does anyone have info on ADD inattentive without hyperactivy

I can identify with your feelings. It is hard to have one special needs kid and then face the prospect of acknowledging you have another one to fight for (mirrors my own situation right now).

How old is your son? Is he in regular classes? What subjects does he fall most regularly behind in?

The report you are awaiting will be very helpful, despite the delay and frustration of having him miss class and fall further behind to have the testing completed. On the basis of it you will likely be able to access special education services, which will alleviate your son’s frustration hugely—short term pain for long term gain.

My older son’s profile is rather similar, minus the dysgraphia (though he does have some visual-motor integration difficulties and because of slow processing, his copying speed is slow and, given visual deficits, it is o sometimes inaccurate, though less so than formerly). (Official labels: auditory processing deficit, nonverbal learning disabilties, inattentive add combined with superior cognitive reasoning. Partial specific learning disabilities class placement was a godsend, and the porportion of time he spends in it is diminishing.

While these services helped my son, the help was primarily in alleviating stress and frustration and having the opportunity for closely guided extra practice at a comfortable pace. Accommodations (such as extra time) have helped, and he needs them less and less, despite his multiple lds. the tears and tummy aches have vanished.

What I have done for him that has been most effective in terms of actual remediation has been providing programs like FastForword, Phono-Graphix, Neuronet & Interactive Metronome. The report you are awaiting, and these boards, will point you in the right direction to go.

In addition, we have tried with success a low dose of Adderall XR in combination with Omega 3 (though not without first trying everything else).

The report will help you prioritize. You can’t do everything at once. The prospect of helping your son (and fighting for services if need be) will feel daunting at first; just remember to take one step at a time (something I remind myself to do continually). This board is a great source of inspriation, information and support .

Good luck.

Jan

Hypermommy,

It is sad that on top of your son’s disability he is further traumatised by his school.

Educators need to get it through their thick skulls that special needs kids learn at their own pace and by their own methods.

Children are affected by stress just like adults are. The child needs to be in a less stressful enviroment. That should be something you should discuus with the Neuro-psychologist. Perhaps a strongly worded note from him to the school may help some.

Don’t get your hope up. Schools can;t even educate “normal” kids

Avoid buying into an attitude of despair. It’s hard, I know, because the wheels of spec. ed grind slowly at the start; schools vary in the degree to which they are adept at implementing programs to meet spec. ed. legislation. And with ramped-up content-driven curriculum overhauls, stress for all concerned goes up. I am sure there is not a parent on this board who has not felt extreme despair and/or frustration at some point.

Remember, access to services is a legal right. Call a district superindendent/director. If you don’t feel up to the fight yourself, hire an advocate or have your lawyer send a letter. If the psychoed. report indicates a learning disability, you have this right. You can also, if possible, switch schools, consider private schooling or charter schooling, or partial or complete home schooling. Given your earlier battle, I think you’ll find the road easier this time.

Your son’s teacher should be willing to cut back on all but the essentials in terms of the work your child needs to complete pending the results of the report. She/he should also prioritize homework with the goal of minimizing it.

To say, though, that the schools can’t even educate normal kids let alone one with special needs as the previous poster says, is cynical in the extreme and promotes despair, not a productive attitude to take when you are an advocate. Be prepared to fight, but be positive. Assume that the school has your son’s best interests at heart and remind them if need be that if they don’t, they should! Legislation is on your side.

Good luck.

I spent 3 years fighting for my autistic child’s rights. I’ve been to a Wright’s Law Conference, written tons of letters, made oodles of phone calls, visited many schools, been through more IEP meetings than I care to remember, been through mediation (and won) and been through an appeal (and won). I also volunteered in classrooms, donated materials, organized class events and did everything I could on the positive side. In the end the our impending lawsuit won out over any of my more positive attempts at persuasion. I can understand dispair felt by anyone dealing with ps, especially when it comes to dealing with a disability.

I didn’t have a choice but to fight no matter how much dispair I felt over it. My son needed more help than I could provide him myself. There just weren’t enough hours in a day to give him all he needed and I wouldn’t have had the training to pull it off even if I’d had the endurance of a marathon runner.

Fortunately it all paid off and he’s doing so well I can think about doing it myself. Homeschooling is definately an option I’m considering. Especially now that my other son may be better off with the more individualized curriculum I could provide.

There are some wonderful teachers out there and even a few decent administrators, there are also some real monsters and a lot in between. I guess we all just do the best we can with what we have tou work with.

Both of my kids are adhd inattentive and one has an anxiety disorder as well. As far as information there’s seems to be a lot out there that does relate to the inattentive type. Right now I can’t point to one particular source but as you research you will come across a lot!

I understand the frustration of dealing with the schools. The sad part is that I am an educator and it is discouraging at times. Many times I find myself disappointed in the system and district that I work for! I am also preparing myself for the next step in our battle. Last year I had to step on some toes and fight quite a battle just to get a 504 plan that covered most of what we needed. Now, I am dealing with a teacher who doesn’t seem to believe in positive reinforcement and has no real understanding of adhd.