My son had similar test results, but his processing speed isn't as low. His "diagnosis" was Non-verbal Learning Disorder ... which seems to cover a wide range of things that don't fit into other more common diagnoses. Medications were never recommended in our case. Luckily he has an incredible memory, so he is able to do well on school tests, but he loses points on basic assignments that he avoids doing. Regarding quack doctors ... one of the first docs we saw was a top, long term guy at Mass General. He was close to retiring. He met with my son for a whopping 10 minutes and wrote out a prescription for medication. I walked out of there and would have ripped up the prescription if my DH didn't stop me! From there we found the Hallowell Center where they did the extensive testing and suggested ways to help DS. As I said, no other doc has ever suggested medication. I'm very glad I didn't listen to that first "expert".

Here are some of the ones I've used in the past: Teriyaki Chicken Ingredients for Cooking Day: * Chicken- you can use any chicken parts that you like for this recipe: breast, legs, thighs, wings or a mixture! * 1/4 cup water * 1 small piece of fresh ginger, crushed * 1 tsp. garlic salt * 1 cup soy sauce * 1/4 cup brown sugar * 1/4 cup white wine Directions for Cooking Day: Put raw chicken in a freezer bag. Combine rest of ingredients and pour over chicken. Freeze. Ingredients for Serving Day: * Sesame seeds to taste Directions for Serving Day: Defrost chicken mixture. Cook this any way that works best for you. Sometimes during the summer we will grill the chicken and other times I will cook it in the oven. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before cooking. I usually do about 30 minutes at 425. Cook until chicken is completely cooked through. Wine and Herb Chicken Marinade Ingredients for Cooking Day: * 2/3 cup white wine * 1 tsp. tarragon * 1/4 tsp. rosemary * 1/4 tsp. thyme * 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil * 1 Tbsp. minced garlic * Chicken (this will marinade 2 1/2 - 3 lbs.) Directions for Cooking Day: Combine all ingredients. Put chicken pieces in a freezer bag. Pour Marinade over the pieces. Put in freezer. Directions for Serving Day: Completely thaw chicken and marinade. Cook on grill. Chicken Paprikash Ingredients for Cooking Day: * 3 lbs. chicken, cut up * 2 cups sour cream * 2 cups chicken broth * 3 cloves garlic, minced * 2 Tbsp. flour * 3 cans tomato soup * 1 Tbsp. parsley flakes * 1 large onion coasely chopped * 2 Tbsp. olive oil Ingredients for Serving Day: * Noodles Directions for Cooking Day: Fry chicken until lightly browned. Add the onions and garlic and cook until onions are tender. Add tomato soup and sour cream. Heat chicken broth and add the flour. Combine to chicken mixture and add parsley. Cool completely and freeze using freezer bag. Directions for Serving Day: Defrost completely. Cook on med. low heat for approximately 1 hour or until chicken is completely cooked. Serve over noodles. Pull Apart Cinnamon Apple Rolls Ingredients: * 4 packages cans refrigerated biscuit dough (7.5 oz) * 3 cups white sugar * .25 cup ground cinnamon * .5 cup melted butter * .5 cups chopped pecans * .5 cups applesauce * 1 cups apples, peeled and diced Directions: Lightly grease an 8×8 deep dish pan. In a large zippered bag, mix together 2 cups sugar, cinnamon and apples. Open biscuits and cut each biscuit into 4 pieces. Put the biscuit pieces into the mixture, and shake/mix, until they are all completely coated. Add in the applesauce and shake until covered again. Arrange in pans. Stir pecans and 1 cup sugar into the melted butter. Pour butter mixture evenly over the pan. Bake at 375F for 45 minutes, until top is golden brown. Freezing Directions: Cover with foil and freeze BEFORE baking (ie do not bake). To serve: Thaw. Bake at 375F for 45 minutes, until top is golden brown. Orange Chicken * 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts; cut into bite size chunks * Orange Sauce: * 1 1/2 c. water * 2 Tbsp orange juice * 1/4 c. lemon juice * 1/3 c. rice vinegar * 2 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce * 1 Tbsp grated orange zest * 1 c. packed brown sugar * 1/2 tsp minced ginger * 1/2 tsp minced garlic * 2 Tbsp green onion; chopped * 3 dried pepper pods/ dried red chili peppers * 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes * (added later) * 