My 1st grade daugher in a private school is in danger of not passing to 2nd grade, but not because of her grades. She only has one or two C’s; the rest are A’s and B’s. Her teacher is not “comfortable” with passing her because she has ADD and needs constant reminders to do her seatwork. She is not currently on medication; we’ve tried several over the past 1.5 years since she was diagnosed but nothing has worked yet. I also suspect she has central auditory processing disorder; she is going to be tested for this in April. I’ve gotten good info on a program for the CAPD and plan to implement it over the summer. I have to admit that although her teacher feels the need to keep her out of 2nd grade (“our school and our classrooms can’t offer her what she needs”) and she is only a 3rd year teacher, she has made some accommodations to help her. My daughter wears glasses, and she has been on the front row all year, as far as I know. She gives her extra time on some tests and allows her to use flashcards for verbal math quizzes. She allows her to complete unfinished papers at home, but these don’t apply toward her grade. She doesn’t allow her to do any less work than the other students. I’ll be the first to admit that she needs the extra work on her math facts (she has struggled with these ever since they learned them last year but is getting better), but she does very well in most of the language stuff. Most of her language/phonics grade trouble is with reading the directions. She struggles with the reading and doesn’t even know some of the harder words, so she often doesn’t do what the directions say. She is still working a minimum of 2 hours each night, whether it’s trying to complete work, review, do homework, or all of the above. She loses much time she could be doing homework etc because she has to go with her dad every other weekend and on Tuesdays from 4:30 - 7:30. We (her dad and I) have a terrible relationship, but we keep it cordial around her and communicate in writing. This keeps us from arguing in front of her. Anyway, I begged him to help with her work when she was with him and he said he would do “anything…whatever it takes”. I gave him simple things like reading assignments and spelling words. After only a few visits, he quit doing the work with her but told me he had. To end this subject quickly, he got very angry and impatient with her. She was so traumatized by his explosive temper that it took her over a month to bring her reading back to where it was before. (His comment to me the last time was “she read pretty good…well, good for her”. This was in front of her.) So she just loses that time to study.
I’m sorry if I’ve jumped around a bit, but here’s what I need to know. Is there anything else the teacher could do to help her with the distractions in the classroom? I forgot to mention that most of the time when other kids have finished a particular paper, they are allowed to play but not talk. So while the teacher has a reading group, my daughter is trying to do her work while kids are playing games and running around behind her. Also, her desk is touching another student’s desk. They are paired like this. This particular student is a very aggressive girl who is constantly bothering my daughter (trying to do her paper, etc). I recently found out this girl also has CAPD and is doing the program I mentioned at home. Is it a good idea to put two students with a learning problem next to each other? Or is this possibly for the convenience of the teacher? Is it common for teachers to have constant movement and distraction in the room for over half the day? I have a meeting with this teacher this afternoon regarding why she doesn’t want to pass her. I wish I would have posted this sooner for suggestions, but I can always address them with her later. She is open to suggestions, which is good. She just hasn’t ever had an ADD student before and doesn’t know how to handle one. My daughter is only inattentive, not hyper. She is very quiet.
Re: Need accommodation suggestions
I would NOT allow the teacher to withhold my child under the circumstances you are describing. Your child is not failing, and clearly is performing at above average levels if she is receiving A’s and B’s. I feel retention would be devastating to a child’s self-esteem if not truly necessary.
I’m not sure how the law pertains to private schools as far as accomodations. If she is being distracted by the other students while completing her work I would ask if there is another area out of the class for her to go to complete her work. My daughter sometimes will go sit in the clinic if she is taking an important test or really needs to focus. I would also ask her to moved away from the girl who is distracting her, so sorry if that is inconvenient for the teacher.
I also would like to add that expecting a 1st grader to do 2+ hours of homework every night is insane. After a full day at school my children need some down time. I do not want to have them hating school and all things that go with it. She learned her math facts in K and can’t read the bigger words in her directions? I don’t know what type of private school she attends, but maybe it is to challenging for her, especially if she has some underlying deficits. None of my children knew all their math facts in K or even 1st or could read ALL of the directions on their papers. Maybe the teacher should be helping her with the directions, that is a very simple thing, who cares if she can read those herself at this point, as long as she can do the work.
It is good you are looking for other things than ADD since meds didn’t help. There are many things that can make a child appear ADD. Have you looked into visual issues other than just glasses. If you do a seach on the Parenting LD board there is alot of info on that topic
Hope everything goes well with the meeting with the teacher
Re: Need accommodation suggestions
Thanks for the support and help. I probably didn’t make myself very clear as I was trying to sum it all up before anyone fell asleep reading it.
My daughter was presented with math facts in K but still struggles with them.
The meeting with the teacher went so well that I have decided against meeting with the principal. She was very open and receptive and said several times that she was excited (as am I) about the options still available for both the ADD and CAPD. She said my daughter would be able to move on to 2nd grade as long as her C’s didn’t fall lower. I really don’t expect them to as one of them is in phonics, which I feel she is pretty strong in.
I don’t know if there are any requirements for private schools to accommodate since they are not government funded. But her attitude was completely different than the way her e-mail sounded. I think she was also encouraged that I not only was willing to pursue more options, but that I was able to give her info on several of the programs. I made her aware of the stress of all the extra work at home. She is now also aware of the problems with the girl next to my daughter. She had no idea the girl was so distractive.
I know my daughter will still struggle this last quarter, partly because of the routine of the classroom (distracting) and partly because I won’t be able to implement any programs until summer. The teacher showed me a math paper my daughter had done that was going to be graded. It was not complete and she will give her the opportunity to finish it, but what I was looking at more than how much she didn’t get done was how many questions she got correct. I was very proud, as math is definitely her hardest subject.
