Hi. I'm also the parent of a teen son with ADHD, as well as dyslexia and dysgraphia. Michellea has asked some pertinent questions and given you some excellent advice. I'm also wondering how your son's ADHD is being treated, or even IF it's being treated? Does he use medications? If so, what kind of doctor oversees his treatment? While pediatricians are able to write prescriptions, they are not specialists in ADHD or other mental health conditions. It sounds to me like your son would be better seeing a child/adolescent psychiatrist.

Whether you move or not, I would strongly urge you to contact www.chadd.org and see if there is a local parent support chapter in your area. They offer many suggestions and can tell you about good schools and other resources, as well as give you suggestions to help in day-to-day life with an ADHD'er.

I know there are a couple of people from Charlotte who might be able to tell you about high schools there, and I hope they see your post and respond.

Hi anonymous!

I have a 17-year old daughter with ADHD-inattentive and a number of other learning difficulties. She's doing great on ADHD meds--after years of private remediation. She has to work a lot harder than kids without ADHD/LDs, but she is in National Honor Society and is headed to college next year with some academic scholarship money. We also have a 19-year old son who had an IEP for reading comprehension and written expression disorder. He's now in college to become a teacher.

Healthy and michellea have given you good advice about ADHD. Many teenagers complain about school and ignore their assignments. But those problems are even more common with ADHDers. ADHD is not a behavior disorder. It is an information processing disorder. Their brains do not process information the way neurotypical brains do. So punishing an ADHDer for lack of effort, scolding him, or warning him of a dismal future usually has little effect.

As others have said, get the ADHD treated and see if he might have any learning disabilities that he's been hiding all of these years.

I live in Charlotte and my kids have gone to K-12 education here. It is a County-wide school district. Sorry, but there is no great high school with small classes. There are public high schools in higher-wealth neighborhoods with excellent test scores. There are high schools in lower-wealth neighborhoods with lower test scores.

But class sizes are about the same in every high school in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. And sometimes, the lower-performing schools spend more time reinforcing the basics and working with struggling students. Some of the highest-performing high schools seem to have trouble relating to kids with learning difficulties.

But that's a broad generality. There are excellent teachers in every Charlotte-Mecklenburg high school. And there are some lousy teachers, just like everywhere.

I understand the temptation to just pack up and seek a better life. But the grass may not be greener on the other side of the fence. If your son hates school where he is now, he's not likely to love it in Charlotte--unless his ADHD is addressed and he is able to tap into his strengths to find success.

The alternative schools in Charlotte-Mecklenburg are for students who have been expelled because of felony convictions or serious behavioral disruptions.

There are also some public charter high schools in Charlotte. The public charter high schools designed for struggling learners don't have a high percentage of students meeting state requirements for graduation. Better than traditional public schools, but public charters for struggling learners still have very low graduation rates.

However, the weather is wonderful here. Four seasons, but winter is mild and not very long. (I was born in Wisconsin and grew up in Iowa, so Charlotte's climate is a big plus for me!)

Good luck!

You need to be very concerned if he does not like school. You need to look for a boy friendly school. Boys are more likely to drop out of school. Find out what it is he likes and find a school that will accept him. Look up to the statistics for boys. You would be alarmed. They have plenty of online schools and home schooling is an option. Most boys are kinestic learners. They can easily become distracted and that makes single-sex schools a better match.

What reasons did the school give for placing your child in an alternative placement? Has your son received a new IEP recently? I ask this because it would appear your son requires a service he is not receiving in his home school. Could you share more details?