Hi everyone, I haven't posted for a while. I received a lot of help last Christmas when my son left home for four days. Since then my husband and I have been in counseling trying to help him and I've continued to lurk on this list and, as always, appreciate your experience. difficult child is 16 and skateboarding is his life. He's convinced that he is good enough to become a pro-skater and, while it's not entirely impossible, our family doesn't have the means to more to CA or FL or even to an urban area that would faciliate that career choice. He made it through his 10th grade year although just barely. Two months ago he decided rather than droppoing out of school he would graduate early. We spent a lot of time working on a schedule so that could happen. He tried taking an adult ed math class this summer that would have helped graduate early but with a challenging teacher who didn't really teach (more of an independent study) it only cemented his belief that he is stupid and "not a school kid." He's currently determined to drop out of school. What next? There is not a rational bone in his body at this point. Do we let him become homeless? Try to help him skate? Natural consequences? While drugs are not out of the question we really don't believe they are the major factor in this decision, rather, it's his own belief in his abilities combined with a horrible work ethic. My husband and I are exhausted and completely at a loss. We love our therapist but we can use all the help we can get. Do any of you have children who have dropped out? What did life look like in Sept.? Did you keep them home? Kick them out? I can't imagine he'll get a job we live in a rural area and he will be competing with jobless college studetns. Thoughts? Ideas? Thank you.