... ADHD and dysgraphia.... failing social studies (which should be an easy class) because he hasn't been turning in his homework regularly... teacher thinks he's a slacker...
Is the teacher aware of his ADHD and dysgraphia?... are there supports in place in school? ... is there support to remind him to turn in his work? ... to help him to complete his work?
he'd like to apply for some accelerated programs in high school. Our school district has many. He certainly has the ability to learn the material, but I'm not sure he has the maturity to handle regular high school, much less an accelerated program. Should I allow him to apply anyway? How can I help him mature?
The issue may not be maturity, it may be ADHD... yes, let him apply... explain that his performance this year may need to be improved... investigate supports in the school.
How can I help him mature?
In general, people mature when they are responsible for their own decisions/successes/failures and are held accountable. There was a recent thread by another poster on the subject of developing resiliency, the thread is called "When being set up to fail is a good thing", and the OP linked to an interesting article.
