qualifying for special ed

and another thing , Does anyone have trouble with their family excepting the fact that your child has adhd and claim that its just another name for kids who are undisaplined? I’ve had to pull away from my own because all they do is tell me what a bad parent I am and that all I need to do is spank him and punish him more than giving time outs and removing privilidges. I constantly hear the old saying “spare the rod spoil the child” How do you spank a child who is constantly in motion and acting out on impulse? I was raised with spankings and had adhd, (back then they just called it hyperactivity) all it did was create anger and hostility. Feed back please?

Wow! I do have some people in my life that think my son also needs a good spanking but you have to approach it the same way you did when he was a baby and everybody had advice. Just say thank you for the advice and then do what your heart tells you is the best thing to do. My son is also ADHD and so am I. My mother had me read this crazy book called something like Unraveling ADHD and it basically says that it’s all the child’s fault and they could do what ever it is they are not doing but they just don’t want to. I guess they like being yelled at and told stop stop stop all the time. Anyway it effected me so bad I had chest pains for a week! To think all the time I sat totally lost in math class and it was because I didn’t want to do it!!! It makes me so mad that anyone would even think about writing something like that! Anyway just take what others say with a grain of salt and do what’s best for your son!

wow! its so cool to hear that I’m not going crazy, every now and then I need to be reassured. I have always felt that my hands were for loving not for disapline, and in todays society spanking is not always excepted. My personal feeling is that spanking disrupts self esteem and does not create positive reinforcement. that laying boundries and love gets you much farther. I try to raise my kids with listening, understanding and direction. thanks for the pep talk. Nice to know I’m not the only one.

Hi Tamara!!

I have two children with ADHD. One is covered under Section 504 and the other is covered under an IEP. This is the differences that my school district uses. My son who is under the 504, has no other LD’s except for ADHD, so to modify his work load and testing was placed on a 504. His testing showed that he had a normal IQ in all areas. His Math score was 115 and his Reading was 100. So with a difference of only 15 points he did not have a disability. My Daughter who is under a IEP. qualified for that because she had a score of 122 in Math and 82 in Reading. Which showed that she had a strong weekness in reading, 40 points. But it also put her in a really tight spot because it is 2 points off from having a true LD in Reading and giving her the true help she needs. My Son is totally mainstreamed and has major difficulties in the classroom. My Daughter is in a special IEP Classroom where it is self contained and it has been a true blessing. She does not have to compete with average learners. It has truly helped her, made her more self content with school. But next year she will be placed back in mainstream and jam packed with 25 to 30 kids.

My thoughts about your situation is that because your child doesn’t not meet the special ed. then he should be covered under a 504. They can’t discrimate on a child with disabilities. That is a Federal Law. Does the school recieve Federal Funds? Have you spoke with the principal of the school? or Just Teachers? What about with the School Board/ Superintendent?

Thanks and Sorry for the Long Read…
Tracey

Being ADHD does not in itself qualify a child for an IEP. But it is possible to qualify without having the discrepancy that a LD would show. It has to be shown that the ADHD “must result in an adverse effect on educational performance;” and “the student must require special education services in order to address the AD/HD and its impact.”

My son does not have a learning disability, and so there is no discrepancy in his test scores. But he has a difficult time in the classroom, and needs the support of the resource room for writing assignments, and occasionally for math support.

Having a learning disability is only one of the 13 categories under which a child can be qualified for an IEP. The following web site answers this in more detail:

http://www.chadd.org/legislative/ideaq-a.htm

You also wrote:
>was told that legally he doesn’t qualify for a 504 because he didn’t qualify for special ed

This is not true at all. Any child with ADHD who does not qualify for special ed can and should be given a 504 plan which addresses classroom modifications and accommodations.

