son is failing in school (left behind)

Check the Wrightslaw site for what is eligible and what is not.

My younger child with adhd has a 504 plan. Depending on the impact on learning children with adhd can also be eligible for an iep.

Checkout these sites for more info on Special Education laws:

http://www.hopkins.k12.mn.us/pages/North/Hopkins_SS/idea504.htm

http://www.cesa7.k12.wi.us/sped/Parents/plmap.htm

http://www.listen-up.org/rights/rights.htm#comp

A really good message boad is http://messageboard.schwablearning.org/schwab/board?board.id=11 lots of actitivy and very knowledgeable parents on special Ed laws and learning disabilties/ADHD etc.

By the way, Yes ADHD kids are eligible for IEP/OHI (other health impaired) or Section 504. It has to be found that the ADHD is impacting the ability to learn. You need to formally request (in writing) to the school, an evaluation both academic and cognitive. A normal IQ does not mean that he does not qualify for services. Most kids with LDs or ADHD have very high IQs. It is the difference between their IQ and what their performance is and the different subtest scores that will tell the story, also their performance in class. It should be taken in totality. Just because he has normal IQ does not mean he is performing to his potential. You have alot of reading to do. Checkout all those links I gave, they are very helpful.

Also, there may be more going on than ADHD. The fact that no meds have worked so far might be that he is not ADHD but have other LDs which mimics the same symptoms as ADHD. Has he been evaluated by a neuropsychologist to rule out other LDs?

I don’t post much here anymore, so go to the schwablearning.org site if you have further questions.

I just want to make sure that everyone understands that a child’s response to medication is NOT a valid way of determining whether an ADHD diagnosis is appropriate, as many people (even some professionals) seem to believe. Judith Rapoport did some good studies in the late ’70s that showed that there is no “paradoxical effect” for ADHD kids - most people respond to stimulants with decreased motor activity and increased but narrowed focus of attention. And about 20-30% or so of people (ADHD diagnosed or not) appear not to respond in this way to stimulants. So there are kids who totally fit the criteria for ADHD but who do NOT respond positively to medication.

That being said, I think the goal should be to focus on what works for your child. Whether they have an official “504” or “IEP”, the school is responsible for educating your child! Franky, I get very tired of the amount of energy spend trying to prove that a child doesn’t deserve special attention. They ALL deserve special attention!!! And if the child is failing, I think it is the SCHOOL’S job to work with you and figure out what THEY can do differently to engage your child. If they are not willing to do this, I would seek some kind of alternative educational placement where people are willing to work with you. Honestly, what is the point of talking about “difference between his IQ and performance scores” when it is obvious that he is failing, and that the school is failing him? When does it come to the fact that what they are doing isn’t working, and for that reason alone, it is time to do something else?

You may not get an answer to that question, but it is imperative that you begin to seek some changes in the educational environment before he is completely turned off to education. Look around and see what other options are available in your community. Find out what your son is interested in pursuing or how he feels like he learns best, and see if you can make a fit. Think about homeschooling, by yourself or with another family. Or make a big stink with the district and insist that he get the special attention he deserves. Whatever happens is going to happen because you make it happen. Hang in there, and don’t give up!

And, when they do testing, if there is a (I believe) 20-or-more point discrepancy between their IQ and performance scores, they are elibible for services, at least in CA. This is what shows that their ADD symptoms are impacting education.

I would locate his test scores from three years ago-if the school didnt give them to you, insist they do

Come back and post those results on the boards. As others have said, it is the gap that often determines services(although new legislation has been signed that allows looser definitions-not TIGHTER ones)

If he has an iq of 103 and is working as a child with an IQ of 87, he will most likely be eligible for services.

I pulled my current 7th grader from school last year and homeschooled-we focused on remediating his reading. He is back in ps and doing VERY well.

If they cant read well, junior high will be a killer. Throw in disorganization at that level with changing classes and….oh, my!

Are you willing and able financially to access private help? Are you within driving distance of Indianapolis? Who made teh ADHD diagnosis? Do you agree?

Is his writing poor because its illegible(who cares-let him type)or because he uses poor grammar and simplistic language?

How is math? Did he or does he have speech issues? How is he socially?

My son has an auditory processing disorder (APD or CAPD). So often I’ve told my story to people, it’s exhausting to sit and write about it now.

I need to get help for him, but not just modifications. He needs treatment. He needs his school to realize he does have a disability.

Right now, he is in a remedial reading group with children with various levels. He is getting B’s in this class.

In Language Arts, his teacher says he does not write at a 7th grade level. He does not use punctuation and can’t spell. (All this is typical of a child with APD) His teacher sat down with him twice a week editing a research paper so eric would “get a good grade” by getting a good grade, and the fact that he does all his homework (40% of his final grade) he does not fail this class either.

He is fail math.

He does poorly on test and quizes in most of his subjects. One teacher changed his grade because he asked Eric to verbally answer 2 questions he had gotten wrong on is test. When Eric answered them correctly, the teacher changed the answere and the grade.

Last year, while we were going through PPTs he was getting modification under a diagnostic review. This helped, but he didn’t learn stratagies for learning on his own.

Eric has never been allowed to fail. Thus being said, we were told he didn’t qualify for special ed or 504.

I need help from someone with a child with APD. He also has been diagnosed with ADHD.

Does anyone have a similiar situation?

Please someone help me. My son is a 7th grader failing in school. He is super smart ,very high IQ, but he never remembers his assignments and if he does ,he forgets to turn them in on time and the teacher gives him zeros. He is on an IEP /504 plan but it hasn’t seemed to help anything. :(
The teachers keep telling me he has to learn from his mistakes that’s why we give him zeros and don’t accept his condition as an excuse. He is on Adderall and has tried all the others but nothing helps :(

I am out of energy and ideas.I also feel I am totally dumb as to his rights. I mean can a teacher fail him like this?It’s sooooooo unfair to him.He constantly puts himself down for his “DUMBNESS” as he calls it.

As parents it is really hard to sit back and let our kids fail. I have several kids with ADHD and my 18 year old has done things like you mentioned. In high school I had to keep on top of him, asking him what was due and when and if he turned it in. I used to e-mail his teachers at high school to follow through. Now that he is in college 800 miles away the heat is on him, because I am not there to hound him 24/7. So he slips up now and then and will call me when he needs to get organized and back on track.

I look at it this way for my son…If he can’t be responsible enough to turn in his homework what will happen to him when he is out in the real world, gets married…has kids…has a a job with and then just forgets to do it because he got distracted??? Most bosses wouldn’t be as tolerant as his teachers have been he would get fired.

My son is finally starting to take more responsiblity for his education and life. Having a job as a grocery stock clerk really helped him to see the Big picture of responsiblity and the price he had to pay to get a good education…so he could make a decent living rather than bagging groceries and gathering carts for $7.00 an hour.

ericsmom & tiredmom
Our situations sound so alike. My son, who’s name is Erik, by the way, is in the 6th grade. He is also failing. Some of his problems come from not turning in assignments or forgetting to write them down. His teachers say he is just unmotivated, because sometimes he does remember, they say that must mean he can control it.
He has also has problems in math since the third grade. He passed third grade math with a 70/D and fifth grade with a 74/D. Even though he had severe problems learning his alphabet, counting and reading, because there is no record in his files of this, they say teachers must have let him pass. And theres nothing they can do about that. The unspoken hint is that I may be lying. When i tell them that Erik had speech therapy and how hard he had it in K-1 grade, they just trivialize it and say all that is not uncommon. Its enough to make a person insane!
Mary