@IxnayBob, thanks for the encouragement. It’s not as this guy can’t write; a journalist friend of ours says “he has some real writing chops.” Academic writing? He freezes, like I do when confronted with any math beyond basic operations (S16 took linear algebra and multi variable calculus in high school). He got a D in AP English, but a 4 on the exam. We made a mistake assuming he was slacking when there could be a disability in play.
The weird thing is that his biggest weakness is his younger brother’s biggest strength. This kid has an A in AP English.