Parent Consultation

Late adolescence/early adulthood can be a difficult transition period for children and their parents. This is the time when they are supposed to be pushing you away and asserting their independence, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need your support.

How do you know what’s “normal”?
How do you support them without smothering them?
What should you do when they are struggling when they’re away at school?

We can talk about the different behaviors that you are noticing and what you can/should do. Sometimes, it is helpful to get a better understanding of what might be going on with your child. Sometimes, it is important to get your child connected to a mental health professional. If so, we can discuss if it’s possible for your child to see me for counseling and/or I can help you connect your child with another mental health professional. 

Hopefully, if your student needs academic accommodations, they are/were on an IEP or a 504 plan in high school.  If not, and your student is still in high school, now is the time to get that done. Colleges require disability documentation to provide accommodations.  All too often, I met with incoming freshmen who had an “unofficial IEP” in high school where they were given the necessary resources but not officially assessed for documentation purposes. Private testing for learning differences can be quite expensive, so it is important to get that completed by your school system.

If you want private testing, or your student has graduated from high school, we can discuss whether I can offer telehealth assessment for your student.

Something to keep in mind – people often associate ADA accommodations with learning differences and/or physical disabilities, but disability accommodations can be appropriate for mental health disorders, too. We can talk about what reasonable accommodations might be for your student, so they know what is available.

Pre-College planning and decision-making can be overwhelming. Different high school/pre-college students will have a variety of important factors when choosing a college. No college will be perfect, but we can discuss what may be important for your student and how to choose the most compatible options. 

After the decision has been made, there are still helpful preparations prior to starting school, especially when your student has a disability and/or a history of mental health concerns. We can discuss ways your student can be proactive in setting their self up for success.

It took me several years to learn how to navigate the various systems in higher education: financial aid, housing, academic affairs, student life, etc. I have become very adept at finding the appropriate resources available for students, and I can point you in the right direction.