Advice please re retaking 3rd year in a 4 year engineering degree and dissertation woes

[BlueB0rage]

Hi my son has autism, ocd and severe adhd. It all came to a head last year. He won’t take meds as he’s scared of them. He has had a MH crisis and did retakes last summer at the end of year 2 which were fine. Crisis has continued and he has struggled hugely with his dissertation this year (his third).He got a month’s extention but has struggled hugely to focus. He is spending hours trying and getting very little done but should have something to hand in which he is convinced will be a fail.

So he thinks he should retake his third year and is now considering meds however as I understand it this will impact funding for the fourth year ie there won’t be any.

Really don’t know what to do. He doesn’t actually struggle with the content it’s just his MH and the ND issues.

He is trying so hard to push through with all of it and hold on to his MH I’m v proud but could do with some advice on the way forward.

You both need to speak to the university. Does he have any academic support at university? Can he ask for consideration of his issues in terms of marking his work etc??

He’s on the learning support list but it doesn’t really amount to much. I doubt he can ask for consideration when marking. It is what it is.I don’t think the uni can advise on loan funding.

STEM academic here. Your DS needs to speak to his Director of Studies or similar ASAP to discuss repeating. I suggest modifications below. I think from what you’ve said it would be helpful if he would give permission for you to attend this meeting.

If he isn’t registered with the Office for Students with Disabilities (whatever it is called) he really should be. Students sometimes resist, but the OfSD can be their greatest advocate and ally. It isn’t cheating, it just starts to level the playing field. Even at this point it may be helpful.

The finances may not be as bad as you fear. If you are in England Student Finance will extend the term of the loan to one year beyond the term of each student’s initial degree.

But the most important thing is DS’s health and just behind that is his studies.

What help has he been getting/what documentation does he have? I think the best way forward is to acknowledge that his health was shattered and he is in crisis, but expert opinion to back this up would be very helpful.

How did DS do with first semester finals? Is there any documentation that he was in crisis then? If these exams went well and/or DS did not submit Mitigating Circumstances it is unclear at best how the School will react to a request to retake the whole year - that could be considered an unfair second go. But it doesn’t sound like he should be attempting exams now. Perhaps he should request to repeat second semester only? Unless I’ve missed something, of course.

He needs help with this, urgently. The universities are sadly in no position to provide decent MH help and the NHS is little better, but it is worth starting with his GP. If he comes home now he will have nearly 5 months to devote to restoring his health (not that this is a singleminded pursuit). I would urge him in the strongest terms to postpone his return if he isn’t ready, or think about attending a uni close to home if commuting would be helpful.

This isn’t easy and DS has my sympathy. Best wishes to him

He can’t attend a uni closer to home as he wouldn’t get student loans for a whole new 3 years. He has 3 years of loans already. Retaking the third year would mean there would be no loans for his 4th year .

If he originally applied for a 4 year course (which would be usual for an MEng) he is entitled to 5 years of funding. If he only applied for 3 years (eg if he started on a BEng then transferred) he is only entitled to 4 years total. Essentially you are allowed one extra year above your initial entitlement.

it is possible for further funding if his difficulties are as a result of ‘compelling personal circumstances’ which this might fall into. SLC have a reasonably low threshold for what can be counted so dont worry. His MH is far more important.

What was the term of the original loan?

In any case, if DS moves unis the hope would be to transfer, not restart. Two years from the current place and two years from the new place.

Is he in receipt of DSA (Disabled Students Allowance), OP? If not, it might be worth investigating. My DS with ASD/severe ADHD is coming to the end of his third year and has had some major MH challenges (depression, self-harm, major anxiety) during his degree. DSA has provided him with a 1:1 academic support/welfare tutor for a set number of hours and she has been an absolute lifeline and game changer for him. Like your DS, mine does not struggle with his degree content, or the assessment writing - he just really needs help with focus - and the sessions with his support tutor have helped so much.

