Is my child's school correct

[Anonymous]

My child was evaluated earlier this year by outside professionals. My child was given a firm diagnosis of ADD by two different qualified pediatric specialists . I called for a meeting at my child's school to discuss this diagnosis and what services, if any, could be offered to my child to ensure my child would not fall below grade level. The school said that despite this diagnosis, since my child is at grade level, there is nothing to do. My child was put on a watch list but that is it. My pediatrician said they should have put a 504 plan in place, which I know is different from an IEP. I mentioned this to the school, and they said no. So is the school right, or my pediatrican? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

School. If your child is not performing below grade level, why do you feel that you need 504/IEP? Those services offer a plan and accommodations so that your child has the opportunity to be successful. Functioning on grade level is successful.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, schools systems have so many children who are below grade level that they have to offer them services first. Working on grade level is being successful according to the school.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the quagmire. The pp's are correct. It is nearly impossible for your child to receive services until they are failing in the classroom. I have two GT/LD kids and we are currently going through this with one of them. He is performing way under his potential, but is on grade level despite a firm dx of ADHD and an LD (and an IQ of 99%. Seriously). We are in MoCo, and despite what the literature on their website would have you believe, they are not the least bit interested in your child working up to his or her potential, they just need them on grade level. We as parents, and our children, are not the customers. That is the primary reason we chose private for our oldest. We may need to dig deep and do the same for our DS. It's depressing and disheartening, especially when you read through the county's website which is full of happy talk about helping your child succeed. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

It's so unfort but yes this is correct. I dont believe the school is right but this is how they act. I am in the same situation. It's so hard because you and the dr's want to be proactive and you can't. I don't understand it and I think it is so unfair to the family and esp the child.

[Anonymous]

It depends. You need to show that their diagnosis causes them an impairment at school. That can be academic, but also social or emotional. My DD has anxiety and despite being well above grade level, she has a 504 plan for anxiety because it causes her significant social/emotional distress at school. She would not qualify for an IEP though.

Also, who did you talk to at the school? Teachers often do not know the process, you need to talk to the counselor. And just because a school does not do a formal plan, does not mean they are not willing to make informal accommodations.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It depends. You need to show that their diagnosis causes them an impairment at school. That can be academic, but also social or emotional. My DD has anxiety and despite being well above grade level, she has a 504 plan for anxiety because it causes her significant social/emotional distress at school. She would not qualify for an IEP though.

This PP is correct. You must show that the disability has an impact on the child's education. This can be academic impact, but also social, emotional or behavioral. My advice to you is to start to document how the dx of ADD impacts your child. This includes schoolwork, any communication between you and the teacher/school, opinions from outside experts, any informal accomodations that teachers have made that worked for your child, even anecdotes that your child shares with you. You will need to present a case to the school. If you go into a meeting and just talk about it, nothing will happen. We have found presenting documents (give copies of them to the school), makes a world of difference.
Another piece of advice, always ask for any communication from the school in regards to IEP/504 be in writing. Schools will often so no verbally, but when asked to provide "prior written notice" (strange term, but the official name) explaining why the school is denying the chld an evaluation or services, schools sometimes change their tune. The denial in writing from the school should explain why the child is being denied and believe it or not, being a grade level is not neccesarily a legal reason. Did the school offer to evaluate your child themselves? You can ask them to do an evaluation (costly to them). Ask in writing. When you ask in writing, a timeline begin. Sometimes, (if the parents have provided the school with an outside eval.) the school will just go ahead and find a child eligible for services (if the child could benefit from them) or protection and accomodations under 504 to avoid doing the evaluation themselves. Remember to get the school's response in writing.
Unfortunately, with some schools (not all) this is a bit of a game. True concern at the school level seems to be saving money and making sure all children test at least proficient on state tests.
Last piece of advice, find someone at the school who can be an ally. Ask that they attend meetings. It can really help.

[Anonymous]

You could initiate a child study...not sure what they call it in your county, but this is a meeting to discuss strengths and weekness, and put some strategies and accommodations in place without having an IEP or a 504. The only problem is that this type of a plan is informal and and not legal. Most teachers and administrators in my experience have always followed through, because it is a plan that everyone participates in and agrees on.

[Anonymous]

PPs are correct that being at grade level is not sufficient reason to deny an IEP or a 504. However, it's also true that having ADHD doesn't automatically qualify your DS for services/accomodations. You have to show that the ADHD is having an impact. At a minimum, thought, there should be discussion about how his ADHD impacts his education and social interactions and as the PP noted, you need to get everything in writing. There is a form for everything and it's not acceptable for the school not to provide documention.

My ADHD son is working at grade level but is not yet performing at the level he is capable. He has an IEP which specifies his goals and includes a social/peer interaction goal. He receives pull out services for a variety of reasons (fewer distractions for one thing) and also receives accomodations such as preferential seating, frequent breaks, shortened homework, repeated/concise directions, wiggle seat, etc. They're also required to provide him the opportunity to eat a mid-morning snack (we provide it). His teachers have been very supportive and accomodating but unless it's written in an IEP/504, they school isn't compelled to allow us to do anything.

We also work closely with an education consultant/advocate. The school basically stonewalled us when we requested they evaluate DS or that they accept the private evaluations we had done. DS wasn't a behavioral problem and was working "at grade level" and, therefore, the school had no inclination to do anything. We, however, could see there was a massive problem looming as DS failed to make progress (but was still considered at grade level). Having a consultant/adovcate made all the difference - not just getting DS the services and accomodation he needs but in keeping everyone on the same page. I've got two kids with IEPs and am still amazed at how the skill/knowledge level varies at the very same school. There are some amazing educators in FCPS but there are some who are lawsuits waiting to happen. The good ones have had no problem working with our consultant.

