: Friends,: My wife and I have routinely found woderful advice from this site. We
: again request some help. Our 18 year old ADD son will graduate
: this summer from a boarding school in Utah. We have looked into
: college and, most recently, have investigated “time off
: ” programs since our son decided he would like to get a taste
: of the world before going to college. The reality is that it seems
: he really isn’t ready for either college or a year of life
: experience. He simply can’t get a grip on the issues that ADD
: presents and doesn’t seem to really have a full understanding of
: how to utilize available resources/coping tools (despite our
: efforts to educate him on these matters). He is not necessarily
: unwilling to deal, he simply wants to “be normal” and do
: “normal things.” As parents, we have come to the
: realization that he will never be able to fully enjoy any of his
: many options until he comes to terms with the ADD and embraces the
: many tools available to him to maximize his opportunities.
: Therefore, we are now looking for an ADD life skills immersion
: program that will provide him with a full awareness of the
: diagnosis and then teach him the “tricks of the trade.”
: Once this has been successfully completed, we believe he will be
: better prepared to reach for his goals. Has anyone found such a
: program? We live in the DC area but have no issue with
: opportunities elsewhere (and, in fact, feel it is in his best
: interest to live away from us since we frequently get caught up in
: rescuing behavior). Thanks for any suggestions. Ward