Showing Impact of ADHD on Educ. Performance

: I would be surprised if they would count the fact that this teacher gives retests as evidence of her need for special education. Retests, even the same test, are not unheard of and some even consider giving a retest to children as appropriate.Let’s think about this a bit. Are these good tests to be taking? Do they ask appropriately challenging questions? If they do, it may be that seeing the test once actually helped this child to learn the material. If so, wouldn’t that be the point? Aren’t children in the best of all possible worlds, supposed to learn the material even if it takes them a little longer? How does this child get the answers right on the retest unless she has actually learned the material?I would be surprised that any 4th grader, having seen a test once, could remember all the questions, go home, and look up all the answers. In fact, if this 4th grader is doing that, she deserves to pass the retest. That kind of motivation and effort should be rewarded.But in an effort to get her services, you could certainly try to use these retests as “proof” that she is not learning. Helping this child or any other is worth every effort.Good luck.question is for a friend of mine who has an ADHD daughter in the
: 4th grade. This week she has her Eligibility Determination meeting
: with the CST. We anticipate they will find her daughter not
: eligible for special ed because they are known to not classify
: ADHD kids. They most likely will say that they can’t find a
: specific learning disability and that her ADHD is not affecting
: her education performance based on her most recent report card.
: And why is that? Our 4th grade teacher allows re-tests! Not just
: taking another test if you do badly on one, but the same EXACT
: test!!! And to boot, she doesn’t average the two tests but gives
: the better score. All this girl does is memorize the letter patter
: of the test, A B C A C… since all our tests are multiple choice,
: so far. Consequently, this girl had a wonderful report card.: My question is, if she brings all these failed tests to this meeting
: in anticipation of being denied sp. ed, can my friend use this as
: “evidence”. Or is it too late. Does she just have to
: wait a few more months and not let her re-take failed tests and
: then go back with her proof in May? If anybody that I know,
: including my own son, deserves or needs special ed due to ADHD
: it’s this little girl. She has exceptionally poor short term
: memory and does badly in math. She can’t multiply at all. Totally
: forgets her facts. I read somewhere that CAPD has an affect on the
: ability to multiply. I’m trying to push her to get a full
: audiological exam but she’d have to self pay, as she’s not
: insured.: Anyway, sorry for rambling. I’m trying to be her advocate. If she
: doesn’t qualify with a math or language disability I would think
: that she should qualify as “Other Health Impaired”. But
: do we need a failing report card to prove this?: Jackie

This child doesn’t need to memorize the test questions because she brings home the test that she failed and just studies from it. I can’t imagine that its a good thing to allow this re-test which is just going to let her slip through the cracks yet another year. Not every teacher allows re-tests. What is she going to do next year when the teacher doesn’t allow it? She needs special ed because she spends a great deal of time studying for tests only to fail it.JackieLet’s think about this a bit. Are these good tests to be taking? Do
: they ask appropriately challenging questions? If they do, it may
: be that seeing the test once actually helped this child to learn
: the material. If so, wouldn’t that be the point? Aren’t children
: in the best of all possible worlds, supposed to learn the material
: even if it takes them a little longer? How does this child get the
: answers right on the retest unless she has actually learned the
: material?: I would be surprised that any 4th grader, having seen a test once,
: could remember all the questions, go home, and look up all the
: answers. In fact, if this 4th grader is doing that, she deserves
: to pass the retest. That kind of motivation and effort should be
: rewarded.: But in an effort to get her services, you could certainly try to use
: these retests as “proof” that she is not learning.
: Helping this child or any other is worth every effort.: Good luck.: question is for a friend of mine who has an ADHD daughter in the

Hi Jackie, My understanding is that ifthere is a certifible dx with ADHD this qualifies for Other Health Imapired under IDEA, then work on identifying the SLD(specific Learning disability). The legal definition of SLD does not states a “severe discrepanct” must exist. Just like IDEA does not sy the child has to be failing to be evaluated. If you can get a hold of Individuals With Disabilities Law review,IDLR check out 714, cite 23 - Lillie Felton letter. Also, rem parent is to be EQUAL part of team! Look for procedural violations too, check out reed martinn.com and wrightslaw. com Good Luck!

Forgot to add that there is generally more then one LD going on. So if ADHD then something co exists with it. CAPD, overlaps with ADHD overlaps with giftedness, CAPD overlaps dyslexia.

