By Jeff Copper, MBA, PCC, PCAC, CPCC, ACG – September 8, 2025
For many young adults with ADHD, the transition from high school to college isn’t a leap forward—it’s a stumble into overwhelm. The academic pressure, lack of structure, and sudden independence can quickly derail even the brightest students. That’s why more families are rethinking the default path and considering something powerful: a structured gap year.
But this isn’t about backpacking through Europe or sleeping till noon. A purposeful gap year gives individuals with ADHD time to develop essential life skills, build self-awareness, and discover how they learn, work, and thrive best. It’s a pause for real-world practice—like managing time, budgeting money, navigating interpersonal relationships, and identifying passions or interests that might shape future goals.
For someone with ADHD, this breathing room can be transformative. Without the looming stress of term papers or finals, they have the space to learn from mistakes without academic penalties and to experience small wins that build confidence.
Colleges increasingly recognize the value of a gap year—and so should we. It’s not a delay. It’s an investment in long-term success. So, if your ADHD teen seems lost in the noise of “what’s next,” consider helping them press pause. A gap year might be the most forward-thinking step they ever take.
To learn more, please check out my podcast, ADHD Gap Year Before College: The Good the Bad, and the Ugly, on Attention Talk Radio for my interview of Marie Paxson, mother of two grown children with ADHD. She spent years as an advocate for those living with ADHD and has been instrumental in CHADD’s work to influence federal policy. In the interview she shares the good, the bad, and the ugly based on her experience with her son who took a gap year or two.