504 plan

Hi Pat-
I am the mother of an 11 year old boy with ADHD. I knwo thsi situation can be frustraating and confusing.
I am giving you a mom’s opinion and view point of what type of help that child may need.
First of all, be aware that udner federal law, which you will be held personally liable for, that as soon you erceived notice that the child is ADHD, 504 plan or IEP or whatever terminology your district uses, that child’s parents are cover under IDEA.
How do I know this. A year from hell. A distrcit that has no clue what Federal law is and a Principal that completely dillusional. So, due process hearing filed, OCR complaints filed and in gathering a ton of information for a class action civil case against this distrcit. Finds out they have done the same thing to kids for years.
My son’s grade school, although notifed and my son was on medication in 1997, chose to not take action until December of 2000.
My first recommendation is check out the law for yourself. Do not bank on the fact the school distrcit is going to CYA because chances are- they won’t.
Second piece of advice- talk to the parenst of this child in depth and find out what this child’s life is like and areas of need.
No two chidlren are the same. Especially when it comes to ADHD.
Here are some suggestions from a mom who has been there, done that and continues to try to help my child. Again, every chidl is different so these are just suggestions.
Make as many positive comments to the child as you can. ADHD kids have low self-esteem. They know they are different but don’t understand why.

Be more patient than you have evr been. Do not take the child’s actions or reactions as a personal defeat. Earn that child’s trust. Do it by listening.

Provide written directiosn for thsi child. Even simple instructions are very difficult for a child to remember when they are given verbally.

Give the child extra time for homework assignments without penalty.
Do not refer to the child as ADHD.

Do not simply remove the child from class as a convenience to you or the class. ADHD kids, that have not been diganosed as MR or intellectually slow, can be borderline genious.
My son has an IQ of almsot 140. He was tested at 138 and 139. Yet, his teachers this year allowed him to fail two classes because they were not educated on the law, IEP’s, or ADHD for that matter. This just kills a child self esteem. And makes parents very angry at school staff for not helping that child.

Allow teh student to sit near you to avoid confrontation and minimize distractions. Do not force the child to sit in a study carrel. This is sheer humiliation.

Do not argue with the child. ADHD childlren- in general- again, not all, thrive off of verbal stimuli. They love to win and love a challenge.

A lot of kids with ADHD are also color blind. Check with parents and see if this is the case. Adapt appropriately.

Put a system of hcecks and balances in place for homework and communcatiosn with parents. Daily communications, phoen or e-mail , are more beneficial for you, parent and child than you will ever know. It helps the chidl remember their homework, which allows them to succeed , which cause them and their and their parenst to trust you and you have less of a headache.

One of the most important suggestions I can make is learn as much as you can about ADHD. Trust me, I knwo these type of children can be handful. I know they will challenge your sanity everyday and you wait praying that the laws allow you to duct tape their mouths shut. It won’t help.
Understand that their behavior is not intentional. It is a manifestation of ADHD.
Learn as much as you can about positive behavioral inetrventions as possible.

Any more questions? =) Just e-mail me.
Good luck- you can be a positive influence on this child if you choose to be. This chidl didn’t choose to be ADHD.

Dear Pat,
There are several accomodations that could be made to a 504 plan for a first-grader. Many of these will involve strong communication between the parent and the teacher. This is vital to the success of the plan. I found many ideas for accomodations on www.add.org/content/school/list.htm These could include moving the student to a low-distraction area in the room and also seating them near the teacher so they can focus better. The teacher could also break instruction time up into short steps and use lots of visual aids to help keep their attention. A great idea would be to send home a weekly syllabus for the week ahead just to let the child know what will be going on and include homework assignments. This would give the child extra time to do the homework. Allow children to move around by sending them on errands and by doing small tasks around the room. These tasks could include cleaning the board or organizing bookshelves. The website I mentioned has many more ideas like these above.
Good luck,
Sara

Hi Pat,

My son has ADHD and unmedicated on a 504. He’s doing great! These are the following accomidations:

- Specific seating
- Has un timed tests
- Is able to take tests in private room
- Needs preparing for transition (He had trouble w/ empty space of time. The teachers must gather his attention and direct)
- He did well with positive reinforcement.(i.e. If he was sitting well, he needed to be called that ,too.)
- All his papers were rushed. He was entitled to sit and redue w/ para.Always being reiforced to slow down.
- MCAS are taken privately and untimed
- Organizational skills is huge. Start young in school work routine.(i.e Writing things down)
- Keep really close contact w/ teachers. As long as you follow through at home ……they’re real willing to work w/ you as a team. I did weekly….monthly ..check-ins w/ the teachers. If his behavior got wild (nip it ).
Make sure there is a consequence to his unacceptable behavior and a reward for his good bahavior. Children with ADHD like clear limitations and following through w/ what you say. The more freedom you give the more out of control they feel.* Firm and Friendly!*
- Make sure you go over the plan on a regular basis w/ your team. There’s always something to change as they change.

GOOD LUCK!