Hi’ I am new to this website I have an 12year old son who has ad/hd and dysgraphia and I am feeling very overwhelmed. I just came from my son’s IEP and feel very discouraged with the recommendations that were made to accomadate for my son’s dysgraphia. Shortening assignments and giving him access to a computer and longer time to turn assignments in were all that were implemented. Is this going to do it for him? are there any other parents out there who gone through this? Will my son ever be able to make it in college? I feel so helpless and angry .Why can’t my son do what comes so easily to most of the other children! Yes, my son is on concerta 54mg sr. He has been on medication since he was five. I personally like him on ritalin better but it doesn’t seem to last for more than 2 1/2 hours and then it was time for another dose. His teachers like him better on the concerta because he participates more in class but his grades are slipping. and yes my son is extremely unorganizzed a point that all his teachers are quick to point out! Any and all responses would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for letting me vent
Diane
Re: ad/hd & dysgraphia
I am a parent of two boys. Both are ADHD/Dysgraphic
These can be very good accomodations.
Problems:
When stating shortened assignments,
without defining exactly what their definition of shortened assignments are,you can run into a problem. I did. Only when we had a clear definition of what shortened meant did it become a viable accomodation.
Given access to a computer
again,what is the specific definition of this?
Does given access mean,that their is one computer in the classroom?
Does he have to walk up to the teacher and ask to use it?
Does this mean they will place him on the computer when there is a writing assignment to do,or would it be left up to him to ask?
Does this mean they will provide him with a laptop?
If they provide him with a device,will they allow him to take it home for homework assignments?
I have even heard of this accomodation being met,by the schools definition,that there is a PC in the library for anyone’s use.
Get a good defintion of what these mean and what your child would need to be successful.
Yes, these accomodations can be and have been a life line for my two dysgraphic boys. But not untill everyone was on the same page as to what these meant.
Re: ad/hd & dysgraphia
Dysgraphia is a learning difference that does not respond well to remediation. The accomodations they are providing your son sound like good ones to me. The worst thing that happens to children with dysgraphia is that they are forced to write thinking that ‘practice makes perfect’.
Your son’s writing should improve over the years naturally as he grows and matures. Colleges will also make accomodations for his learning difference as they should.
You might consider sharing with his doctor that he remains very unorganized and that his grades are slipping. His medication should be able to help him with his organizational skills more than it seems to be doing.
Good luck.
Is there also a dyslexic component? It doesn’t really matter. He is dealing with organizational issues and needs some assistance in global organization as well as handwriting. Organization can include time management (increasingly important as students get older), notebook organization, paragraph organizatin and the like. I would also recommend letting him try some of the accomodations becasue they will make it easier for him to learn how to organizae himself but to also do some things in handwriting, compromise maybe.