"I really need to talk to you." Kenkyo-kun looked very serious, overwhelmed, confused, and blue. Kenkyo-kun started giving me the unorganized explanation of what happened. While he was talking, I was trying to put them in puzzle and understand what exactly happened. I was so confused but did not ask or comments. I just let him talk and wait until he finished his explanations. After he was done, I tried to summarize what he said, "So, what you were saying was ...." What happened was in the beginning of the semester, Kenkyo-kun applied for the financial aid to take summer classes. The financial application process involved so many information and paperwork, and Kenkyo-kun felt extremely overwhelmed and wanted to leave the office. While his financial adviser explained, he nodded and answered "yes. yes. yes." but he actually was not listening at all what the adviser was saying. His mind during the entire meeting was "I want to leave." At the end of the meeting, his adviser gave him a paper and asked him to sign it. Kenkyo-kun signed the paper without understanding what he was signing for. After the meeting he left and when the classes started, he focused on the classes.
The time past, and Kenkyo-kun was so focus and motivated about the classes he was taking. During our check-in meeting, he often expressed, "At the beginning of the semester, I felt confused about the class materials. But I understand them and feel so good about the class now." Many ASD students have difficulty and overwhelmed feeling when the new event starts. It is very important for them to have a smooth transition from one event to another event. For this semester, it seemed that Kenkyo-kun started with a good smooth transition to the new classes.
One day, Kenkyo-kun received a mail from the school regarding the financial aid he has applied. He opened the mail but did not care of it and put it somewhere. Kenkyo-kun did not even wonder what the mail was about but in his mind, he believed he could receive the enough financial aid money to be able to cover the tuition because he signed the paper and received the mail from the school.
A couple of days ago, Kenkyo-kun received another announcement indicating that he owes over $3,000 to the school! "Oh, no!!!" When Kenkyo-kun found out about it, he was panicked, and his brain was freeze and shutdown. He called his SW immediately and explained what happened. They started making calls many places to solve the issue. While his SW was making calls, his mind was, "What if I move to a different country now?!" He wanted to forget about all the incident and move somewhere else so that he does not have to deal with it. He was confused and did not know what to do. He made a call to his mother and explained what happened. She replied, "You should try to find a resource to get money for your school."
During our meeting, I asked him why he did not ask his SW for help when he was trying to apply for his financial aid. He responded, "I have always asked people help me in my whole life. This time, I wanted to do my own and making my own decision without any help from people. But, I screwed up big time." His intention was to be independent, but he realized he made a mistake. We discussed about being independent, that everybody somehow makes some mistakes and learns from their own experience. It also is very important to understand that we sometimes need support from others. I suggested Kenkyo-kun to meet with his financial adviser and discuss about what options he has at this moment. He said ok but seemed hesitating to go to see the adviser. I thought of course, as Kenkyo-kun was already overwhelmed and his brain was panicked, he will not be able to focus on the conversation with his adviser and effectively process enormous amount of information. Thus, we decided to call his adviser together. He seemed more comfortable with it.
We made several calls to different departments to figure out solution options for the issue. The answer did not seem so great, but we both received a clear information on what he needs to do at this moment. Kenkyo-kun decided to call his mother and explain information on what we received. Having more clear idea of what he can do and should do, he was able to explain his mother more clearly and made a good decision of what he needs to do.
At the end of meeting, Kenkyo-kun learned the important life lessons: 1) any paper he needs to sign, he needs to be aware of what he is signing for, 2) anything money involves, he needs to be aware of and read any paperwork and if he does not understand, seek for support immediately, and 3) try not to panic and seek for help from adviser and SW immediately. He is now feeling better at least now because he found the light and can feel as "it was not the end of the world as I thought".
The time past, and Kenkyo-kun was so focus and motivated about the classes he was taking. During our check-in meeting, he often expressed, "At the beginning of the semester, I felt confused about the class materials. But I understand them and feel so good about the class now." Many ASD students have difficulty and overwhelmed feeling when the new event starts. It is very important for them to have a smooth transition from one event to another event. For this semester, it seemed that Kenkyo-kun started with a good smooth transition to the new classes.
One day, Kenkyo-kun received a mail from the school regarding the financial aid he has applied. He opened the mail but did not care of it and put it somewhere. Kenkyo-kun did not even wonder what the mail was about but in his mind, he believed he could receive the enough financial aid money to be able to cover the tuition because he signed the paper and received the mail from the school.
A couple of days ago, Kenkyo-kun received another announcement indicating that he owes over $3,000 to the school! "Oh, no!!!" When Kenkyo-kun found out about it, he was panicked, and his brain was freeze and shutdown. He called his SW immediately and explained what happened. They started making calls many places to solve the issue. While his SW was making calls, his mind was, "What if I move to a different country now?!" He wanted to forget about all the incident and move somewhere else so that he does not have to deal with it. He was confused and did not know what to do. He made a call to his mother and explained what happened. She replied, "You should try to find a resource to get money for your school."
During our meeting, I asked him why he did not ask his SW for help when he was trying to apply for his financial aid. He responded, "I have always asked people help me in my whole life. This time, I wanted to do my own and making my own decision without any help from people. But, I screwed up big time." His intention was to be independent, but he realized he made a mistake. We discussed about being independent, that everybody somehow makes some mistakes and learns from their own experience. It also is very important to understand that we sometimes need support from others. I suggested Kenkyo-kun to meet with his financial adviser and discuss about what options he has at this moment. He said ok but seemed hesitating to go to see the adviser. I thought of course, as Kenkyo-kun was already overwhelmed and his brain was panicked, he will not be able to focus on the conversation with his adviser and effectively process enormous amount of information. Thus, we decided to call his adviser together. He seemed more comfortable with it.
We made several calls to different departments to figure out solution options for the issue. The answer did not seem so great, but we both received a clear information on what he needs to do at this moment. Kenkyo-kun decided to call his mother and explain information on what we received. Having more clear idea of what he can do and should do, he was able to explain his mother more clearly and made a good decision of what he needs to do.
At the end of meeting, Kenkyo-kun learned the important life lessons: 1) any paper he needs to sign, he needs to be aware of what he is signing for, 2) anything money involves, he needs to be aware of and read any paperwork and if he does not understand, seek for support immediately, and 3) try not to panic and seek for help from adviser and SW immediately. He is now feeling better at least now because he found the light and can feel as "it was not the end of the world as I thought".
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