Finding the Right Fit for a Struggling Undiagnosed LD Student Abroad

A young woman of 17 moved to a remote location for what would have been her senior year of high school. She had never lived overseas before, and her school only offered the International Baccalaureate program. Therefore, she was put back a year to start the IB curriculum. She was miserable, and things finally reached a crisis point mid-year. She came back to the U.S. for a thorough evaluation and was found to have an undiagnosed learning disability that had never been addressed, as well as anxiety and depression. Instead of going back to the school overseas, which was clearly inappropriate for her needs, I worked every contact I had to quickly find her a placement in a small, supportive all-girl’s school that had a good learning support center. Her problems did not magically disappear, but she did make great progress and was much happier in her new setting.