My son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 4 yrs old. He received early intervention services and then was mainstreamed into public school for kindergarten. Because he was on medication for ADHD at the time, the school felt he would not need to be classified. Every year has been a struggle, but my son has done alright and the school did provide services, such as resource room, even without the classification. At the beginning of this school year, both myself and my son’s doctor felt he would benefit from an IEP. His reading is about a grade behind and his spelling seems more fitted to a first grader. We felt the IEP would target the areas he needed the most help in and make the teachers/school accountable for ensuring he gets whatever help needed to meet these goals. In late September we requested an evaluation be done. Finally in January the evaluation was completed. When I met with the school board they advised me they felt it would be better to classify my son as a plan 504 instead of Learning Disabled. The 504 would entitle him to all the services he needed. I did not understand the difference, all I cared about was getting them to do an IEP on him. After many phone calls requesting a copy of the IEP, the school finally admitted that there is no IEP when your child is classified as 504. Instead there is a 504 plan. In late March I finally received a copy of this so called “plan”. It consisted of a single piece of paper which stated my son was classified as “handicapped” and would receive the following considerations:
1. He would be seated away from other students when necessary
2. He will receive Resource Room 3x/wk
3. He wil receive extra help/time for assignments and tests.
He was already receiving all of this except for the extra time with tests.
I feel the school gave me the run around because they did not want to do an IEP on him and they took the easy way out. I need to know what my options are or who I can contact to get help with this. I am really concerned because I started this process in September and now the school year is almost over.
Re: IEP vs 504
Thank you for your reply. I’m going to request that they change him to OHI or retest him. My biggest fear is that next year they have 4th grade required testing and I don’t think he will be able to pass these tests. Thank you again for the info.
Re: IEP vs 504
You say you had an eval done and then your son was put on a 504. Therefore, the school system is recognizing that he has a disability (ADHD), but he must have been “making effective progress” and did not need specialized services- at least at the time the 504 was implimented. That plan is automatically reviewed every year or earlier if requested. But I don’t think you should all assume that the school system is “taking the easy way out. There are guidelines they must follow to differentiate the need for an IEP vs a 504. It is not uncommon for one to become the other later on. Good luck
Re: IEP vs 504
In our area we have a Parent Mentor Program, this person will discuss the areas regarding services available, explain IEP & 504 etc. They will also act as a liaison between you & the teacher/school. They can meet with you one-on-one also. You may want to check with your school district to see if something like this is available to you. Unfortunately, the school system doesn’t always let you know that these mentors even exist, I didn’t know about this one myself until another friend told me about it - the schools don’t want you to know because then they have to do the paperwork and such & they don’t want you informed so they can do what they did to you. Good Luck!
Re: IEP vs 504
This is the first message I have read on this board. I am disappointed that it had to be a parent that is upset with the school and thinks the school is giving them a run around. The only explanation I can see is they didn’t explain it to you properly. The second reply here explaining the difference between an IEP and 504 is good. They did the eval. It seems obvious to me that your son did not qualify for Special Education and an IEP. Other health is an option if the accommodations under 504 are not working and he is far behind. You are VERY lucky they are giving him resource room help as it is. Just keep close watch and thank your lucky stars the school is working with you. Ask questions but please don’t demand just because you want more. He has to qualify.
Re: IEP vs 504
Dear Gen G.
If you feel that your child needs more help, call or write to the counselor/psychologist of your child’s school. It is likely that the psychologist did the testing for your child. Make an appointment with him/her to go over your child’s test results again. You have a right to review the results whenever you wish.
Usually, a district requires that there be a 22 pt. discrepancy between the child’s ability and achievement. Ask the psychologist if your child’s scores fit into that range. If so, it is likely that your child would qualify for SPED. That could mean putting your child in a pull-out class or resource room for math and/or reading.
Schools try very hard not to push kids into SPED. The FEDS want kids to be in the general education classes with support whenever possible.
Your mind will be more at ease if you better understand the child’s placement on the test results. I think that you will find that the tester or psychologist will be happy to discuss the results with you.
Good luck.
