Help! Teacher says she will not accomadate ADHD child.

You need to request formal accommodations under The Americans With Disabilities Act. This will give your son a formal 504 plan that the teacher will be required to follow. You may also want to request an IEP as this would give him specially designed instruction - such as testing a certain way. An IEP does NOT require a child to be pulled from class unless it is required to meet the child’s needs. Remember, Least Restricted Enviornment is what is required.

what scifinut said.

On top of that I would keep in mind that through out his life he is going to have to deal with people like this teacher. There are going to be times in his life, especially when he gets out of school, when all the tests and satisfactions in the world aren’t going to mean jack squat and he’ll just have to deal with things on his own. Dealing with this teacher, and seeing how you deal with this teacher, are going to be far more valuable lessens to him in the long run then knowing how to spell 15 words on some second grade test.

Well, supposedly he doesn’t qualify for 504. He’s not considered Special Ed. What I have learned since posting is this….

His teacher last year started his “orange folder” which has all of the paperwork requesting further testing based on the Psychologist diagnosis. She started the Interventions and Accomadations on her own which worked. I got a copy of that folder although I don’t really understand what all the paperwork is for. I could be wrong but it looks like maybe someone dropped the ball. I feel like I’m walking through a forest blind folded. I have a meeting tommorrow with the TST team (has to do with Tier 1, 2, 3) to discuss what is to happen now. I’ve been all over the internet trying to research so I can appear confident and assertive but the thought of it makes me want to throw up. In the meantime I am exploring possibility of changing to a different school. Because I work for the school district I possibly could but they may not allow it. I’ve made some anonymous contacts that may be able to help me make it happen. I have a 3 page list of questions to ask but I will have to prioritize because I know that they will not answer them all.

Last night we went over my son’s spelling words. This time instead of calling them out and killing his esteem again I wrote them 3 different ways and had him choose the correct spelling. He missed 1!!!!! We were so excited. I then called the word out and he had to point to it. Didn’t miss one. He demanded to take it to school to show teacher and I let him but I know she could have cared less I’m sure. I got his retest from the spelling test she gave last week. He made 35. Misspelled the words almost exactly the same as before on the practice test. Am I not looking at this right??? If there is a problem like this and it is that obvious and the parent has documentation on file, has sent a note showing what she has found with his test taking, shouldn’t that make a difference? Then when the retest is given the same exact way she gave it the first time and he misses the same words which was all but 2 should that not tell a teacher something??? I was also told that it could take about the whole year before anything is done as far as testing for some other learning problem. If any of you guys out there pray I would appreciate a lot of it because I will need it tommorrow.

Okay, first off, 504 accommodations are NOT special education. Its a whole other law. http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/sec504.index.htm - this article should give you a lot of information. :)

Secondly, there is a time line the school has to go by for testing. IDEA sets time limits for testing requests, getting the testing completed and development of the IEP. Please do not let the school intimidate you!

One of the best sites for info on special needs law is http://www.wrightslaw.com

For what it’s worth, here’s what we did to pass those darn weekly spelling tests. I’m assuming he is taking a traditional spelling test where teacher states word and he has to correctly write down the word?

What helped with us was practicing various ways to remember how to spell the word. Just writing the word 10 times didn’t work. Initially, we had to start spelling day 1 of the week. Don’t expect to learn them overnight the day before the test.

1) Rainbow spelling - write the letters of the words out with different colors. So it looks more like a ‘picture’ to them.

2) Have him spell the word forward and then backward in his head and/or air write it with his finger. Can he ‘picture’ the word in his mind - does he have good imagery. (my dd could not ‘see’ words, could not form the images in her head).

3) Spell the word out loud to him while tracing the word on his back. Then have him spell the word while you trace each letter on his back.

4) Have him spell the word to you both auditorily and then visually on paper.

5) We would then do a practice test. For words she missed, I still had her write them out 5 times each. But I made her cover up each word after she wrote them (I noticed she was just copying each time she wrote out the 5).

Do this several times during the day - morning, afterschool, evening. Short times(5-10min). Don’t cram alot into one sitting and overload him. Start with only a few words at a time and build on them over the week. Try to make each session fun - bite your tongue on any negative thoughts. When he is successful, give LOTS OF PRAISE. Make him feel successful.

Spelling tests were so grueling and time consuming HW assignment during 2nd/3rd grade. But by the time she was in 6th grade, she could remember all the words just studying the night before. Net - it gets easier!

Also, you may want to check into visual processing disorders and/or auditory processing disorders.

I will check into all of those websites and you can’t imagine how much I appreciate your input. I will try all of that while studying with him as well. I have only a little time before my meeting and I am a nervous wreck but I feel that I am as prepared as I can possibly be at this point. I may get input from you guys after meeting so I know if I’m looking at things right….if you don’t mind. Thanks again so much for your advise and help.

