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.

To find a transcript for this episode and more resources, visit
the episode page at Understood. 

We love hearing from our listeners. Email us at
ADHDAha@understood.org. 

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



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