My 12 year old son is doing fairly well in 6th grade, considering his disabilities. He was classified back in 1st grade as ADD through the school district, with mild sensory/motor issues. At that time, I elected to hold him back in 1st grade, so he could catch up on basic skills. He also received OT & Adaptive Gym through the school, to help with fine & gross motor issues (e.g. practicing handwriting, throwing a ball).
After a year, they felt he didn’t need these services anymore and discontinued them.. Once they discontinued the only special services he had gotten, they declassified him. Upon declassifying him, they stated in writing on his declassification papers (at my request) that he was entitled to extra time on tests if necessary. At that time, this was all he really needed.
He has always been in mainstream classes and he’s gotten by pretty well. He does take stimulant medication on school days, which helps. Although he was never tested specifically for “dysgraphia” it’s obvious he has it. I asked the school district months ago if he could get modifications (under a 504 Plan) that would allow him to be graded on the content of his work, not the spelling and grammar. The school said if it became necessary, they would start a 504 Plan for him, without any difficulty and without further testing.
As it turns out, most of the middle school teachers understand my son’s writing issues and haven’t counted spelling/grammar on tests - except in the case of a spelling test or in Spanish class. Obviously, in these cases, the content of the tests ARE spelling and grammar, so the teachers can’t simply discount them.
In the case of Spanish, this is becoming a serious problem. My son has a very hard time even memorizing the Spanish vocabulary words. But then to write them out in full sentences, in Spanish, is nearly impossible for him. He still can’t write perfect sentences in English, much less a foreign language. The Spanish teacher has told me that if my son were to have a formal 504 Plan or an IEP, she could be more lenient on grading him.
Based upon this issue and what the Spanish teacher told me, I asked the school guidance counseler again recently about giving my son a 504, for the purpose of foreign language. Her response was that his grades are too high in all his subjects to warrant a 504.
So what do I do? Do I have the legal right to demand a 504 Plan even though my son is not actually failing courses at this point? Or do I demand that he be formally re-evaluated through the district, for the purposes of getting him a 504? I think it’s pathetic that until he starts failing, they won’t take his disabilities seriously. But I had the same problem getting him classified years back, so I’m not surprised. Thanks for any suggestions you can give me.
Re: Need advice on how to help 12 year old with ADD, mild mo
Your son sounds similar to my 6th grader who is in reg.ed also and we have found the teachers offer informal accomodations that meet his needs. He can’t spell and his prininting is not great. I don’t know if ADD alone is enough of a label to meet the requirements of a 504; on this site look at LD in Depth, Legal and Legislative and see. My son will have to take Spanish next year and in 8th, and we are just going to see what happens. If he fails(which is quite likely), he’ll just have to start with Spanish as a freshman. We know that one failure in a foreign language won’t keep him from being promoted(he’s an A student otherwise), and quite a few kids change languages in high school and start over anyway.
Re: that is a tall order
Unfortunately you got here a little too late and Ball is no longer here. Ball could have come up with a solution. In leiu of Ball’s wisdom I will try to advise you.
If he needs a certain number of credits to pass and graduate maybe they will allow him to take the Spanish class as a non-credit course and they can arrange some sort of independent study that could count for credit. I jest. Doing something as kind nad as simple as that is beyond the scope of educators. Those anal retentives would need to make a federal case of something that simple.
I sure wish Ball was here. He would know exactly what to do.
Re: Need advice on how to help 12 year old with ADD, mild mo
Hi,
There is another choice for foreign language for High School students. There is an acredited language camp where the student goes for 4 weeks during the summer and gets a years High School credit. My son is dysgraphic and he did not do well in 8th grade in Spanish. A one point he had an F. Part of the problem was his not puting in the effort and the other part was the teacher was very anal. We sent him to Concordia Langauage Camp for two weeks last summer. It is an immersion program. He is doing fine this year as a 9th grader Spanish but we are putting him on the waiting list to complete his second year of spanish this summer at the camp. The camp is more based on oral then written language. It is important to make sure that the High School will accept the credit. Our high school does. If a student was to take 2nd year at camp and then wants to advance to third year our High School would want to test and make sure that the student is prepared. If a student is only taking two years then their is no problem. I have heard that it is popular with LD students and they would go two summers in a row. The cost is about $2500 for the four weeks.
We considered sending my son to Spain for three weeks and he said he would perfer to get the credit at the camp.
http://www.concordialanguagevillages.org/index2.html
Helen
Re: Need advice on how to help 12 year old with ADD, mild mo
Did you also know that American Sign Language is considered a foreign language? Can your son take that at your school? or jr. college?
Could you opt for a different elective, such as music or band until 9th grade?
Re: Need advice on how to help 12 year old with ADD, mild mo
You’ve had the advice to wait until high school. Well, just as in reading, waiting won’t make it go away. And with all the other stresses in high school, this is not a good time to start a subject you find particularly difficult.
I do not know the law exactly— check with Wrightslaw and talk to socks and see socks’s old posts where she has published the appropriate legal wordings — but I’m pretty sure there is no flat statement that failure is a prerequisite for modifications. Your school (surprise, surprise) is misinterpreting.
Getting a 504 is one thing.
For another approach from the opposite tack, Spanish phonics is much more regular than English. And once you know the rules, Spanish grammar is more predictable. How about getting him a tutor, if possible a native Spanish speaker with some experience teaching (may not have US credentials, but that isn’t your problem) or college grad with major in languages, and having him taught reading and writing in Spanish, as well as vocabulary and grammar, from the ground up? Not just doing his homework, but getting a good Spanish text and working through it. Not only would he get Spanish class much better, but it would also feed back and help him understand his English better. I am doing something similar to this with four students here in French, and it is working.
In his case, perhaps 8th grade is too young for introducing a foreign language. My ADD-inattentive son is in 11th grade, and he is still struggling in Spanish, he isn’t getting it as quickly as his brother also ADHD but was gifted in reading and learning languages.
You have every right to demand a 504, and that is where you should start. With my ADHD/CAPD daughter who is going into 9th grade, she isn’t doing a foreign language until 10th grade and then it will be sign language as it is visual and it will be easier for her to master.