Looking ahead to middle school...what do I need to ask for? (ADHD)

[Anonymous]

My son is at a MCPS elementary school. Just started 5th grade and by coincidence his IEP 3-year review is this year, so I'd love advice on what I should push for in his IEP to set him up for a good sixth grade.

He is bright, friendly, and social. He likes his teachers and has friends. He has ADHD -- we are still working on the right combo of meds that can produce focus without leaving him numb or with no appetite for most of the day

He's doing well in ELA according to MAP testing but handwriting is a mess that years of OT haven't addressed very well. And getting him to sit down and actually read a book page by page (as opposed to flipping back and forth and looking at pictures) is a chore. Way below grade level in math, picks up some basic facts easily and others clearly need reinforcing (decimals and fractions are killing us). The handwriting problems haven't helped with that because he has a hard time reading his own numbers, for example. He's also, unfortunately, internalized that he is "bad" at math. He would struggle to write a multiple sentence essay, but I'm not sure if it's the handwriting, difficulty in gathering his thoughts because of the ADHD, or a combination of factors. (Dysgraphia? Dyscalculia? I have not had him evaluated for that.) Yet, he prefers to write than to type or to use speech-to-text, and his teachers have not required him to use assistive tech. Executive functioning needs support.

I hate to list all these problems because he has made such progress since he started school. But it's only going to get harder. I hired an advocate last year to help support me during his IEP meeting and she made good suggestions, including getting his math concerns "on the record," but I don't know how much the document is really affecting his instruction on a day to day basis. I want to help him learn how to be a good advocate for himself and his own needs but I'm not sure how much help he is getting in that either.

For those of you with older children who have a similar learning profile, what worked for you in middle school? What should I push for, and what should I let go? Should I get another private neuropsych exam (maybe that would answer some questions about dyscalculia/dysgraphia, but what would the school do with that information?)

Thanks so much for all your help; reading through past posts here has been so useful and cathartic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I hired an advocate last year to help support me during his IEP meeting and she made good suggestions, including getting his math concerns "on the record," but I don't know how much the document is really affecting his instruction on a day to day basis. I want to help him learn how to be a good advocate for himself and his own needs but I'm not sure how much help he is getting in that either.

In my experience in MCPS (similar issues to your kid), you can expect the above to get worse in middle school.

What worked for us was to focus our energy on the better teachers, and spend money to fill in the gaps at home. What you might do at home (tutors, therapy, etc) might change each year depending on your kid's teachers and case manager.

[Anonymous]

Does your psychologist have suggestions?

"Self advocacy" was an iEP goal for our kid (now in college) from MS through HS. They got better and better at it over the years.

For accommodations, we found extended time, preferential seating, human reader, calculator, and monitor test response to be the most helpful.

For goals, I'd go back to the psych.

[Anonymous]

OP here … what a great suggestion. I’ll definitely reach out to the psychologist for help with this.

[Anonymous]

*Use of calculator in any class that involves math
*typing whether possible
*the option to answer math questions that require an explanation orally instead of in writing
*breaking large projects down into smaller steps with different due dates to manage flow of work
*placement in a resource class instead of an arts elective