Is there any parent, who has utilized modifications under “504” who has felt any embarassment or stigma by asking for help for their child and if so how did you react to it? I am doing research on this subject and would appreciate any comments. Thank you.
Re: "504"
I just finished going through a 504 plan for my 8 year old. If you’re gonna do it make sure you are thoroughly familiar with what you are entitled to then go in fighting. There should be no embarassment. Remember you are fighting for your child. Any stigma or perceived stigma given on the part of the school is illegal. There should be nothing that would embarass your child or make him/her feel different. I told my son that he just learned different from other kids. Not slower or dumber just different. Having ADHD allows him to learn things quicker but in shorter spurts than other kids. It makes him feel better to know this. Yes, he trouble in some areas (writing) so he is now allowed to use the computer for his writing assignments. He feels a little different when everyone else is writing but I told him using the computer means his fingers now move as fast as his brain. Everything should be positive. Nothing in a 504 should be negative or cause a negative feeling for your child and if it does you need to know the law or get a child advocate to help you. Anyway, good luck.—Trudy
Re: "504"
We just recently had our daughter utilize the benefits of 504. I can’t understand the stigmatism or embarassament of ADD or ADHD it is a chemical in balance. Is there any embarrassment for diabetes? NO, I think we need to stop this once and for all and it starts at home where parents tell their children not to tell anyone they are on meds or to keep it quiet at school. Are our children not suffereing enough? Sorry I am just stunned at the word embarrasment with this. These children are not learning disable they simply learn different. Anyway the 504 allows our daughter to be given more time when needed for tests. Affords the ability to obtain decent grades to reflect the effort she puts into her studies. It awards her as other children are rewarded with ability to receive a good grade. It has em-powered her with confidence that she needs to grow. I am so grateful for this.
Re: "504"
Trudy,Star & Barb — Thanks so much for comments. They have open my eyes and changed some earlier perceptions. Maybe I just had connected with a few “bad apples” who seemed very very negative about ” 504 ” and this skewered my thinking or at the very least started me off in the wrong direction. Getting feedback has changed my thoughts and has shown me that I really have to do more research on the entire subject in order to formulate a more rounded and informed opinion. Again, thank you for the input. Stan
PS The reason I went to different forums is the slow response I got on some made me think no one was listening.
Stan,
You didn’t mention research in your orginal post in the “Social” forum. And I see you dropped the phase “Do parents abuse 504s?” in this post.
Hope more people are able to help you in this forum than in the other.
Barb Bloom