Nothing could have prepared me for what happened at mtg. As I said his teacher last year told me that he had really progressed and would not recommend holding him back. His report card had B’s and C’s with a D in spelling so based on all of that we felt better about sending him to 2nd grade. Well, there was a teacher representing each grade K-3, Principal, Asst. Principal, Psychometrist (what do they do???) and my son’s teacher. His teacher from last year was not there. His teacher started by telling how intelligent, well-behaved and motivated he was but had trouble spelling and reading. They went over some test scores that I did not have and did not understand. As they looked at the scores their faces showed utter distress. They told me he was on the level of a beginner 1st grader. He had been at high risk last year. His scores are probably the lowest of any 2nd grader. The Principal just said, “Well, have you thought of just sending him back to 1st grade?” I almost fell out of my chair. Here we are 4 wks into the year. He’s established himself as a “big kid” and we are talking of putting him back NOW????? I told her that we discussed it last year but the teacher discouraged it and his report card showed B’s and C in reading. (B the last 9 wks) I said, “Do you have any idea what that will do to him?” She said, “Well you will need to decide if his esteem or his success is more important. It’s just a thought a suggestion. You and your husband will have to decide. It’s up to ya’ll.” I said, “No ma’am you are the Educators you tell me….am I understanding you correctly to say that he should have not be in 2nd grade?” Noone would say a word. Finally a teacher that was sitting in that I know finally said, “I’m talking as a Mother..I would be concerned about my child’s self-esteem.” The looks on everyone’s faces was horrifying. I was almost in tears. I could not talk without the emotion. So then his teacher speaks up and says, “Well if stays it will be a wasted year…right?” Another teacher said, “Not really look at his math and language scores….” That was the only positive thing said. I asked about getting him tested myself to find any ld that may be in play but was told by the Psychommetrist that it wouldn’t matter to the School as far as how they handled or approached our case. They are now planning to move him to TIER III and they are going to put him in a small group of 1st graders for tutoring in Reading for 30 min a day. Supposedly they will tell him he is going to be a helper. Then he will be tutored by his teacher’s assistant who does not speak English well herself for another 30 min. This is really good since he has a speech problem! Then our teacher was quick to speak up and say “So I need to know what I’m going to have to do and what I am allowed to do to accomodate. I mean do I change up the way I test him on things when I have 5 other students having problems? but I’m happy to do whatever it takes. I just need to know.” They said that they can not change his testing method for Spelling because of Reading 1st guidelines. (She calls the words out 1 time and they write them.) She can show him pictures with sentences below them for vocab. But someone was real quick to point out that it probably would not work because he can’t read anyway. I told them that he can pick the word that is spelled correctly. I can point to the word and he read it. I can put it on a index card and he can read them but they said it doesn’t count as reading. I asked if we needed to find the root of the problem but the Psychommetrist was quick to tell me no and that we probably would never find the problem and if it was dyslexia it does not qualify as a disability under MS state law. Basically the tutoring is a cure all or they can test him for Special Ed. I could barely breathe. I asked them why they didn’t do all of this last year when paperwork was submitted and they said that the teacher must not have followed through. I told them that she said she repeatedly submitted paperwork. They said that it took a while to do. Well, she started submitting in Jan of last year. So I then find out that his teacher from last year has offered to tutor him after school for 30 min a day. I’m assuming she’s feeling guilty for pushing him through with B and C’s and now sees its a mess. She tells me later she was sorry she missed the mtg because she was supposed to be there and lost track of time but they all had his best interest at heart. And that the only way he could have accomodations made was by being in Special Ed which she now teaches. She thought he just got behind because he didn’t learn muuch the 1st sem because he couldn’t focus. 2nd semester he could because he was on meds. She said that she made accomodatins for him by pulling him aside and helping him sound words out on his test but he was supposed to be reading it alone. She then said that she quit after 6 wks and just let another student go back and help him with any trouble he was having.He was reading 44 words per minute at the end of the school year but he regressed to 17 at the beginning of this year. She says its because he missed a few days of the reading camp they had during the summer and didn’t work alot during the rest of the summer. So I feel like the blame is being shifted to me. I would LOVE someone’s opinion on this. I wish I would’ve taken a tape recorder. The questions I went in with were never discussed. I was totally not prepared for what happened and I’m feeling a little hopeless and helpless. If you got time I’d love some honestly even if it’s hard to hear. I’m not in denial but I’m pretty steamed because I feel jerked around and I feel that he has been a victim of a huge injustice.

My heart goes out to you. We have lived through this and I was so angry from 1st -3rd grade. (I’m still bitter to this day re: our principal). Having been there, the lesson I learned is 1)be careful what you wish the school to do 2) get help on your own 3) be positive with the school and let them know all the things you are doing at home and on your own ‘dime’.

I know you want the school to ‘fix’ his reading/spelling and get him caught up. (Odds are it won’t happen even if they seem like they are trying to help). My experience was the ‘pull-out’ services w/ a bunch of other kids for only 20min. was completely worthless. All it did was hurt her self-esteem and she missed other topics covered in class. The 30min. after school tutoring might be ok -depends on how they are tutoring. Our school was a whole language school and all the tutors were teaching the same way (look and guess). If he just needs some extra help, then after school tutoring can help. If he has some other cognitive issues going on (like visual processing or auditory processing), then get him in an intensive reading program on your own. Also deep dive into remediating the processing issues he could have. It’s ALOT easier to remediate a problem in 2nd grade vs. 4th grade! Net: get him tested on your own and don’t wait for the school. You will lose precious time.

