[Dianna]

Many of the intellegent folks I know dropped out of government school (sic) around age 16 and went straight to college.

I've thought about planning for my son to do this. He's been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, and socially things are already difficult. And he's oppositional enough that I just don't think I could homeschool him.

So how is this done? Do they take the GED and SAT and get right in to a college (provided grades and scores are good)? Would it have to be a community college type school? We have a University within commuting distance.

[MIhomeschooler]

Dianna, how old is your son? My reason for homeschooling was primarily due to my son's Asperger's. They were more concerned with his quirky behaviors than his learning anything. That was at the start of 8th grade (middle school), up until then, his special ed teacher was pretty good, although in serious overload. She had a huge case overload, a child with learning problems herself, and a husband who'd recently had a heart attack. The teacher they assigned to him in eighth was just horrible. Through elementary school, I must say that they gave him excellent support. My son is not on any meds, and I want to keep it that way, if possible. Homeschooling has allowed me to do that. I'm not all that concerned about my son going to college at this point. I could see him going to a tech/trade school as he's very good at hands-on things. A GED will suffice fine for that. I keep his studies very math-intensive (and history/government, because that was sorely skewed in public school), and just go with what interests him in other areas. Good luck in finding the best option for your son, it CAN be a challenge!