Duke TIP?

[AustinMommyofThree]

Yup. DS10 is in 5th grade. My biggest concern right now is him remembering to take his ADHD meds while there. He‘s gone to sleep away camp for 3 years running and done well but the staff there reminds him to see the nurse for his meds if he forgets. I’m going to discuss this with his psychologist.

We have an absent-minded professor as well, and like other camps she does (and like the ones your son does), they have a full-time nurse on duty who manages medications for the students. Not to be glib, but from the looks of the medication check-in line each of the past years, this is a group whose parents do not shy away from medication.

 

[okeydokey]

You have to turn in the meds to staff and they administer so no worries.

 

[tcufrog]

That's good to know. The website says that it's the student's responsibility to go to whoever administers the medicine to take it. Is that true? If a child forgets will there not be any reminders? My son's ADHD is severe in the morning though before he takes his medicine and so I have to make sure he takes his medicine. I worry that he will not remember to take it on his own.

 

[AustinMommyofThree]

That's good to know. The website says that it's the student's responsibility to go to whoever administers the medicine to take it. Is that true? If a child forgets will there not be any reminders? My son's ADHD is severe in the morning though before he takes his medicine and so I have to make sure he takes his medicine. I worry that he will not remember to take it on his own.

My daughter says her counselors reminded her and all of her friends every day and they'd go as a group. She takes a medicine that would be easier to forget for a few days, because the symptoms won't come back for several days if she does, but she claims it was never an issue there.

 

[blana]

Texas has a similar program to NCSSM
called TAMS which takes place at UNT. I don’t plan to send him for several reasons including the fact that I don’t want to lose him that early and because I want him to get a more well rounded education. My dh is an engineer. The university he attended has a liberal arts core curriculum that all students must take. He thinks that was good for him and wants the same for our sons even if they pursue STEM careers.

While I understand not wanting to lose him early, I'd look carefully at the program before deciding not to send him due to the well-rounded education. One of NCSSM's star graduates is Rhiannon Giddens, who has been known to credit her time at NCSSM for helping further her musically. ( https://www.ncssm.edu/news/2017/10/11/rhiannon-giddens-95-receives-macarthur-foundation-genius-grant if you don't know who that is.) The humanities and arts programs are top notch, much better than at most regular high schools. I'd say most students came out MORE rounded (if that makes sense) than they were upon entering the school.

 

[MomofKatie]

While I understand not wanting to lose him early, I'd look carefully at the program before deciding not to send him due to the well-rounded education. One of NCSSM's star graduates is Rhiannon Giddens, who has been known to credit her time at NCSSM for helping further her musically. ( https://www.ncssm.edu/news/2017/10/11/rhiannon-giddens-95-receives-macarthur-foundation-genius-grant if you don't know who that is.) The humanities and arts programs are top notch, much better than at most regular high schools. I'd say most students came out MORE rounded (if that makes sense) than they were upon entering the school.

I concur! My DD gained a lot from her 2 years at NCSSM, much of it in the area considered "humanities". The junior year class called American Studies is a combination of American Literature and American History- she learned so much in that class! Her writing improved immensely- in her home high school, she was graded against the other kids, not the quality of her own work, so she always got near-perfect scores, even with problematic errors. At NCSSM, she was graded against the ideal and her writing improved as a result.

The arts are well represented at high-achieving STEM schools! The dean of the music department at NCSSM, Phillip Riggs, won the Grammy Music Educator of the year in 2016.

State magnet STEM schools, either residential or day schools, are well worth the effort to get into!