It’s okay, I can’t be that behind, right?
Elizabeth was only at college for two months before realizing her life skills were undeveloped, especially when compared to her peers. She felt as if they all moved through life so easily, transitioning between classes, social, work, and personal time with no issue while she was still stuck on her first task of the day. She felt as if managing her classwork, social life, and chores were too much to handle all at once, and since she felt like the only one struggling, instead of advocating for herself, she just pushed her responsibilities aside.
As time went on, Elizabeth neglected her personal hygiene. She felt as if taking the time to wash her clothes and take a shower was too much. Instead, she needed it for the homework she procrastinated on because she wanted to go out with friends instead of being responsible. This trend then continued, and as Elizabeth became more and more stressed out and enjoyed college less and less, she told her parents she didn’t want to return the next semester. Her parents were shocked hearing this. They thought Elizabeth was thriving seeing she never expressed to them any issues she was having, so after being blindsided by the news and now worried their daughter will be unable to be successfully independent, they reached out to the College Life Skills Program for help.
There, Elizabeth met with a coach weekly so they could try and figure out a way to help her not only develop the necessary life skills she was lacking but feel confident with her ability to be able to advocate for herself when struggling both at home and while away at college. Practicing things to say when expressing concerns, developing a system she could follow daily to map out her responsibilities, using timers, and setting reminders are just a few of the things she implemented into her routine to help her with independent life. As Elizabeth received this coaching, with a level of accountability, her ability to manage her life on her own became far less difficult.
College requires so much more than just academic abilities, it requires young adults to utilize their life skills as well. Managing time, handling stress, building healthy routines, time management, and initiating tasks are only a few things they need to be able to do while living their independent life. If these skills are not well developed, however, they may find the transition to be difficult. This then causes a domino effect, because if they cannot manage all the responsibilities that come with being an independent young adult, they may neglect certain aspects of their life.
Whether it be falling behind, failing, or not even showing up to classes, not maintaining their hygiene (both with washing their clothes/bedding and themselves), experiencing burn out, isolation, etc., young adults can be set back they are underprepared, and if they also struggle to self-advocate, they may continue down this path without getting any help until it’s too late. By the time someone may notice, they may already be wanting to, or have already dropped out of college, harmed their relationships with people in their lives, and feel stuck in the situation they are in. Young adults need to be able to advocate for themselves. Advocating with peers, roommates, classmates, professors, advisors, and to their parents can help them get the support they need to develop age-appropriate life skills, and the College Life Skills Program is equipped to provide them with that support.
Our team of Doctoral and Master level professionals utilizes a series of highly individualized strategies, services, and techniques to help young adults who are college bound, in college, and even after college succeed in and after their transition into adult life. We help teach them the life skills they will need in order to be successful in the real and work world, help them learn how to balance independent life on their own, and other transitional, executive functioning, social skills, and emotional maturity. If your young adult is struggling with the transition into college and adulthood, CollegeLSP has the tools to aid them in achieving and generalizing such skills.
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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
