Her intense, restless son harnessed ADHD by climbing mountains (Michelle’s story)
Marc-André Leclerc was a skilled rock climber and alpinist who died at age 25 in the mountains of Alaska. He’s the subject of a Netflix documentary, “The Alpinist.” Marc-André was diagnosed with ADHD and written expression disorder as a child. Through climbing, he found an outlet for his intensity and hyperfocus — and his achievements were nothing short of extraordinary. Marc-André's mother, Michelle Kuipers, homeschooled him and helped him learn to channel his ADHD. Michelle joins the show to talk about her son and her approach to parenting a child with ADHD. She shares how Marc-André would be more panicked about renewing a passport than about climbing mountains alone and without ropes. Listen as Michelle describes Marc-André’s loving and generous spirit and how she wants her son to be remembered. Understood is a nonprofit and social impact organization dedicated to shaping a world where the 1 in 5 people who learn and think differently can thrive. Learn more about “ADHD Aha!” and all our podcasts at u.org/podcasts. Copyright © 2022 Understood for All, Inc. All rights reserved. Understood is not affiliated with any pharmaceutical company.
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Show Notes
Marc-André Leclerc was a skilled rock climber and alpinist who died at age 25 in the mountains of Alaska. He’s the subject of a Netflix documentary, The Alpinist. Marc-André was diagnosed with ADHD and written expression disorder as a child. Through climbing, he found an outlet for his intensity and hyperfocus — and his achievements were nothing short of extraordinary.
Marc-André's mother, Michelle Kuipers, homeschooled him and helped him learn to channel his ADHD. Michelle joins the show to talk about her son and her approach to parenting a child with ADHD. She shares how Marc-André would be more panicked about renewing a passport than about climbing mountains alone and without ropes.
Listen as Michelle describes Marc-André’s loving and generous spirit and how she wants her son to be remembered.
To find a transcript for this episode and more resources, visit the episode page at Understood.
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Related resources
- 8 things I wish people knew about parenting a child with ADHD
- Understanding hyperactivity
- Video: Race car driver Dusty Davis talks about his ADHD
Listen to Everyone Gets a Juice Box, a new podcast from Understood.org where host Jessica Shaw has honest talks with parents raising kids who learn and think differently.
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