Update on my DS

it has been a turbulent year or two but just thought it would be a good time to say hi and give an update. The boys and I came back from overseas a year and a half ago, and my older DS (now 17) had a tough time reintegrating into high school here in the US. We tried a variety of things to deal with his depression and anxiety, but he continued to struggle. Interestingly, some testing we had done last September showed that his processing speed has increased dramatically. Testing ,moderately gifted at 134, Verbal IQ scores more along the lines of 145 or higher. the psychologist didn't think the score was quite right, as DS refused to do some of the math questions that needed to be written down (like multiplying by pi). His nonverbal scores while still in the average and high average range, were still lower enough that it causes him a lot of problems with social cues, and give him a nonverbal profile without the learning disability. All of this has translated into a lot of frustration and anger in school and at home, focus issues, problems doing homework or setting goals, and a real self esteem issue. He applied to and was accepted in Evergreen State, in Washington, but it was hard to see him being ready to be on his own. Things came to a head this past fall, and we decided to have him take a break from high school and attend a wilderness program. He was there for about ten weeks and it was a great decision. As he left, he announced that he was leaving with a new look, a new attitude and a new future. Last week we took him down to a therapeutic boarding school in Costa Rica, a small program with a terrific focus on experiential learning. classes are combined with group living, an integrated therapy program, community service, and frequent hiking, rafting,etc trips. We have our fingers crossed that he will thrive but we are finally feeling at peace. Luckily for us, he has been a fairly willing partner in all this. He did want to come home after the wilderness program, but the novelty of going back to Latin America cushioned that disappointment. Robin