Dear Jackie: ADD/ADHD kids are eligible for special ed. under “OHI” (see The New Idea ‘97). This however is also a problem in our local schools since there is little or no training about ADD/ADHD. The school staff sees the symptoms of it in the children, but don’t neccesarily have training or full knowledge of what it is and how to help. Nor are they qualified to diagnose it. Girls being very different behavior or profile than boys with ADD/ADHD, it’s even further complicated. This also boils down to a funding problem. I was actually told by our school that “there are so many kids with ADD/ADHD that there’s no way we can qualify them all” ADD/ADHD kids seem to test better in evaluations (ie. one on one) than they do in the classroom (full of distractions). Thus, their loophole for getting out of qualifying the child. The teacher you speak of, allowing the test re-taking, should be commended for accomidating this child without having to be formally told to do so. This IS a great aide to the child’s success and self esteem… something I truely wish I’d had in my daughters earlier experience. My daughter spent most every afternoon in tears and finally felt convinced that she was just plain dumb because she couldn’t test well in the classroom. In our case it didn’t matter how badly she performed on her own in the classroom, when she was evaluated she tested so well one-on-one that she didn’t qualify for any help. Although her classroom teacher disagreed based on her own experience seeing her performance in the classroom, she didn’t qualify based on ADD alone. (that was also “98-‘99 before the DOE memo clarifying ADD/ADHD as “OHI”)The teacher you speak of should also be present at the Eligibility Determination meeting and her input and observations might be very helpful. I hope that your friend can speak to her beforehand. If your friends daughter doesn’t qualify under IDEA part B for special education, you could look into section 504 for help. We got a section 504 last year for my daughter wich was classroom accomidations and testing accomidations including SAT. This year, I have no trouble with the classroom teachers, they’ve worked with us beautifully and daughter is succeeding well. I asked that the paperwork be re-done for this year because she’ll be moving up to middle school next year and I want it all documented (since we’ll be starting all over again with new school and staff) and it’s being denied. I am learning now that this is complicated because it’s a civil law NOT a funding law….. so here we go again! I wish you all the best, and you’re a wonderful friend for advocating and researching the way you are. Sincerely, CCThis question is for a friend of mine who has an ADHD daughter in the
: 4th grade. This week she has her Eligibility Determination meeting
: with the CST. We anticipate they will find her daughter not
: eligible for special ed because they are known to not classify
: ADHD kids. They most likely will say that they can’t find a
: specific learning disability and that her ADHD is not affecting
: her education performance based on her most recent report card.
: And why is that? Our 4th grade teacher allows re-tests! Not just
: taking another test if you do badly on one, but the same EXACT
: test!!! And to boot, she doesn’t average the two tests but gives
: the better score. All this girl does is memorize the letter patter
: of the test, A B C A C… since all our tests are multiple choice,
: so far. Consequently, this girl had a wonderful report card.: My question is, if she brings all these failed tests to this meeting
: in anticipation of being denied sp. ed, can my friend use this as
: “evidence”. Or is it too late. Does she just have to
: wait a few more months and not let her re-take failed tests and
: then go back with her proof in May? If anybody that I know,
: including my own son, deserves or needs special ed due to ADHD
: it’s this little girl. She has exceptionally poor short term
: memory and does badly in math. She can’t multiply at all. Totally
: forgets her facts. I read somewhere that CAPD has an affect on the
: ability to multiply. I’m trying to push her to get a full
: audiological exam but she’d have to self pay, as she’s not
: insured.: Anyway, sorry for rambling. I’m trying to be her advocate. If she
: doesn’t qualify with a math or language disability I would think
: that she should qualify as “Other Health Impaired”. But
: do we need a failing report card to prove this?: Jackie

PASSWORD>aaphVdPk791FwWe had similar problem. Our daughter was denied services based on her aggregate scores (5th grade). We had independent testing done which identified the ADHD - primarily inattentive. An advocate also pointed out that we needed to look at the subscores, not just the averaged scores. Take a look at each of the subtests (in our case from the Woodcock-Johnson-R). Although my daughter’s 92 Broad Written Language score did not qualify for disabilty (needed 77-82) to qualify based on average IQ, her dictation subtest DID qualify when you looked at the whole range of expected scores. The Standardized Score (SS) was 87 with a range of 82-92 expected on any given day (+/- 1 SEM). We were able to argue that she had a written expression disability and qualified for an IEP. She also receives accomodations for ADHD (OHI). While we waited out the testing process, we also enrolled her is Sylvan for her self esteem and to fill in the blanks in her education. Their screening showed skill holes all the way back to 1st grade. (I recognized some of them as valid just from ny working with her on homework.) For her, the small group tutoring on her weak areas really worked. Hope this helps. sharon: This question is for a friend of mine who has an ADHD daughter in the
: 4th grade. This week she has her Eligibility Determination meeting
: with the CST. We anticipate they will find her daughter not
: eligible for special ed because they are known to not classify
: ADHD kids. They most likely will say that they can’t find a
: specific learning disability and that her ADHD is not affecting
: her education performance based on her most recent report card.
: And why is that? Our 4th grade teacher allows re-tests! Not just
: taking another test if you do badly on one, but the same EXACT
: test!!! And to boot, she doesn’t average the two tests but gives
: the better score. All this girl does is memorize the letter patter
: of the test, A B C A C… since all our tests are multiple choice,
: so far. Consequently, this girl had a wonderful report card.: My question is, if she brings all these failed tests to this meeting
: in anticipation of being denied sp. ed, can my friend use this as
: “evidence”. Or is it too late. Does she just have to
: wait a few more months and not let her re-take failed tests and
: then go back with her proof in May? If anybody that I know,
: including my own son, deserves or needs special ed due to ADHD
: it’s this little girl. She has exceptionally poor short term
: memory and does badly in math. She can’t multiply at all. Totally
: forgets her facts. I read somewhere that CAPD has an affect on the
: ability to multiply. I’m trying to push her to get a full
: audiological exam but she’d have to self pay, as she’s not
: insured.: Anyway, sorry for rambling. I’m trying to be her advocate. If she
: doesn’t qualify with a math or language disability I would think
: that she should qualify as “Other Health Impaired”. But
: do we need a failing report card to prove this?: Jackie