ADHD/Anxiety 504 accomodations

[Anonymous]

We have a student services meeting for DS who is in 2nd grade tomorrow morning. We have a list of accommodations from the neuropsych but just wondering if you found anything particularly helpful that might be out of the norm.

The neuropsych report recommended additional time, minimizing distraction, written instructions, front of the class seating, frequent breaks, help with note taking/writing stuff down. When I think about what he needs it really is just for someone to notice that he is not working/spacing out and to come and explain to him 1:1 what he should be doing and give him an example. He seems to get the most overwhelmed when he is given class instructions but works really well from having an example. Are those things I can ask for?

Anything else I should be prepared with before I go in? I feel like I am still trying to figure out what he needs myself so I don't know exactly what to ask for.

[Anonymous]

Front of the room seating is not always ideal. You may want the teacher to have the judgment to place your child where they work best. Also, do you have a tactic for getting refocused, like touching on the shoulder or something like that. You can ask for examples to be given. We had things built in like giving my kid an errand a few times a day and frequent changes inWork stations (which is why front of the class seating isnt ideal for lots of kids). Mine was not required to work at a desk - could walk around, sit on the floor, sit in the hall, lay on the floor, whatever worked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Front of the room seating is not always ideal. You may want the teacher to have the judgment to place your child where they work best. Also, do you have a tactic for getting refocused, like touching on the shoulder or something like that. You can ask for examples to be given. We had things built in like giving my kid an errand a few times a day and frequent changes inWork stations (which is why front of the class seating isnt ideal for lots of kids). Mine was not required to work at a desk - could walk around, sit on the floor, sit in the hall, lay on the floor, whatever worked.

Thank you! His school is pretty good overall at letting kids work where they want to, but that is something I can add in. That makes sense about seating. The touching on the shoulder is a great thing to add. Thanks for reminding me. I actually told his current teachers to do that and they say it works well.

I mainly want them to recognize when he gets overwhelmed. At the beginning of the year this year he would not understand what to do and would just crawl under the desk and rip up his paper. This was initially interpreted as defiant/aggressive behavior vs him just being overwhelmed and essentially panicking and shutting down. It is tough when we have subs because they tend to not know him, so they may yell and then he shuts down and cries I am sure I can't write in "please be gentle and kind" lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Front of the room seating is not always ideal. You may want the teacher to have the judgment to place your child where they work best. Also, do you have a tactic for getting refocused, like touching on the shoulder or something like that. You can ask for examples to be given. We had things built in like giving my kid an errand a few times a day and frequent changes inWork stations (which is why front of the class seating isnt ideal for lots of kids). Mine was not required to work at a desk - could walk around, sit on the floor, sit in the hall, lay on the floor, whatever worked.

Thank you! His school is pretty good overall at letting kids work where they want to, but that is something I can add in. That makes sense about seating. The touching on the shoulder is a great thing to add. Thanks for reminding me. I actually told his current teachers to do that and they say it works well.

I mainly want them to recognize when he gets overwhelmed. At the beginning of the year this year he would not understand what to do and would just crawl under the desk and rip up his paper. This was initially interpreted as defiant/aggressive behavior vs him just being overwhelmed and essentially panicking and shutting down. It is tough when we have subs because they tend to not know him, so they may yell and then he shuts down and cries I am sure I can't write in "please be gentle and kind" lol.

See if you can call out that the sub plan needs to include his accommodations.

[Anonymous]

Will he initiate hand raising in class/ requesting help? Some kids have trouble with this and it needs to be taught. You can teach hand raising or use a red/green card on desk that he flips to red to ask for help.

How will he request breaks, what should he be doing instead, how many breaks per class can he take? These are things to think about. You have to be certain he utilizes this in a way that he doesn’t just escape a difficult task but still gets downtime when he really needs it.

How specifically will you “minimize distractions”? I’d make sure you have specific goals written for this as that’s very broad and those types of broad goals often get overlooked by teachers. The more specific the better.

How does he do with reading and writing? Many kids with SN do better with direct instruction type programs. This would probably require an IEP but something to consider.

Who will be taking notes? Will he require a scribe? Will he write down notes and they’ll be checked for completion?

How are his social skills? Any goals needed there?

www.wrightslaw.com

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Will he initiate hand raising in class/ requesting help? Some kids have trouble with this and it needs to be taught. You can teach hand raising or use a red/green card on desk that he flips to red to ask for help.

How will he request breaks, what should he be doing instead, how many breaks per class can he take? These are things to think about. You have to be certain he utilizes this in a way that he doesn’t just escape a difficult task but still gets downtime when he really needs it.

How specifically will you “minimize distractions”? I’d make sure you have specific goals written for this as that’s very broad and those types of broad goals often get overlooked by teachers. The more specific the better.

How does he do with reading and writing? Many kids with SN do better with direct instruction type programs. This would probably require an IEP but something to consider.

Who will be taking notes? Will he require a scribe? Will he write down notes and they’ll be checked for completion?

How are his social skills? Any goals needed there?

www.wrightslaw.com

No, he will not ask for help at all. We have been working on this (we do a lot of role play) but he doesn't seem to be willing to do it. I really like the idea of a red/green card. I think that would help a lot. At home we often use thumbs up or thumbs down (and I ask questions). But I really like the idea of the cards. Thank you for that idea.