Link below for info, I appreciate it's late in the day for your DS but worth looking into at least.

https://www.gov.uk/disabled-students-allowance-dsa

Regardless of what he decides about a possible retake, do try to encourage him to at least try meds. The right meds at the right dosage can be so positive.

Good luck to both of you, it's so hard to see our DC struggle. Your DS has done amazingly well to get as far as he has.

This is similar to the service that we offer as part of the Disability and Inclusion Department at our university. We offer study skills sessions which involves supporting students in managing
and structuring their workload, prioritising tasks and recommending specific strategies to aid them such as the pomodora method. Do get in touch with the Uni and ask about this sort of support. It sounds like he is very academically able but has got himself into a bit of a hole due to his neurodivergence.

You are usually entitled to an extra year of loans to cover exactly this type of situation or people that change their main subject and need to do an extra year to cover all the modules they need to do.
My son will have racked up 5 years of loans by the time he's finished! ( We're in Scotland so 4 years are the standard)

Oh, and my eldest was a high school dropout (ADHD and autism diagnosed late) until he went on meds and is now 3/4 of the way through a Computer Science degree.

Thankyou all so much.This is all food for thought.

Unfortunately he struggled hugely during Alevels too and did well considering how little he could focus during 6th form but not what he should have had so started on the 3 year Mech Eng but switched to 4 whilst on it.

I’m wondering if switching to a uni at home( he’s 5 hours away which didn’t help with his MH) for 2 years if he could get the loans could be an option. Had no idea you could do that.Or we could see if he could stay where he is if he prefers for repetition and the 4th. We’ll contact student loans.

I feel particularly bad because his siblings both have ASC and ADHD and have had big MH struggles and even though ND was obvious with this son we didn’t do much about it because he just got on with it and we didn’t realise it was impacting his MH but in a less noticeable way. He hid it.I suspect he didn’t want to worry us as we had a lot going on with the other two. So all this has come to light late. He is so fed up now he said yesterday he’d consider meds.

I firmly believe with all of them that it’s onwards and upwards and a process in learning how to manage the difficulties of ND but I am worried about ds having years of loans with no degree. Aside from that he is naturally good at engineering and it’s what he wants to do but you need qualifications. I wondered about apprenticeships and other routes into the field but I know they’re like gold dust and wonder if having been at uni would be an issue.

OP you have some excellent expert advice already.

I wondered about apprenticeships and other routes into the field but I know they’re like gold dust and wonder if having been at uni would be an issue.
I work at an automotive OEM with a substantial apprenticeship programme. I know of 3 recent apprentices in my area who had started at uni and decided it wasn’t for them. I can’t speak for every company, but it’s not an issue here.

I’d also suggest asking to switch back to the BEng course, depending on course structure, and with some consideration, he may be able to pretty much walk away at this stage with a degree. The MEng year is pretty tough, and it might not be the best thing for him.

I would also consider whether there's an alternative to dissertation, some unis will let you get credit from extra (taught) modules instead - which may suit him better than an open-ended self-directed dissertation.

I work for a uni and we would allow transfer into year 3 of a 4 year course or 2 of a 3 year - with credit from his current uni. He would first need to get a transcript detailing all the modules and credit/grades accrued so far and possibly the program spec so the new uni can check he would meet the final requirements for the award of the degree.

Again, other option is to talk to his uni as above how far off the requirement for the BEng he is, and we have now brought in exit awards for year studied so for 2 completed years would grant (subject to requirements being met) a Diploma of HE so the two years aren't wasted.

Just to say that, regardless of any neurodivergence, many students find their dissertation difficult as it's the first piece of independent, extended research they have done.

I'm not dismissing you son's distress, but it could just be that he's catastrophising about the dissertation, and that what he hands in might not be so bad in the end.

Good to consider options for next year, but it could be that a resit won't be necessary

I know it is possible to get an apprenticeship after leaving a degree part way through, so definitely look into this.