Dr. Sylvia Rimm is a child psychologist, clinical professor at Case University School of Medicine, author, newspaper and magazine columnist, and radio/TV personality. Her advice column appears  regularly in 2e Newsletter. You can visit her website at  www.sylviarimm.com.

For a free newsletter about underachievement, send a large, self-addressed, stamped envelope to P.O. Box 32, Watertown, WI, 53094, or read "Solving the Mysterious Underachievement Problem" at  www.sylviarimm.com. 

If you have a question for Dr. Rimm, please send it to: DrSylvia@2eNewsletter.com.

Q

My son is 17 and has been a gifted underachiever since fourth grade. He got a score of 30 on his ACT as a sophomore but is failing in his classes, except Honors Chemistry III and Physics. He’s in danger of not graduating this spring because he fails to turn in classwork or homework, even though he takes the tests and finals and gets A’s. He has a medical diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder, but medication doesn’t work and only causes depression and anorexia.

My repeated visits with teachers and guidance counselors have gotten me nowhere. I find it ridiculous that my son might fail high school because he’s disorganized and can’t focus, even though he knows the material. Please give me some advice about where to go or what to do to help my son.

A

Although I can’t know for certain, it’s possible that your son’s lack of focus comes from the curriculum. If he can earn A’s on tests and exams without doing any homework, it would seem likely that the work isn’t challenging enough. Of course, tests don’t measure everything. For example, report or creative writing isn’t usually assessed with tests; so if he refuses to do those, they could lower his grades in some subjects. There may also be other emotional issues involved in his refusing to do his work. You probably need an advocate who has evaluated your son and knows about gifted education to guide you through this problem.

My book Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades (Crown Publishing, 1995) will be helpful in permitting you to determine if your son is underachieving because the curriculum isn’t appropriate or if he has gotten in some avoidance patterns that can be harmful for him for the remainder of his education. College could resolve his problems, or he could continue his underachievement in college even when curriculum is appropriate. It’s time for further evaluation.

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