Yes if your son doesn’t qualify for sp.ed, he qualifies for the 504. If the adhd is affecting school in an adverse way, he could qualify for sp.ed under other health impaired category. My son qualified under ohi because of needing so much help in a reg. classroom, his teacher and I both gave examples and showed samples of his work plus his standardized test scores which were in single digits even though he is of average ability. This was at the first child study meeting to determine testing should be done(4th gr). That will have to be your first step, a full evaluation from school. It is your right to have this done and the school has a timeline they must follow after your request is made. If your school doesn’t have a form, you need to make the request in writing, send registered mail or handcarry it, take down the name of the person you give it to. There is much info on this site as far as the laws and testing plus others who will have more specific knowledge about the law. Socks has a web site that has lots of info on the laws as well as other info. Best wishes. Also know that it will take some time between the request and the meeting to discuss all the testing results. All the timelines are schoolworking business days.

Looked back and saw your other post about no help, a 504 has more accommodations than more time, look up what can be included in the 504. Since it seems you have had at least one meeting with school, maybe talk to someone from CHADD or your local ld or adhd advocacy center, see if you can get someone to help you get what is needed for your son. Then call another meeting. Possibly a call to the 504 school district supervisor might help also. Just some ideas, I hope this helps some.

I have a webpage. I put it together after spending years fighting the system and learning how to participate.
YOU,my friend,are an equal member of the team that decides whether your child needs an IEP or a 504 plan.
If they are telling you this,they are obligated to provide this in writing.

a 504 plan was developed for children who need accomodations to successfully progress within the reg ed enviroment. By telling you he is not qualified is ludricous.

Please check out my page,it has links to 504 and IDEA info. It also has links to some great ways to help you navigate the system,and get your kid the help he needs.

Now a few words about family and friend opinions.
I have two boys ADHD/gifted/Dysgraphic.
I find it interesting how A LOT of the opinions I get are out of a inner fear that their children are also possibly ADHD!:-) ever notice that?

As for family,god knows they can sometimes be the worst. My mom once told me that when we were kids( refering to my two brothers and I) that we could sit quietly and allow her to try on shoes at a shoe store. Amazing how the memory fades as you get older. Spent many a day hearing BS like that. Not to mention the lack of understanding as to why I don’t just allow the school to do their thing. And my answer? Well just like spanking to try and solve the problems of ADHD,I don’t plan on giving up on MY kids that easily.

You go girl,your kid is lucky,and YOU are doing the right thing.

oh yeah,my webpage address. Sorry,poor memory retention:-)

http://expage.com/socksandfriends

This letter goes to all on this site,
hey you guys are great! Telling my friends that I now have new best buddies across the united states that are a great support. It amazes me how so many of us parents can pull together without the judgemental bull doodoo that so many of us receive out there in family and community. Could not get through such things without this kind of support. In just a few days have built my confidence as a parent and a spoke person for my child. Again I want to express my gratitude to you all. I got all your backs for support! My husband is greatful. Please fill free to email us at any time to share your thoughts at any time. I enjoy reading your opinions on all these subjects and constantly am telling our advocate about you guys. Again keep it up, This works for my family!

Hi, I can really relate to what you are going thru. I have 8 year old with dyslexia/CAPD. We had a 504 in place while waiting for testing(outside of school) I had no trouble with school staff accomodating . When testing completed, we had an IEP(with some hurdles) and I just fought to make sure reccommendations were met. I then had her tutored and she is actually having a real good year!!! The resource room teacher and regular teacher are really great!!!! I also have a 6 year old son ADD/language impairment. Testing didn’t prove to have enough discrepancy to place for special ed,but because he is ADD and struggling , I had the doctor write a note of diagnosis and he was able to be placed in resource room for extra help, which has been a blessing!!!He is doing really well-small improvemets. One thing I have learned is that to put everything on paper and don’t feel bad about stepping on toes in order to help your child!!!!!! I have gotten alot of good info here and am grateful to have found this website!! Good luck!!!

Tammy

P.S. I have heard of scotopic syndrome-interesting!!!!!

They have to let you have a 504 plan and really enforce it’s use this is a law in your favor!

Would like the address for your web page-I have a 12 year old with ADHD issues and am not getting any help from the school. Thanks much for putting a site on the web for parents!
Julie