“I’m not doing that! It’s summer!”
Adam had spent most of his summer repeating that same sentence. Whether it was his mother asking for him to clean up and get himself organized, his father telling him to get his chores done, or his sister telling him he needed to shower, Adam always avoided it all. He felt as if these things weren’t necessary because he was at home, not at college. Unlike when he was away, he had other people to pick up the slack for him, which his parents often did. They would ask once or twice before just doing it themselves, and as summer came to an end, Adam realized he hadn’t prepared anything for the next semester.
Assuming he had time to do it when he was there, Adam left to move into his dorm once more, but unlike his freshman year, he had to do it alone. However, instead of being responsible and doing so during the week he had to prepare on campus, he used that time to play video games and go out with friends, so as the week came to an end, the boxes remained unpacked and his preparation for classes was nonexistent. Adam kept telling himself he would get organized the next week, but as 3 weeks passed, he realized he didn’t even know where to start. It felt as if everything he learned was suddenly forgotten, and the confidence he previously had in his ability to complete such tasks was now gone too. Adam then had a choice to make. He could either return home for the semester and try again or work to regain the skills he lost over the summer. As he chose the latter, him and his parents reached out to the College Life Skills Program for help.
There, he met with a coach virtually while away at college, then continued to meet during the summer in person to ensure his regression didn’t hinder his ability to be successfully independent. With a level of accountability, his ability to return to college after summer was not only maintained, but strengthen, causing the transition to be made even easier than Adam had expected.
Summer is often the time to relax for most people. Whether it be traveling, relaxing at home, or a little bit of everything, it is still important to realize responsibility does not end simply because vacation arrives. Life is not like a video game. You cannot pause all your progress and return to it later. Rather, important things such as executive functioning, life, emotional, and social skills can and most likely will weaken if not properly utilized during the summer months. If young adults are allowing what they worked so hard to achieve regress, arriving at college, especially for the first time, can prove very difficult.
College is very different from K-12 schooling. It requires more independence. Being able to navigate the campus, keep yourself organized, socialize, live in a new environment with new people, be responsible, and such much more is needed, and it is often expected that if you go to college, you can do these things. If they are consistently having emotional outburst, not showing up and turning in things for class, not keeping yourself and space clean, etc., college can become overwhelming very quickly. Then, if they cannot get back on track, students may begin to drop out and return home, where they often avoid getting a job in place of school as well.
If summer regression occurs, they will not just be ‘out of practice,’ but rather scrambling to catch up to the others around them. That’s why at the College Life Skills Program; we offer summer intensive programs led by Master and Doctoral level coaches to help prevent this regression. We target real-world social skills, strengthen executive functioning, and more to ensure students are engaged, confident, growing, and ready for what’s ahead. With expert guidance in a supportive, structured environment offered both in our Boca Raton office and virtually, young adults can not only maintain but grow their skills so they can be reaching the success they are more than capable of.
Click here and call now to schedule your FREE 15-minute individualized screening.
Dr. Eric J. Nach, Ph.D., M.Ed., A.S.D.C., is a Developmental and Behavioral Specialist who specializes in Autism, ADHD and related disorders. Dr. Nach is the founder of the College Life Skills Program where he and his team of professional’s help develop the Emotional Maturity, Executive Functioning, Life Skill and Social Abilities of college students and those high school students preparing for college. The CollegeLSP is a subsidiary program of the Support For Students Growth Center, located in Boca Raton, FL and providing services nationwide
