Son is desperate to go to Uni

Clare1981

Hiya, Im new here and hoping it might be a place to get some advice from.

My son is 19, he did his level 1 and level 2 in animal care alongside his Maths and English GCSE’s but last year when it came to the end of year 2 the college refused him a place on the L3 due to him not passing his Maths and English. He was absolutely devastated. He has ASD so is very focused on what he wants to do and how he’s going to get there. He has his heart set on going to Uni to study Marine Biology as this is his life long obsession!

It’s just so hard, he just did Maths and English this year to try and get them so he could go on to level 3 this year, he gets his results tomorrow and it’s unlikely he’s going to pass.

It just breaks my heart, I don’t know how much longer I can see him fail or how much longer he can mentally cope with keep failing.

Does anyone know of any other routes to University? Any help out there for young people with EHCPs? Personally I’m not sure he would cope at uni but I would never tell him that and I’m pleased he’s following his dreams 🥹

Thank you in advance x

Doris_Scope

Hi @Clare1981

A warm welcome to the community.

I am sorry to hear that your son is finding it so difficult to follow his dream.  It is common for people with autism to struggle in conventional environments. This can be for a number of reasons.  Maybe the pressure or the sensory environment means that he struggles to focus.

Have you thought about trying the Open University.  Your son could do maths and English in an environment that is more suitable to him.  He could then move onto doing further study.  Again in an environment that is not quite so busy or stressful.  The Open University also have support for disabled people.

You could explore his options through entry requirements.

I hope that his helps in some way.  I know it can be so difficult seeing your children struggle, no matter how old they are.

DmRitchie

That is so frustrating (I'm currently about to do exams for English and Maths as part of my apprenticeship in Data Analysis). I'm 48 (ADHD and Autism) there is no way that I could do the data and business intelligence work I do without higher standard of English and Maths then is required for a passing grade. However, it is unlikely that I will pass these exams. I know because I struggled with the mocks. One of my problems, is I would focus on the way questions were worded, or other grammatical errors.

When he does pass, I understand the concerns about coping at Uni. Last year I took my daughter (ASD) to look at UNIs and Northumbria (Newcastle) was particularly geared towards ND students, as was Edgehill (which she has decided on). It may be worth speaking to schools that offer the program he's interested to see what they can do or suggest to help him achieve his goal.

Clare1981

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/901847#Comment_901847

I feel like that’s exactly what it is, something to do with the exams and how the questions are structured or something like that. I’m not saying he’s capable of doing the Level 3, I really have no idea but their reasoning is he needs his English to show he will cope with the coursework but this doesn’t concern me. He will be writing about something he’s interested in for starters!! He proven this is Level 2 with Merits in his Biology exams.

The story about your daughter gives me some hope. Thank you 🥹