ADHD + Honors/AP Classes

[Anonymous]

Our DS with ADHD, anxiety and depression will be heading into high school next year. He is intelligent, but can be his own worst enemy when it comes to turning in homework and going the extra mile with filling out his assignments. How does your ADHD child in advanced classes handle the schoolwork? Do they melt down or struggle with the workload or stress of learning complex topics at an accelerated pace? I'm trying to figure out if DS can mentally and emotionally handle being in advanced classes.

[Anonymous]

My very high IQ child with ADHD and depression completely fell apart and ultimately ended up hospitalized. (He did not actually suffer from depression until high school, so that was new for us to deal with). The ER doctor told me that it is very common to see a lot of boys starting around November who develop mental health issues due to the heavy school obligations. I don't know if that is true, it's just what he told me. The classes don't slow down and in fact have such higher requirements than MSers are used to. And, if you fall behind within the first weeks, it is almost impossible to catch up.

If the only issue is turning in the work, not keeping up with it, then he might be fine. But, if he requires extra time and is, say, slow in writing, it is extremely difficult.

FWIW, I regret to this day that I signed that paper allowing honors and AP classes for my son. I don't know if we would have avoided the crises we faced, but I know for sure that the obligations at school were the trigger for major mental health issues.

[Anonymous]

My daughter has ADHD/Anxiety/Depression. She can handle the concepts and the material. What she struggles with is time management and planning. Since she is home this year, I am working with her planning out how long her assignments will take including time for revisions, blocking time off for sports/friends, etc.

I taught her how to make a 3 month at a glance calendar and now she is responsible for adding assignments in future months. I review her assignments with her 2x/week and we discuss what was missed and what is coming up next.

The work itself she can do. It’s just trying to figure out when/how to plan that is challenging for her.

[Anonymous]

I don’t put my ADHD child though that. High school is hard enough without piling on.

[Anonymous]

My kids are younger but will matters a lot. Does your son actually want the advanced classes?

[Anonymous]

My DS with the same trifecta who was always very high achieving also completely fell apart in high school. I would avoid advanced classes. That was the beginning of the avalanche for him.

[Anonymous]

My DS was placed into 3 honors classes in a Catholic HS based on test scores on the HSPT. He had to drop down to 1 honors course this year because it was just too much work. The work wasn't mentally difficult but the amount of it was just too much to juggle for him. I think he could handle two of them but we will see about next year. He has to get a 90 or above in the regular class to move up to honors.

[Anonymous]

DD finished HS with with some kind of AP scholar award. She took one AP class in 9th grade + meds and therapy.

[Anonymous]

My ADHD child with anxiety got accommodations in a 504 plan. Time and a half for tests, class notes from the teacher (although all the kids could ask for these), and some other things. Excelled in the classes and got enough AP credit to graduate college in 3 years.

[Anonymous]

Don't make the mistake many parents make with too hard a schedule. The schedule in it's entirety is too difficult to manage. Parents will point to each individual subject and insists their child can handle that level, that honors/AP is the appropriate level. True. But put all together, it's not appropriate.

[Anonymous]

My son is doing pretty well with honors classes but he is highly motivated to be able to pick where he goes to college. Throughout middle school he more avoided work but now he's pulled it together. I think it just depends on your child

[Anonymous]

I have two children who totally have the emotional maturity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have two children who totally have the emotional maturity

So sorry — I accidentally hit send. Anyway, I have two children who totally have the emotional maturity, intellectual maturity, mental stamina and calmness, and organizational abilities to do all AP work. One of them is not quite at the intellectual level to do that work – mainly because it has inquires an incredible quickness in writing pace and quickness in identifying intellectual connections in arguments in the reading. But if the second of these two kids wanted to take up this challenge I would totally be fine with it, because he has the organizational skills and calmness. My point is, if the stress is your kid out – forget it! They cannot handle it.

[Anonymous]

Meds, 504 (extra time) and an exec function coach once a week. The first time she had him dump out his backpack, I nearly died -- you wouldn't believe the crap that was in there!

He is now in college and doing just fine. She taught him how to be orgainized, something school, and we, had been unsuccessful at for a long time.

Your need your child to learn this skill for HS, college, a future job and family, and this is their last chance to learn! Do not keep bright kids out of top level classes - mine had about 14 of them when he graduated.

Ask the school counselor, friends, neighbors, etc for referrals - best money we ever unvested, because our son ended up with more than 5 times what we spent on the exec function coach in merit aid from a top college.

[Anonymous]

Is he medicated? That could make all of the difference.