MCPS 504 request meeting

[Anonymous]

Background: DC is a junior in high school with a recent Neurpsych evaluation diagnosis of ADHD and Level 1 ASD. The evaluation was about two months ago. After the evaluation DC started ADHD medication as recommended. He had previously stopped taking it about three years ago and was on Lexipro and in therapy for social anxiety for two years and then stopped taking it earlier this year. The current ADHD medicine makes him much more pleasant to be around. He actually talks to us! He says he notices no real difference but he is obviously much more confident in his recent tests at school and is socializing more out of school. His grades have never really suffered when he went off the ADHD medication but the doctor who did the neurospsch test was very surprised that he is able to do ok on tests at school and keep track of his assignments. The reason he went in for the neuropsych test was because DC suspected himself that he had ASD and wasnt sure if he even had ADHD- I think based on a friend who also has ASD.

I would like to have a 504 plan in place for senior year of highschool because I suspect DC will benefit from the extra time and the ability to type responses vs. handwritten for tests (handwriting is illegible). I would also like the 504 in place for senior year because I suspect he will need it in college and I have heard it is easier to get in college if it is already established. We missed the boat on having the 504 in place for SATs and the 5 AP exams he has this year but maybe can get extra time for next the APs next year. I am just concerned when we meet with the MCPS team of teachers and counselor next week, that DC is just going to say that he doesnt need extra time and his teachers will say his grades are good so doesnt need it. I suspect if DC does not have a single dorm room in college, that he may end up dropping out. Socializing absolutely exhausts him. This is my biggest worry about getting the plan in place now. Any advice here? DC is not entirely onboard and since he is in the meeting, I am worried that he will ruin his chances of getting the accomodations. He can be pretty inflexible.

[Anonymous]

Based on my own DDs experience in MCPS, most of her accommodations are optional for her to use. Like “if you have extended time and want to use it, come during lunch to get started on the test.” Outside of standardized testing where they put kids with extended time in the same, separate room, I can’t think of any accommodation in my DDs 504 that is not elective on an “incident by incident” basis.

Also, TONS of kids get extended time. My DD said that there are maybe 100 or 120 AP gov students and like 25 of them were in the room that received extra time. That felt crazy to me but it is almost becoming standard at this point.

My DD also gets social burnout so her favorite accommodation is preferential seating. If she is by someone too chatty or too distracting she just uses her preferential seating accommodation and moves. There may be some advantages he is under considering and few downsides at this point. Maybe he can be convinced that there is little downside so why not do it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Based on my own DDs experience in MCPS, most of her accommodations are optional for her to use. Like “if you have extended time and want to use it, come during lunch to get started on the test.” Outside of standardized testing where they put kids with extended time in the same, separate room, I can’t think of any accommodation in my DDs 504 that is not elective on an “incident by incident” basis.

Also, TONS of kids get extended time. My DD said that there are maybe 100 or 120 AP gov students and like 25 of them were in the room that received extra time. That felt crazy to me but it is almost becoming standard at this point.

My DD also gets social burnout so her favorite accommodation is preferential seating. If she is by someone too chatty or too distracting she just uses her preferential seating accommodation and moves. There may be some advantages he is under considering and few downsides at this point. Maybe he can be convinced that there is little downside so why not do it?

Thank you. The preferential seating would be a big help so I will point that out to him.

[Anonymous]

Just because you have a privately diagnosed disability doesn't mean you qualify for a 504 plan. You need evidence that there is something that is substantially limiting his or her ability to learn or affects another major life activity. He has friends, is able to take five AP classes just this year, and keep track of his assignments. I think you are going to have an uphill road arguing about the "substantially limits" part particularly if you son doesn't agree.

And getting a single room has nothing to do with a 504 plan. You need to be reaching out to a therapist or psychiatrist for them to be documenting why he would NEED a single.

[Anonymous]

I agree it might be difficult for your child to get a 504 based on his academic profile so far, even though a child can get accommodations on the theory that he would do EVEN BETTER if he had them, because his disability is limiting his achievement. A lot of 504 and IEP teams are reluctant to receive this argument, however.

You can try to play that card if you want, but the psych report will have to really belabor that point too, and spell out all the accommodations the psychologist recommends. Preferential seating, frequent breaks, use of a calculator, typing accommodations, use of notes from teacher, extended time on tests and to hand in assignments... were some of the main ones my kid had, because he had dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and very low processing speed along with his ADHD/ASD.

I can help you for college dorm rooms. We did a full neuro when DS was 17 expressedly to get accommodations for college. In it, the psych went into greater details about practical life accommodations he needed, and one of them was a single room. DS picked a private university (George Washington) that has a good reputation for managing students with accommodations, and which has set aside a decent number of single rooms. The Disability Office was perfectly fine with this request.

Do not tell Admissions about any plan or accommodations. If nothing untoward is visible on the transcript that he sends to colleges (such as a resource class or an abbreviated schedule), do not mention special needs in any essay or material sent to admissions. AFTER getting admitted, is when he should contact the disability office to request his accommodations.

[Anonymous]

When my student had a recent neuropsych (for a reevaluation -- he was diagnosed with autism when little) one of the tests specifically looked at the need for extra time. Nelson Denny, I think?

I would go over the results of the neuropsych with your son and discuss why you think extra time would be helpful and see what he thinks. I will say that extra time, which my child absolutely needs -- comes at a huge cost because everything (studying, taking practice tests, the tests themselves) takes so much longer. If your son doesn't absolutely need the extra time, I wouldn't push it.