Beyond High School

Eileen,

Very timely article!

Parents need to keep in mind that children/teens with ADHD are often emotionally and socially younger than their peers and though they may be chronologically old enough to be leaving home for college, many are not developmentally quite there, yet. Thanks for this article and offering great options for the graduating teen.

Terry

Hey Eileen,

Our 20 year old son has ADD, anxiety, or both. We're not sure because he's always done well in school and up until recently hasn't been interested in finding out.

We asked him to take a year off before he went to college. I think it was a good decision. He used that year to work and attend community college. He matured a lot during that year and is getting good grades in his first year at University.

I remember attending a lecture by Russell Barkley, Ph.D. years ago in which he explained that the research at that time indicated that children and adults with ADD are only 70% as mature as their peers at any time in their lifetime. That means a 19 year old has the maturity level of a 13.3 year old.

Also of interest was the result of a recent NIMH study that was summarized at http://www.drthomasebrown.com/. Dr. Brown reports in his current newsletter that "on average, the usual process of cortex thickening and then gradually pruning to develop more efficient circuits, took about 3 years longer in children with ADHD than in controls."

I find it amazing that boys do as well as they do in school given these conditions.

Grandma Lise