How a student’s life can unfold:
College
Let’s say your child did fine in elementary, middle and high school then seems to hit a wall in college. Why does this happen? They had it so together in high school, right?
There is so much free time and not much structure as to what you need to do or when you need to do it. They have to figure out how long an assignment will take or how much time to set aside for studying. None of which is taught anywhere along the way. They also have a disbursement of their friends and family so support networks are often no longer close by.
Increased workload
Although they may have fewer classes while in college the workload can be tremendous. Maybe it isn’t the volume of work to do but the requirements of prioritizing and time management that are the issue. When in high school your child was still within the structure of your house and a long school day. If away at college neither of those is true. They have tremendous freedom and many new things to catch their attention.
How to support
The increased demands on your student’s executive function are still there. They are still playing catch up to others their own age. There are supports at college that your student can take advantage of like note takers, longer time on tests, etc. There will be hoops to jump through in order to access those supports and that is where you can be the biggest help. Supporting them in completing the paperwork or setting appointments may be just thing that is needed for them to get the ball rolling.