[Anonymous]

I know this idea is releasing the school from what it SHOULD be doing to help your son but - have you thought about contacting an ADHD Coach?

This person could come to your home and help you and your son develop some skills and practices for him to use both at home and in school. This could include a visual planner that you tape to his desk with pictures of "what's next" or something to hold if he's getting antsy or an after-school daily practice that re-inforces what he learned that day.

Just a thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this idea is releasing the school from what it SHOULD be doing to help your son but - have you thought about contacting an ADHD Coach?

This person could come to your home and help you and your son develop some skills and practices for him to use both at home and in school. This could include a visual planner that you tape to his desk with pictures of "what's next" or something to hold if he's getting antsy or an after-school daily practice that re-inforces what he learned that day.

Just a thought.

I don't think this would be "releasing" the school from what it should be doing, I think it's just a good idea. It would be nice if what's being done at home is consistent with what's being done at school so everything is reinforced.

[Anonymous]

My experience with Fairfax Co schools is that with a diagnosis of ADD, you can get a 504. Both my kids have it and both have 504s. Now what that does for them is up for debate, as I haven't found the 504 to be all that beneficial, because my kids are in high school with multiple teachers, and the teachers can't keep it straight all the time which kid has what accomodation, so my kids have to self advocate and say they need extra time for a test, assignment, etc.
I was amazed at how easy it is to get a 504 in FCPS. My daughter has a friend with a 4.3 GPA who just got diagnosed with some sort of reading problem, and she got a 504.

[Anonymous]

What about 504 plans in Loudoun County?

[Anonymous]

Sadly, OP's experience was my own.

During K, my child exhibited serious ADD, speech, social, and fine motor skill delays, and odd cognitive disconnects that needed a diagnosis. We had already paid $4,000 for SLP testing and ongoing speech therapy. We knew that the cognitive issues (at a minimum) needed an expert diagnosis so that we would know how to help him, but we did not have another $3,000. Our child is in a private school but the public school is STILL supposed to provide LD support legally.

So I met with this huge group of specialists at what would be my child's public elementary school and provided in advance my child's written speech testing and updates, written concerns and approaches tried by his teachers, and my own input, plus the WPSIII results from his private admissions testing. I sat down and met with a room full of folks, all of which agreed this little boy definitely needed assistance but that he would get none from the public school system until he was allowed to slip below grade level performance. He was bright, so they estimated (verbally, not in writing of course) that he would probably make it to 4th grade before his many issues would make it apparent to the school system that intervention was justified.

So I his parent was sent off to wait for 3.5 years until my child's issues caught up with his brightness. Can you imagine telling that to any parent???? I was floored. I totally understand how tight resources are and that there are many children already below grade level that need assistance ... but the system completely failed my child and who knows how many others.

So our family is left with providing the services, testing, and support that our child needs on our own because we obviously are unwilling to wait for the "free" services. So far our DC is loving school and doing well, although I am the OP who posted about being highly nervous about third grade this coming year. I guess you now know why I am so nervous ... I am waiting to see if the support we are providing has been enough to head off the collective prognostication of intellectual doom we were given a few years ago.

Good luck, OP. DO advocate strongly for your child in the school system but do NOT wait for them to step in and do the right thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sadly, OP's experience was my own.

During K, my child exhibited serious ADD, speech, social, and fine motor skill delays, and odd cognitive disconnects that needed a diagnosis. We had already paid $4,000 for SLP testing and ongoing speech therapy. We knew that the cognitive issues (at a minimum) needed an expert diagnosis so that we would know how to help him, but we did not have another $3,000. Our child is in a private school but the public school is STILL supposed to provide LD support legally.

So I met with this huge group of specialists at what would be my child's public elementary school and provided in advance my child's written speech testing and updates, written concerns and approaches tried by his teachers, and my own input, plus the WPSIII results from his private admissions testing. I sat down and met with a room full of folks, all of which agreed this little boy definitely needed assistance but that he would get none from the public school system until he was allowed to slip below grade level performance. He was bright, so they estimated (verbally, not in writing of course) that he would probably make it to 4th grade before his many issues would make it apparent to the school system that intervention was justified.

So I his parent was sent off to wait for 3.5 years until my child's issues caught up with his brightness. Can you imagine telling that to any parent???? I was floored. I totally understand how tight resources are and that there are many children already below grade level that need assistance ... but the system completely failed my child and who knows how many others.

So our family is left with providing the services, testing, and support that our child needs on our own because we obviously are unwilling to wait for the "free" services. So far our DC is loving school and doing well, although I am the OP who posted about being highly nervous about third grade this coming year. I guess you now know why I am so nervous ... I am waiting to see if the support we are providing has been enough to head off the collective prognostication of intellectual doom we were given a few years ago.

Good luck, OP. DO advocate strongly for your child in the school system but do NOT wait for them to step in and do the right thing.

http://wrightslaw.com/info/elig.sld.osep.felton.htm

See the above link to an article on wrightslaw.com regarding children who are not performing several years behind grade level but who may need services under IDEA (either due to high IQ or significant support given outside of school that augments a child's performance). It is ridiculous that you should have to let your child fail (and possibly develop other psychological issues) before help would be provided. However, the public school's main focus is on making AYP and saving money. If you really wanted to push it, you could ask for the denial of services in writing. However, if the school really does not want to do provide, they can certainly make things unpleasant while looking like they are living up to the letter of the law (which can be interpreted in many ways).