What About Europe

What do typical kids do when they aren't ready to go directly to college after high school?  We think that is a dang good question.  I have put together a short list in my mind (go ahead and take your shot, I left a pretty big opening, didn't I?) 

·        Sit at home and eat my food.  Nope.

·        Vacation in Europe.  Yeah right.

·        Dabble in the family business.  Might work for some, but nope.

·        Sit at home and eat your food.  Still nope.

·        Work a bit and save some $$ for college.  Ding-ding.   We may have a winner.

·        Note: this list is not copyrighted, feel free to use it with your typical child.

Make no mistake, Ryan wants to go to college.  He is quite convinced that he can do just about anything.  His reasoning, in expected DS style, is quite linear.  It goes like this; He is graduating, his brother and sister went to college after they graduated, so --- he will go to college. Got it?   In recent months we have reminded Ryan that college is not free and asked him what we should do about that.  After we got past his immediate response of, "just give them the debit card", we talked about how HE could help pay for college.  Oh, and we played the BrotherSister card.  Since they had to work to help pay for college then maybe he should, too. 

And speaking of "not free".  Since Ryan will not have a true HS diploma, he will not qualify for the Hope scholarship (the lottery thingy) nor is he eligible for a school loan.  Legally, there seems to be a hole of some kind that these types of students drop in. There are rumors about these laws being changed, but in the mean time, we would have to come up with the cash to pay for college for Ryan.  Not just any cash; but Vanderbilt-flavored cash.

Back to the work scene.  That "solution" for Ryan for the next year or so keeps bubbling up.  We like it.  It has taken us some time, but we are rather comfortable that we now have a direction.  All we have to do is find a job of some kind that would accommodate Ryan.  Well that, and it would be nice if was full time.  Oh,   and it really needs to be more daytime than evenings (his social life couldn't take the hit).  So, I guess that's it.  Hmmmm...except for the transportation thing.  Hmmm.... That should do it.

We have heard of companies that have an inclusion component for employees like Ryan.  Some have made a company-wide commitment (from management, HR, etc)  to make it happen.  Besides job training and job coaching, some have taken it a step further and let the employee "sample'   3 or 4 positions throughout the year so they can find the best fit.  We are actively seeking a place like this for Ryan.