If you do have a medically diagnosed ADHD, you DO qualify for 504 accomodations - don’t let them fool you on this. I always asked for accomodations like - sitting close to teacher, having teacher make sure she understood the directions, notice ahead of time for tests. I never wanted accomodations like altered spelling lists, tests taken different ways etc. My dd was perceptive enough to know this made her ‘different’. I learned over time how to get information to ‘stick’ with her so she would do well on the tests without special accommodations. The long term benefit has been,(she is in 7th grade now) she is doing many of those study ‘tricks’ on her own and she has GREAT study habits.

Ask your teacher what she recommends you do to work with him at home. Show her that you are involved. You may find that she will be much more ‘accomodating’ with your son.

I have chills reading this post. My son started kindergarten this week and it has been a nightmare. I’ve always known he was a hyperactive child and although we have adapted our lives to it, I also knew school was going to be a challenge.
I was correct. The first day I was met by the teacher, wide eyed w. a deer caught in headlights look, saying that Joey had a BAD day. She then proceeded to tell me all the things he did wrong. ALL of which had to do with his inability to sit still. “Never” had she “seen a child like Him”.
Only after questioning his social skills did she say that he was a very sweet, helpful, and loving child, but that wasnt the point. She cant teach class with his distractions.
Over the next few days I made suggestions on the way we modify things at home to enable Joey to complete tasks and each one was met with “I can try it, but then all the other kids will want that special attention.”
I’m not sure what was said to incite me, but I ended up telling her that if she couldnt do her job, then point me to who can. I was emotionally drained over what this has been doing to my son. She is catching all of his negative behavior, but not praising what he is good at and my son is feeling the effects already.
Luckily she contacted the person in charge of a program at school called the 504 and this next week they will be observing the class, teacher, and my son, so that instructions can be given to modify HER way of teaching to enhance MY child ‘s learning experience. This may be all we need, but it will take time and I feel better knowing that someone will be there to champion for my son.

http://www.help4adhd.org/en/education/rights/504

Please, for your son’s sake, go to this site and print everything you can on the Section 504 of the Rehabilitation act and read it. then call you schools guidance counselor and demand a meeting (these are basically called intervention team meetings) to include ALL of the following: all of your son’s teachers, the guidance counselor, the principal, and the school district’s school psycologist. If they refuse,call the superindentant and if you get no where, call your school board’s president and, let them know that you are willing to go over their head by contacting your county’s board of education. If they refuse to give you their number,and you can’t find it in the phone book, call another school within your county and ask for it. You will get a meeting. In the mean time, get a binder and filler paper. The first thing is to go back through the Section 504 law and highlight your’s and your son’s rights. Put it in the very front of the binder. Use the filler paper to log every communication you have with anyone at the school that has anything to do with your son (and I mean every one). If they send notes home to you, tape them on a page. Make sure you include dates, times, full names and their position in the school.
When you get in the room, before you even sit down, make sure the pricipal is right there at the table and open your binder to the very front page (you should somehow ensure that the name of the document is big enough and is seen by the principal). This lets them know that you have done your research and that you know your rights.
I know this seems kind of pushy but, take it from a mother with two severely ADHD boys (one who’s body cannot tolerate normal meds for ADHD) and who has been fighting the school systems for eight years, you have to be pushy. You have to research, learn your rights and be willing to enforce them if you want your son to succeed!
I hope this has helped you. I am getting ready to start the process all over again Monday because I am going through the same thing this year with my one son’s teachers and the school personel.
If you need support, feel free to email me at:
[email protected]

***I am in no way trying to portray that I am any kind of a professional. I am simply a mother who has “been there-done that” and have had success in the past with this way of getting it done.***

Good Luck
Barbara

Here is another resource I found helpful re: 504 Plan requirements. It is a Department of Education website (a federal agency - I believe):

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html

Here is another one from the same agency re: IEP:

http://www.ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/iepguide/index.html

Good luck. If your child is in a public school, then they are required by law to provide accomodations. (They do not have to accept your doctor’s diagnosis, without first doing their own evaluation by the school psychologist, and having the teachers and yourself fill out questionnaires (Conners Ratings Scales) all with your permission of course.)

This is pretty fresh for me since Ian was just diagnosed ADHD in June 2006. I am having my 504 Plan meeting tomorrow morning. I will see how the 504 works before fighting them to get an IEP. Advocating for our kids is difficult time-consuming work, but well worth it if we can give them the education they need. I feel for you and your difficulties, and I really hope that you find the answers you need. If you cannot get them to evalaute and create a plan for your son, I would encourage you to contact your local education law center (if you have one) and request their assistance.

Good luck!

Wow, (New Here!) I feel for you because I’m currently going thru some issues with the schools. And just found out, my school skipt a step for my daughter. And now feel another year was wasted on teaching her. I don’t know if your county offers it, but mine does. See if you can find an advocate that knows all the laws, and you can bring to all of your meetings and do all of your talking for you. They will fight for you. Just like they are doing for me. My third IEP, but finally I will have an advocate on MY Side! Good Luck!