Trials and Tribulations (Part 22)- College Move In Day

After careful thought and deliberation, I thought others would find this interesting about our battle with Asperger Syndrome. If anyone would like to post about their trials and tribulations, please leave a link so we can read your story. :)

This is written in the third person.


Moving into a dorm resembles a Chinese fire drill. UMBC is no exception. Universities try to make it a smooth transition, but even with all the well-intentioned planning, it still is utter chaos. Each university has its own rules and Arrival Unloading Guidelines are strictly enforced and parking regulations are maintained. At UMBC students are sent an Assignment Packet during the summer where move-in times are listed. While the student goes in to complete check-in and obtain a room key, parents and others who have accompanied the student need to begin unloading the items out of the car. After all items have been removed from the car, someone must stay with the belongings while the driver moves the car to the proper parking area. Cars cannot be left unattended and violators will be ticketed and towed. When the student comes back with their key, they begin moving their belongings into their room while someone stays with the items that are left at the curb. According to UMBC, twenty minutes should allow just enough time to pull into a space, unload items and then move your car.

When M’s mother moved into a dorm at FSU, she arrived a day late and around noon. Move-in started at 9 a.m. the day before and most of the students had already moved in to their rooms and were exploring the campus with their parents. This strategy probably kept the monumental ordeal from becoming a nightmare. She found the dorm not crowded or busy and the process of moving into her room was therefore easy and calm. M’s parents wanted to use the same tactic to move M into his dorm to avoid mass confusion and headache by arriving around 1 PM, but move-in times at UMBC are assigned and strictly enforced.

The family anticipated quite an ordeal Saturday morning and arrived 15 minutes early when they pulled up to the dorm. They were checked in immediately and given a large cart to load all of M’s belongings in. While M’s father parked the car in the stadium parking lot, M and his mother wheeled the cart to the elevator and unloaded it in the dorm room. Move in was therefore orchestrated flawlessly and done within minutes.

After M was moved in, they ate lunch at the campus dining hall, True Grits. The first meal on the student meal plan was brunch and families could purchase lunch at True Grit's for a buy one, get one ½ off discount.

Later they toured the dorm and acclimated M to his new surroundings. He made sure he had and understood all fire drill info, knew where all the facilities were and how to use them, and met all essential personnel at the dorm. Parents left around 2 PM and stayed at a nearby hotel (the whole family spent the night there the night before due to living so far away from UMBC and needing to move-in M at his designated time). M chilled for a bit and then went to his Welcome Week activities.

Sunday morning his parents picked him up for church and later they went to brunch at True Grits. Afterwards they picked up his books at the bookstore that he ordered online during the summer and M put them away. M had more Welcome Week activities and his parents left around 2 PM.

Monday was Returning Students Move In Day. Since M was a transfer student, they were scheduled to move in two days before with the Freshmen. The family anticipated absolute chaos to ensue with such a large number of students moving, but they were surprised that it was not the case. Like Saturday, it was well organized and disorder was minimal.

Each morning when M’s parents met with him M said that he had missed them. His parents kept reassuring him that once classes start he would be busy and hopefully he would make some friends. At that time, M had not made any friends even with all the Welcome Week activities that he participated in.

Monday morning M and his parents walked through his schedule visiting the classroom on campus. Later M went by himself and met with SSS about signing up for tutoring. Just before M’s parents left for home they finally saw his roommate (they share a common room together). After observing the roommate for less than a minute (that is all they saw of him) M’s mother thinks he is on the spectrum as well and predicts they will have little if any conversation or personal interaction at all. NOTE: M finally saw his roommate again Thursday morning and neither one said a word.

There were no tears shed when the parents finally departed for home at 11:45 AM. By that time they were driving each other nuts.

Tuesday at 7 PM was a mandatory floor meeting (M’s roommate was not there) where M met the people on his floor and dorm rules and procedures were addressed. Explanation of what forms that need to be filled out and when they were due was also brought up. They were told that every resident must complete a Suite Condition Report (SCR) upon moving into their room. SCRs are forms used to document the condition of the room and its furnishings when students take occupancy. If you do not complete the SCR form, you will not be able to contest damage or room condition when you check out of your space at the end of the year. Residents are responsible for damage/loss to their bedroom area or its furnishings, as well as damage/loss in those areas common to the particular room/suite/apartment. Students who violate environmental policies may also be billed in addition to being subject to judicial action. During Move In Day M's parents made sure they made a list of what was damaged in his room and common area so M could use it to help him fill out the SCR form later.

M was also told about the Roommate Agreement/Contract. This tool will help M and his roommates establish living expectations for the year. Having all the rules written up enables the student to visually see what they must do and helps ASD individuals learn how to get along with others which is something they need to do independently throughout their lives. The Roommate Agreement/Contract would be thoroughly discussed, filled out, signed, and all required persons given a copy. Since M had already discussed and filled out a mock Roommate Agreement/Contract with his mother at home, he was familiar with them and he could use his sample to help him fill out the UMBC Roommate Agreement/Contract with his roommates.

M has a suite (consisting of 4 single rooms, shared bath and two small entry areas) and his other 2 roommates happen to be one of the Desk Staff personnel and the RA of his floor. Desk Staff are resident students who operate the desks. They check resident IDs and register guests (in the halls), distribute spare keys for lock outs, sort mail, and perform a variety of other important jobs. M’s mother assumes these individuals were probably handpicked by Resident Life for M and his nonexistent roommate for support and to assist them whenever needed. They probably will have to help them fill out the Suite Condition Report and Roommate Agreement/Contract since M and his roommate do not communicate or interact with each other.