One more note…a few of the ADD meds tried did help, but she had such an appetite loss that she lost too much weight and the pros no longer outweighed the cons. Both her ped and I agreed on that.
OK, just one more note…the two worst tests she’s had all year were two that she missed because she was sick and had to make up. She knew this material better than others because she ended up having more time to study, but I’m convinced it was the way the test was given (when others were having indoor recess or having to read the entire thing herself). I’m prepared to request a different setting should she miss another one.
Thanks for all your support. I haven’t posted much on these boards, but I have gotten a great sense of support and just feel so much better knowing that I’m not alone (and neither is my daughter). I have truly gotten more info about programs than I would ever have thought possible.
Re: Need accommodation suggestions
As I read your description of your daughter and her stance in school, I was not so much concerned as to whether she will do well in the second grade as I was concerned for her future in elementary school. I don’t think that holding her back will accomplish much. But I don’t see her getting what she needs in second grade either.
Holding her back would mean someone believes that your daughter will grow out of her issues in a year. Or they’re holding her in a ‘holding pattern’ because they simply don’t know what else to do with her - and that’s not a good sign.
What concerns me the most is that in 1st grade she needs to do 2 hours a night just to keep up. That means she’ll need to do more in 2nd grade likely. How long can a young child keep that up? And it’s not likely her father is going to change so she will have the situation to deal with as well.
It’s also not likely that the teacher can change the tone of the classroom to meet any one child’s needs. Some teachers maintain a very structured classroom (and you could request such a teacher for next year) but not every teacher does. I allow my students to quietly do something else when they are finished with their work. It’s not an uncommon practice and it isn’t uncommon for there to be movement and distraction in a classroom.
Where does your daughter fit into 1st grade age-wise? If she’s on the young side, I’d likely let them keep her in 1st. If she’s not, I’d press them to let her go on to 2nd with a structured teacher as that’s what you prefer for her.
Good luck.
Re: Need accommodation suggestions
I would seriously be concerned with her reading issues. If they are using a phonics program based on rules and sounds in isolation, she may need a program that is different, Phono-Graphix. My daughter was fidgity when she was in first grade and had all of the symptoms of ADHD, (thank heavens the diagnosis wasn’t available) and she developed into a reading disability. If PG was available then and used with her, she never would have been labeled. Please email me directly or do a search on this site about PG.
Re: Need accommodation suggestions
Sherri- FYI- A good guide for the amount of homework a child should be doing each night is to take the grade level and multiply it by 10 minutes. 1st grade- 10 mins, 2nd grade, 20 mins, etc. I am very concerned by the fact that your child has so many math problems to do that she can’t finish them all. You should talk to the teacher about cutting down the number of problems she has to do a night. If she can get ten problems done correctly, the teacher can assume the next 20 will be correct also. If she’s getting those first 10 problems wrong, we don’t want her practicing the next 20 the same (wrong) way. It will just make it that much harder to un-learn! I was appalled that the teacher is considering holding back a child who is achieving A’s, B’s, and C’s. If I were you, I’d have shouted down the rafters! Can the teacher get her hands on some of those heavy-duty earphones? Those can help drown out some of the extra noise in the room while she’s working on tests, etc. Or, can she possibly go to another teacher’s room where there aren’t as many distractions going on for the duration of the test? How about the nurses’ office? The library? Just some suggestions- Good luck!
Re: Need accommodation suggestions
How does art work with A.D.D. kids?LDTeach wrote:
>
> Sherri- FYI- A good guide for the amount of homework a child
> should be doing each night is to take the grade level and
> multiply it by 10 minutes. 1st grade- 10 mins, 2nd grade, 20
> mins, etc. I am very concerned by the fact that your child
> has so many math problems to do that she can’t finish them
> all. You should talk to the teacher about cutting down the
> number of problems she has to do a night. If she can get ten
> problems done correctly, the teacher can assume the next 20
> will be correct also. If she’s getting those first 10
> problems wrong, we don’t want her practicing the next 20 the
> same (wrong) way. It will just make it that much harder to
> un-learn! I was appalled that the teacher is considering
> holding back a child who is achieving A’s, B’s, and C’s. If
> I were you, I’d have shouted down the rafters! Can the
> teacher get her hands on some of those heavy-duty earphones?
> Those can help drown out some of the extra noise in the room
> while she’s working on tests, etc. Or, can she possibly go
> to another teacher’s room where there aren’t as many
> distractions going on for the duration of the test? How
> about the nurses’ office? The library? Just some
> suggestions- Good luck!
Re: Need accommodation suggestions
Dear mom of Add daughter;
There are many new medication options out there now. One new drug that is getting results where others have failed is Straterra. It doesn’t have the appetite suppression component like Ritalin, Concerta etc. Ask your pediatrician about it. As a parent who has had her son on ADHD meds since kindergarten it can make all the difference in the world for concentration. My advice to you is to learn all that you can about the issues that effect your daughter and be prepared to advocate for her rights. It is her right to services and the law. Good luck.
Re: Need accommodation suggestions
Your post did not say what kind of private school your daughter is attending, but I am assuming that it is not a special ed. type of private school. Your school is still responsible for implementing modifications as specified on an IEP or 504 plan, but you need to have these documents in place.
It is excellent that you are getting your child tested for CAP. I would just recommend that she is as least 6 1/2 years old. In addition to that, I would also consider requesting an evaluation by your home district which would include psychological and educational testing.
I would not recommend holding your child back. Another year of 1st grade will not solve her attentional difficulties and if anything, it may make them worse when faced with work that she already knows.
Good luck!
My number 1 comment to this is that the school is obligated by law to provide your daughter with any resources she needs contrary to the comment : “our school and our classrooms can’t offer her what she needs.” They must!!!