I am not quite sure what a direct instruction program is. He is receiving reading intervention right now (small groups). He pretty much refused to do any writing the first half of the year and scored low on the reading tests. We had him privately evaluated and was told he is on grade level, he just simply doesn't want to do it. So, an example is, he had a writing assignment in school and instead of doing the assignment he just wrote a creative writing story. So, I don't think he is unable to write, he just doesn't want to do the assignments he is given if he is not interested. We are probably going to start medication soon and the doctor told us it would hopefully help him focus on work he doesn't want to do. We were pretty much told he would not get an IEP because he has a high IQ and no learning disorders.

For writing right now his teacher writes for him during small group instruction. She asks questions, he dictates, and she writes his answers. BUT again, I know he is capable of writing. He just needs to want to do it I guess. We are working on that and it seems to be improving.

Social skills. His doctor did recommend a social skills group which I plan on looking into after spring break. He is very sensitive so that is our biggest issue. Like we were at a birthday party this weekend at a huge place and the kids just kind of ran amuck. I noticed him sitting in the corner crying and it was because his friend wasn't paying enough attention to him. I don't think his friend did it on purpose, the place was chaotic, and he probably wanted to play with everyone there. But my kid didn't understand why the other kid kept getting distracted. WE do a lot of role playing with this also and it has improved but I can only do so much I think.

Thank you for all these ideas.

[Anonymous]

Direct instruction info:

https://www.nifdi.org/

Example of DI reading program

https://www.mheducation.com/prek-12/program/reading-mastery-signature-edition/MKTSP-UQM08M02.html?page=1&sortby=title&order=asc&bu=seg

This company has many DI programs that are great for different ages and concepts so it really depends on needs. I find the repetition in instruction, workbooks, layout are good and the great thing is most of the programs follow a similar teaching pattern. This helps because if he’s done say reading mastery and later incorporated a spelling mastery program he would be familiar with the cues, layout, what’s being asked- allowing more energy to be focused just on concepts. The concepts and student expectations build in a systematic way as well.

You might try TV Teacher for handwriting. The way it’s presented helps memory of letters, but it might also just be difficulty attending to longer passages or difficulty with fine motor skills. Have you had an OT eval for writing to eliminate fine motor (vs motivation) difficulty?

I would be weary of writing goals in a way that make him more dependent on teachers at this age. Rather than having a scribe I’d focus on skill development. While you might still need help it’s better to focus on the independence with help available as needed. You don’t want him learning that teachers just do things for him. Obviously if he has slow processing speed or fine motor deficits that prevent the independence then scribes are a good idea. At this age though imo pushing for more skill development with fading accommodations to maintain independence will serve him better in the long run. Things like copying passages from a written example, writing grips, raised line paper, different writing programs with more interesting content, possibly OT if necessary, etc.

If motivation is the biggest issue he might need a token economy type reinforcement system or other environmental accommodations. Ask the BCBA to complete an FBA/BIP to determine if there are specific behaviors interfering with learning and how to best address them in the classroom. Getting structured systems in place at this age can be really useful long term.

You might request SLP group instruction to focus on pragmatics and social skills.

[Anonymous]

For anxiety and social skills help a weekly meeting with a therapist at school has been helpful, though how helpful it was in practice has varied a lot depending on the skills and fit of the psychologist.

[Anonymous]

One useful accommodation is check for understanding. So after the teacher gives whole class instruction, she checks in with your child individually to make sure he understands what he's supposed to do and how to get started.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One useful accommodation is check for understanding. So after the teacher gives whole class instruction, she checks in with your child individually to make sure he understands what he's supposed to do and how to get started.

Oh yes this would be great. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Direct instruction info:

https://www.nifdi.org/

Example of DI reading program

https://www.mheducation.com/prek-12/program/reading-mastery-signature-edition/MKTSP-UQM08M02.html?page=1&sortby=title&order=asc&bu=seg

This company has many DI programs that are great for different ages and concepts so it really depends on needs. I find the repetition in instruction, workbooks, layout are good and the great thing is most of the programs follow a similar teaching pattern. This helps because if he’s done say reading mastery and later incorporated a spelling mastery program he would be familiar with the cues, layout, what’s being asked- allowing more energy to be focused just on concepts. The concepts and student expectations build in a systematic way as well.

You might try TV Teacher for handwriting. The way it’s presented helps memory of letters, but it might also just be difficulty attending to longer passages or difficulty with fine motor skills. Have you had an OT eval for writing to eliminate fine motor (vs motivation) difficulty?

I would be weary of writing goals in a way that make him more dependent on teachers at this age. Rather than having a scribe I’d focus on skill development. While you might still need help it’s better to focus on the independence with help available as needed. You don’t want him learning that teachers just do things for him. Obviously if he has slow processing speed or fine motor deficits that prevent the independence then scribes are a good idea. At this age though imo pushing for more skill development with fading accommodations to maintain independence will serve him better in the long run. Things like copying passages from a written example, writing grips, raised line paper, different writing programs with more interesting content, possibly OT if necessary, etc.

If motivation is the biggest issue he might need a token economy type reinforcement system or other environmental accommodations. Ask the BCBA to complete an FBA/BIP to determine if there are specific behaviors interfering with learning and how to best address them in the classroom. Getting structured systems in place at this age can be really useful long term.

You might request SLP group instruction to focus on pragmatics and social skills.

Thank you for all this! We haven't had an OT eval yet, but it is on the list. The neuropsych mentioned issues with hand writing and inconsistent pencil holding. It was tough becuase so much of first and K was online so I do think he suffered there. Regarding processing speed it was low in regards to his IQ but is rated as high average overall.

Motivation seems to be a big factor and he is in an awards program at school which seems to to work really well.