I agree with the need for neuropsychological testing. It will help you figure out what's going on.
You may actually not be missing any links at all. Working memory deficits can strongly correlate with mood issues -- anxiety and depression -- as well as ADHD (according to both my difficult children's neuropsychologists). If your difficult child's moods are not stable, that could account for the "fog." My difficult child 1, who also is very bright but is currently close to failing school, first received an ADHD diagnosis at age 9. Like your difficult child, his diagnosis morphed into a mood disorder that we are now treating as if he has bipolar disorder. He has done well on Lamictal, but the "fog" is still there, largely from depression. We have added a low dose of an AD (Lexapro) and plan to increase it once school lets out in the event it sends him into mania (he has a bad track record with ADs). We strongly believe his working memory deficits will improve once his mood is stabilized.
In your difficult child's case, Abilify is unlikely to do much on its own. Once you get the testing done and know what is what, it may be time to consider a true mood stabilizer (Lamictal, Lithium, Depakote, Tegretol and Trileptal). That may help more than any ADHD medication out there.