3 Tbsp cornstarch * 2 Tbsp water * Sesame seeds for garnish (optional) Pour water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium- high heat. Stir in orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, pepper pods, green onions and red pepper flakes. When mix comes to a boil remove from head and let cool for about 10 to 15 minutes. Place chicken in a zip lock bag and pour 1 cup of the sauce in with the chicken. Try to get out as much air as possible so that the chicken is fully submerged in the sauce. Let the chicken marinate at least 2 hours or freeze at this point. If you can do it over night then that is even better. Store the rest of the sauce in the frigerator as well. Thaw frozen packet overnight. Pour about 2 Tbsp of oil on the bottom of a skillet over medium heat, just enough so that the chicken won't stick to the bottom of the pan. Place the chicken in the skillet and cook until brown on both sides. It is ok if the chicken isn't fully cooked. Once the chicken is browned take it out of the skillet. Wipe out the skillet to get the chicken residue off of it. Add the sauce into the skillet and bring it to a boil over medium- high heat. Mix together the cornstarch and water and stir the mix into the sauce. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the chicken into the skillet. Simmer for about 5 minutes stirring occassionally. Taco Soup Recipe Ingredients: * 2 pounds ground beef * 1.25 cups onion, diced * 15.5 ounces kidney beans (undrained) * 15.5 ounces black beans (undrained) * 15.5 ounces pinto beans (undrained) * 15.5 ounces canned corn, drained * 10 ounces canned green tomatoes with chilies (Ro-Tel) * 1 packages Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning * 1 packages taco seasoning * 16 ounces tomato sauce Directions: Brown hamburger and onion; drain. Place ingredients in a slow cooker. Cook for 3-5 hours on high or until heated through. Top with sour cream, cheese, and/or jalapenos, if desired. Freezing Directions: Let cool; divide among 2 gallon freezer bags. Freeze. To serve: Reheat on stove top or in microwave for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Top with sour cream, cheese, and/or jalapenos, if desired. Mustard Marinated Chicken Breasts Ingredients: 1/4 c. Dijon Mustard 1/4 c. Soy Sauce (lower sodium) 1/4 c. Lemon Juice 1/2 tsp. Thyme 3/4 tsp. Basil 1/2 tsp. Parsley 1/8 tsp. Sage 6 Chicken Breasts Assembly: Mix mustard, soy sauce & lemon juice and pour over chicken. Sprinkle spices over meat. Freeze in Ziploc freezer bag or let marinade for several hours in fridge. Serving Day: Thaw. Grill or bake @ 350 for 25 minutes or until chicken is done.

There are many great ideas. The challenge is what have they already accumulated, how much space do they have. College students become experts at storage in small spaces..but still space is usually very limited. Where as the latest appliance may be GREAT in theory, if said student isn't going to use it, it has no business taking up prime real-estate. I might be more likely to wait a week or two and send a box of homemade cookies/snacks. Colleges today are making a side business of offering parents the ability to order pre-made care packages around finals and holidays. I would be likely to tuck in a tiny something that announces the holiday coming up...but I like my world festive. My son, now graduated, is DETERMINED to give and receive only consumable gifts. Life as a college student taught him to keep things minimal.

My youngest is graduating with his B.S. next month. He is a very smart kid but some of his decisions leave me scratching my head. Instead of looking for an internship his junior year he worked for the IT Department at his school in a position that is limited to current students. We suggested he consider an internship, he said not necessary. I think that after the fact he wished that he had gone the internship route, when he saw friends getting hired at the companies where the interned. He just started looking for a job last month. Earlier he was involved in a huge project, then he took forever to get his resume together. Now with Covid-19 very few people are hiring. Not sure what he is going to do when he comes home. He is still at school for 3 more weeks. Maybe the right opportunity will present itself, his degree is for Data Analytics and that can be done from home, but there needs to be data to analyze.