My adopted son is now 19. He is diagnosed with NVLD, anxiety disorder, and Dyscalculia. He dropped out of high school. Public school was the worst place for him. They gave him a B- in Algebra when literally he can't make change for a dollar. He was bullied relentlessly. He has never had even one friend, not one. He agreed to finish high school either online or get a GED. He has not followed through after about 8 months. I got him an apartment simply because our house is a disaster when he lives here. He is making slow progress learning to function on his own. We help him clean once a week, but his place always looks like a tornado hit it. He had a job at a restaurant. They loved him, but he quit because the seating chart was too confusing and one of the staff told him he should know this by now. He loved bussing tables and helping the waitresses serve food. It only took one comment. He has always loved drag. He has obsessed over it for years. He has learned on his own how to style wigs, do make-up, and dress. He often dresses in drag and goes to local ale houses when they have events. He has even done some stand-up comedy. He now has a goal of drag as a profession. He lip-sinks and does routines he makes up. He is very good at the makeup and dressing, not so much with the lipsinking. I have agreed to bring him to a pride festival if he gets services to help him clean, and either does school or works. I don't agree with his career path, I think it invites more negativity. He is a very likable young man, but he just does not know how to do relationships. My wife and I are trying to have him less dependent on us and more on himself. It is difficult talking to him about his responsibilities. He gets defensive and usually checks out of the conversation. We are trying to let him struggle some so he will get tired of his situation and apply himself more. It is an almost impossible balance, at least we feel that way. Asberger Experts lessons are very helpful, but often difficult to execute. Can anyone relate?

Posted by davidelize at 2024-05-12 15:22:03 UTC