Moms of school aged kids w/ adhd ?

[joshsmom]

I'm helping my sister work on a list of accommodations needed for her 3rd grade son w/ adhd. He is formally diagnosed, however due to state ed guidelines he doesn't have an IEP. He does have a 504 (?). They're working with a VERY rigid teacher who has been giving her son a really difficult time to this point. She is very 'old school' and applies the same very traditional expectations to every student, with no consideration given to various learning styles, needs, ect. This is a small, private school. My sister is open to removing him even though her dh works there. However, they first want to see if they can work with the teacher. To this point they've been unsuccessful. Her 'norm' is an hour of homework a night, much of the day spent doing seatwork, a lot of notetaking, ect. The homework is typically taking him more than 2 hours. I'm really hoping they pull him to homeschool. They've considered it and I'd love to help her. That said, for now, they're trying to come up with a clear, concise list of accommodations to help him for his 504. (I could be wrong about the title for the official document. I'm a bit rusty and when I taught I did little with special ed.) They're meeting with her this week and will be specifically addressing his needs and the homework load.

Anyway, I'm interested in any 'btdt' experience. If your child has adhd, what did the classroom teacher do to accommodate his/her learning style?

TIA!

[JudyJudyJudy]

I don't think a private school has to honor a 504 plan.

The situation you've described doesn't sound good at all for a "regular" 3rd grader, much less one with ADHD. Are the public schools in the area bad?

[vulturemom]

I am also pretty sure that they don't have to honor a 504 plan.

[joshsmom]

I don't think a private school has to honor a 504 plan.

The situation you've described doesn't sound good at all for a "regular" 3rd grader, much less one with ADHD. Are the public schools in the area bad?


1- I'm not sure of the legality, but in this case, this particular school has willingly accomodated IEPs and 504s as best they could.

2- It's not really a matter of 'bad'. It is a christian school and this is their preference, however this is the first child that has really struggled. They are open to public and their district is strong.

3- I completely agree. This particular teacher has become a fossilized dud, which is why I'm really hoping they pull him for homeschool.

[JudyJudyJudy]

Is this the only 3rd grade teacher in the school? If so, I'd pull him out and either homeschool (my preference) or put him into public school.

[Sputterduck]

WRT to the old school teacher, perhaps she can be shown better teaching methods. I had a teacher my sophomore year who was very old school. He taught through nothing but lecture. WRT learning styles, I learn well any way but auditorially. On a learning style test I took when I was 12, I scored at the very top with visual and tactile/kinesthetic and got a zero on auditory. A zero. So, despite getting A's in all my other classes, I was flunking his class. I'd never had anything lower than a B before, so my mother knew something was wrong.

She looked into it, found out he was doing nothing but lecture, arranged a meeting with the teacher, me, and a vice principle, and they discussed other ways to present the material. He totally changed the way he taught from that one meeting! Suddenly he was using handouts and the overhead projector, and even color coordinating information. He was a good teacher, he just didn't realize that he was missing students that he could reach. As soon as someone showed him a better way, he took it and ran with it.

Perhaps this teacher can learn!

That said, homeschooling rocks and it is generally a great option for ADHD kids.

[JudyJudyJudy]

Sputter, it doesn't sound like this teacher is willing to change. From the OP:

My sister is open to removing him even though her dh works there. However, they first want to see if they can work with the teacher. To this point they've been unsuccessful.

[Sputterduck]

Darn. Well, what have they tried with the teacher? If she is unwilling to improve herself as a teacher, there's no reason to keep the poor child in her class.

Homeschooling is great for ADHD because they can give the child a lot more room to run around and they can teach in ways that incorporate his shorter attention span and his energy and his learning style.

[JudyJudyJudy]

I've never had ds evaluated, but I'm sure he would have been given an ADHD diagnosis if I had (in the US anyway). Homeschooling has been great for him, and monitoring his diet made a world of difference as well.

[joshsmom]

You're all confirming what I hope they'll see. I think he'd do so much better at home or in a different school. Judy, they were tweaking his diet a bit when they first got the diagnosis, not sure they've stuck with it.

SD-To this point they've just been collecting information for their meeting this week. He just completed his 2nd week of school. The school has a liaison that works with parents, teachers and cst to facilitate meetings, IEPs and services. The liaison has alluded to the fact that this teacher is not very 'flexible' in the past but is 'getting a bit better'. Doesn't sound very hopeful.

[lolabear]

is he on meds for his adhd? do they have TSS's where they live? If the teacher is unflexible a TSS in the classroom with him could help him stay on track

[jorobaker]

There are several methods I used for my ADHD students when I taught, but some that really worked for both parent, student and teacher are:

1. Instead of writing out homework tape record answers. I found when students didn't have to write the work went faster.

2.Give the student flexible seating. If he can sit through the lecture part of the class allow him to sit or stand somewhere else in the room, under the condition that he remain queit and working.

3.Allow work sheets to come back cut up. I found that if I only gave my ADHD students 5 problem to work on at a time they worked faster and didn't feel so overwhelmed, so I would cut the work up into small sections. When they completed the whole work sheet I would have them glue or their parents glue the work sheet back together on another sheet of paper.

I have a ton more!!!! I was an ADD/ADHD specialist. I taught in a general ed. classroom. If you need any more let me know.

[KaraJ]

We were all ADD but my mother home schooled us. Is that an option? It can actually be very easy to home school depending on how you do it.

[xobehs]

I agree with Judy on this one. I have tons of advice as to how to proceed in a public setting where a 504 is being ignored, but this is tough.
You can make all the suggestions you want, but without the teacher on board it is going to be rough.
IIWY or your sister, I would talk with the teacher and see if SHE has any ideas or strategies, get her on the team instead of handing her orders. Maybe she would be willing, maybe not, but IMHO handing her a list of further suggestions may alienate her more at this point.

[Born_a_Diva]

I don't think a private school has to honor a 504 plan.

The situation you've described doesn't sound good at all for a "regular" 3rd grader, much less one with ADHD. Are the public schools in the area bad?



First of all, is he on meds? If his academics improve, they can /will try to take him off the IEP.

I'm starting work in a Catholic school as an intervention specialist and private schools and special ed is very different than public schools. (I'm learning) Private schools don't normally create IEPs but create ISP that are not as binding. Private schools dont have to honor nor service children w/special needs.

If he had that same teacher in a public school, all you'd have to do is utter lawsuit and they'd be fixing that prob teacher situation very quickly!!!