I have a 32 year-old son living with me. When he was tiny, I called him, "Sunny Jim." Absolutely no fear of anyone, no night terrors, always so very happy and well-behaved, loved by everybody instantly. He seemed quite precocious and dearly loved any machinery; I still have a video of him digging a giant hole with my backhoe on my farm, three years old and alone on the machine - so small that he had to stand behind the levers to operate them, rather than sitting on the seat.

Once he reached school age, it was a very different thing. He was very disruptive in school, with almost zero impulse control; a classroom observer's report related that the most amazing thing was that the other children could get anything done at all. He was eventually diagnosed with ADHD, and after more than a year of resisting, we put him on medication. As is the usual case, his behavior improved, but his grades did not.

He tested IQ 118 all across the board - basically high normal. His "splinter skills," we called them - such as self-taught computer programming - were nothing less than spectacular, but if he had no interest in a subject, he could not pass.

Fast forward. He is now 32, has never been able to hold a job, and lives with me. I'm working to get him out in the workforce, but secondarily planning long-term support for when I'm gone. (I just turned seventy.)

There IS an answer for this. What is it?