DR
SPED Teacher - 6th grade
Re: IEP vs 504
Afetr extensive testing, our son was also placed on a 504 plan. This was because he was not academically behind grade level, but it was recognized that he needed accomodations to maintain that status. He is now in the 7th grade and his 504 plan has increased as needed. How each state views the IEP vs the 504 varies a bit. In our state they are interchangeable. The key to being successful in enforcing and getting necessary changes is self education about the system and how it works and then making it work for your son. If he does fail grade level on the standardized tests, it rather proves your point that an IEP is appropriate. You also can ask for an independent evaluation if you disagree with the evaluation done by the school. We have done that and it did not change our son’s status but increased the accomodations listed on his 504 plan.
Also, every state has a student advocacy group funded by the U.S. government which can be of great help to you and to your son. Your state Dept. of Education can tell you how to contact them. Remember that you are your son’s most important advocate and what you learn about the system’s workings will translate into success for your son.
Re: IEP vs 504
I think that your son is quite fortunate to have a 504 instead of an IEP. If special education really worked, then most of the kids wouldn’t still be in sped as 12th graders, having a watered down education from the time that they were found eligible. We special educators fought long and hard not to have OHI under the umbrella of special education because we knew that more and more kids would be diagnosed who were ADD and the majority of them are that way because they weren’t taught their basic skills in elementary school. That is exactly what has happened. Medicated kids have gone up 67% in five years and most of them are still behind in reading and writing due to the whole language philosophy in the past 15 years. The medication stunts their growth, loses their appetite, and causes insomnia and we keep giving it to them with very little educational results. I have been remediating ADD as well as learning disabilities for the last five years using methods that work. Many kids are diagnosed ADD because they can’t visualize language as well as numbers. These are kids that can’t do multi-step problems and write paragraphs. These also are kids that can’t read, in which I use Phono-Graphixs. Also, many kids lack structure at home and spend too much time with computer games and television. If your son doesn’t know the process of writing because of not being taught it as well as grammar, that is why he is having a lot of problems writing. If he has not had a spelling program, that is why he can’t write. There are good programs out there and I have a few that I use as well as grammar and writing programs. The schools won’t remediate, you will have to do it yourself. After your son has been remediated then you won’t need a 504 or an IEP and he will receive a better education than if he did. Please email me directly and I will give you the names of all of the programs. I am a special education teacher in 11 th grade and all of my students including three mildly mentally challenged students are writing 3-5 page research papers. I also have a business remediating learning disabilities as well as ADD.
Re: IEP vs 504
Karen,
To find our about IEP’s and 504 Plans you can go to this site under LD Indepth or go to CHADD.org-Public Policy- Education. You can also get information from you states Special Education Department.
Re: IEP vs 504
First your son has to have a descrepancy between his IQ and achievement scores. Just asking for resource services is not how you receive them. You should request a copy of the psychological evaluation - you might mention the words “due process” - it wil get you faster action. Next, to receive services in a resource room is illegal for non-identified students. A student must be on an IEP to recieve special education services. Finally, a 504 plan should be very similar to an IEP but is monitored by regular education. I do not think students who are identified with ADHD should be placed on IEP’s.
You can request your child to be tested and if you do they have to test him. An IEP is different because you have to do an extensive amount of testing to determine if your child has a learning disability. Even if he doesn’t qualify as LD he can have an IEP under the term OHI, Other Health Impaired. That has to be determined by a team of psychologists, teachers, parents, social worker, etc.and has to be decided that his health impairment is causing him educational difficulties. I have about 3 students that are in my special ed class that are OHI. You are lucky because resouce is not usually an option under 504.An IEP is different because it is an educational plan under the special education department. A 504 accommodation plan is accommodations you make under the Rehabilitation act. These accommodations are made in the classroom. I feel that the school is trying 504 instead of testing because of the amount of time it takes for testing and the addition it will make to the spec. ed classlists!!! They were giving you the runaround in a nice way. But when they find out that you are a mother that educates yourself on your parental rights and your politely push for your childs rights then they will accommodate you. Cooperative, informed parents are the best and go the farthest. Check on the internet, there is some good sources that explain 504 and IEPS.
Good luck