarded by employers.

We now have hopes he will find a job through a contact he made while on the course and things are looking better than they did a few months ago.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Seanymph

What does he propose doing?

You have to ask him - not find the solution for him - he has to find it for himself.

rachbc

he needs to register with connexions- then you be eligible for extended child benefit and TC for20 weeks which gives you all abit of breathing space so he can work out what to do next. They will also offer support getting him into something - apprenticeships, improving his basic/ keyskills and getting him 'work ready' with some non college based learning/training. They will also be able to offer guidance to help him decide what course is the right thing for him when/ if he goes back to college next year so you don't end up in the same boat again.

victory

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/?gclid=COOSt-bt160CFcsKtAoddmw8lg

Poor control really also needs to be addressed because that could be very bad for him in the future

ciderwithrosie_2

I'd be a bit worried with a 17yr old unstable diabetic left alone at home doing chores such as ironing or cooking. What if he had a hypo? My OH is diabetic and has hypos quite often, it's not easy to leave them unsupervised.

Savvy_Sue

Can he help out in the business in any way?