i finally told my dd’s teacher that she has been diagnosed with adhd.. her reaction: she kept on discussing tests and her results.. i tried to explain to her that one of the results of adhd is ‘inconsistency’ but she would not listen.. it was as if i was hitting my head on the wall.. her teacher ‘informed’ me that she was well versed in this field (phd) and that she would give me some information.. i tried to tell her that i was aware but again she would not listen and went back to one of my dd’s poor test showings (a class test no doubt)..
she ignored the psychologists findings that my dd does better when presented with a challenge than with mundane work and she still insists in giving her work that dd has known since 1st grade (her timestables)..
she did however say that she wants to set up a meeting with dd and the individual differences coordinator but ofcourse this won’t happen until the end of term.. again i fear i will be waiting until the end of the year..
this teacher is really bugging me.. to make matters worse, she finally told me that my dd does tune out, is attention seeking, gets bored, distracts others etc.. mind you i have been asking her all year about dd and she always says that everything is fine.. what can’t teachers be more honest??
i can’t even go and complain because of dd’s scholarship - fear of losing it..
she hasn’t even bothered to discuss the psychologist’s report with me…
also since finding out about dd’s diagnosis, she is using dd as a scapegoat for the classes’ problems and pretty much labelling her as a bully, cheat and everything else one can throw up.. i asked her why she accussed dd of cheating and she told me that dd is always looking around - i informed her that does not qualify as cheating and that she probably does that because she has tuned out of what is going on in class and is trying to tune back in.. i also made the point of why would dd cheat from students who were less advanced in maths than herself.. i ended up telling her that she didn’t have a right branding my dd a cheat in front of the entire class.. i feel like i wasted 45 minutes of my life..
any hints on how to get through to the teacher?? she makes my blood boil!!
Re: teachers - how do you get through to them?
handy advice as always pattim:))
seeing the adhd paediatrician in two weeks.. what kind of questions should i ask him?? does the paed take a blood test??
btw, teacher agrees with adhd diagnosis but uses it against dd.. not nice!!
I think you will do fine
with the questions…I would put down on paper what your concerns are and what your daughter’s concerns are and prioritize them…what are your goals/her goals, what you think she can do. Whatever you decide to your daughter will need to buy into it as well….especially if her treatment will be successful.
You have come a long way on your journey to find answers for your daughters problems in the short time I have been replying to your pleas.. The main thing is you are headed in the right direction to find solutions which will open the doors for your daughters future.
Re: I think you will do fine
[quote=”pattim”]
Whatever you decide to your daughter will need to buy into it as well….especially if her treatment will be successful.
oh dear, thats depressing then.. cooperation is not part of her vocab..
thanks for your kind words and for everything.. i really feel like i have learned heaps and finally on the right track.. if all else fails, i will send her to some remote mountain village school in tibet!!
it will happen
Just think positive and be supportive but don’t enable. That is still the hardest thing for me as a parent…knowing when to help give my kids a kick start and when to let them struggle to learn from their mistakes. But when you think about it don’t we all learn our greatest lessons in life from the mistakes we made along the way. Also any success in life is due to the fact that we persevered through the trials and DIDN”T GIVE UP… Another thing I always tell my kids is my resposiblity as a parent is to teach them to be responsible, if they can’t take care of themselves as adults then I haven’t done my job…
Carpe Diem!! Where there is a will there will be a way.
I would just let go of arguing with the teacher. She isn’t going to change her tune and I wonder if the teacher thinks the ADHD diagnosis is just a “scapegoat” for what she deemed cheating.
Perhaps the teacher is still in denial about the diagnosis, so if I was you, I would just concentrate on your daughter at the moment. Help her make the most of this situation and perhaps with the help of medication she will learn to control her behavior in class and really show her true potential to this teacher.