504 or IEP?

[Anonymous]

DC has a diagnosis of ASD and ADHD and does well with meds. Last year in 5th grade, we asked for a 504 from the school. They had some classwork from the beginning of the year that was mostly blank, with one or two words total for responses. But by the time the meeting happened midyear, DC was writing sentences, paragraphs. So they denied our request, saying everything is fine.

Now this year in 6th grade, DC has turned in 0 written work so far but participates in class discussions, does the reading and understands, etc (the teacher has reported this to us). Next year in middle school and later in high school, this seems like it could be a problem. Can we ask for DC to give answers/do assignments in a different way? Is that something that we could ask for in a 504 or IEP? I'm not sure if it's something we should ask for - but taking several months before DC is able to turn in a written assignment seems like a big problem.

[Anonymous]

I’m not understanding what you mean. Are referring to homework or classwork?
Is your child doing it and not turning it in or just not doing it.

[Anonymous]

I would not ask for your child to provide answers in a different way. I would figure out the problem and then get tutoring ASAP.

As PP said does your child do the work and then just does not turn it in? Is your child refusing to do the work? Is there a skill deficit like the demands got too hard? Are they just too distracted to do the work?

You need an IEP if your child has not turned in any written work. That would give you explicit instuction but it takes a lot of time to get one in place and the "instruction" the school would provide would probably be zilch and not make a difference so I'd spend all my time and energy on a tutor.

But I'd make sure to talk to the teacher and the school to understand where the problem is first.

[Anonymous]

1. You start by asking your child why they are not turning in any written work. You come up with a plan together to check the online grade book or learning management system for assignments. You watch then complete written homework and pack it somewhere they won’t forget it, or help them submit it online.
2. You talk with the teacher to brainstorm some different strategies to help them. Maybe the teacher can give check-ins, prompts for attention, and reminders to turn in work. They can send unfinished work home and let you know it needs to be completed. Allowing oral responses may be an option, but it sounds like your kid can write and just isn’t, so I could see the teacher wanting to try other strategies first.
3. After you’ve tried the strategies, you request a 504 again, either because the strategies are working and you want to formalize them for next year, or because they are not working and you need a different solution.
4. If they deny you, you request a Child Study, which begins the IEP process. You probably won’t qualify for an IEP, but the school can’t ignore you. They are required by law to follow through on Child Study requests.
5. If still no progress, you elevate through the school system, hire an advocate, or look for a different school.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I mean not doing any written classwork and not finishing the class work at home (they don't have homework other than finishing classwork that wasn't completed at school). The teacher seemed unperturbed but this is their first year teaching and it sounded very alarming (although not surprising since this is what DC is like at home too) to me.

What do we do next? Ask for a conference? An evaluation? While the teacher's response was a bit blase, this seems like a huge red flag to me.

[Anonymous]

I found wrightslaw.com very helpful in learning about 504s and IEPs.

[Anonymous]

For more context, DC has a diagnosis of ADHD, ASD with demand avoidance, GAD and DCD (because DC didn't write/couldn't write more than one or two words for the neuropsychologist). We took the report to the school last year and they ignored it since by the time the meeting happened, he was doing school work.

This seems really serious to me and the school doesn't care. And I'm not sure what to do next.

[Anonymous]

I would try for an IEP. A 504 doesn't provide any staffing or extra help to your child's teacher. It's just one more obligation she may or may not have the capacity to fulfill. If your child actually needs EXTRA attention or help, you either have to hope you can get special education services for your child or hire a tutor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would try for an IEP. A 504 doesn't provide any staffing or extra help to your child's teacher. It's just one more obligation she may or may not have the capacity to fulfill. If your child actually needs EXTRA attention or help, you either have to hope you can get special education services for your child or hire a tutor.

You clearly have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. No judgement, it's confusing, but you are clueless.

[Anonymous]

504 plans provide accommodations - extra time, preferential seating, homework modifications, reminders, etc.

IEPs provide specialized instruction related to specific goals set by the team.

Do you already have the 504? You said you requested one but I wasn't clear if they developed one.
You can ask for an IEP, but they may or may not give it. Depending on your kid's needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I mean not doing any written classwork and not finishing the class work at home (they don't have homework other than finishing classwork that wasn't completed at school). The teacher seemed unperturbed but this is their first year teaching and it sounded very alarming (although not surprising since this is what DC is like at home too) to me.

What do we do next? Ask for a conference? An evaluation? While the teacher's response was a bit blase, this seems like a huge red flag to me.

I think whether it’s a red flag depends on how well your daughter is doing in school. Does she need more practice or has she mastered the material. If the latter, it doesn’t matter that she isn’t completing it. Reducing workload is a common accommodation and is being informally used, which is a best practice.

If the former, is she bringing the class work home? If so, nothing for the school to do. It is a parent responsibility to ensure completion at that point. If not, then you should ask whether she can get assistance with bringing it home. That’s not an uncommon accommodation.

You probably need a parent teacher conference to sort this out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. You start by asking your child why they are not turning in any written work. You come up with a plan together to check the online grade book or learning management system for assignments. You watch then complete written homework and pack it somewhere they won’t forget it, or help them submit it online.
2. You talk with the teacher to brainstorm some different strategies to help them. Maybe the teacher can give check-ins, prompts for attention, and reminders to turn in work. They can send unfinished work home and let you know it needs to be completed. Allowing oral responses may be an option, but it sounds like your kid can write and just isn’t, so I could see the teacher wanting to try other strategies first.
3. After you’ve tried the strategies, you request a 504 again, either because the strategies are working and you want to formalize them for next year, or because they are not working and you need a different solution.
4. If they deny you, you request a Child Study, which begins the IEP process. You probably won’t qualify for an IEP, but the school can’t ignore you. They are required by law to follow through on Child Study requests.
5. If still no progress, you elevate through the school system, hire an advocate, or look for a different school.

OP this is a good approach. Don't jump to "prove your knowledge a different way" before you know why they aren't doing the written work. Your DS is only in 6th grade, they can't give up on writing already. Remember that the schools' opening position will be, "the child doesn't need specialized teaching, the child just needs to change their behavior." Work refusal is complicated (BTDT) so don't be afraid to move forward to an advocate. Hire a good one - not one who will ask the school for a few non-significant concessions and run up your bill.

[Anonymous]

Start by formally requesting an evaluation for special education services. This starts a legal timer that the school has to meet with you and collect data. I say this based on your comment if the school ignoring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I mean not doing any written classwork and not finishing the class work at home (they don't have homework other than finishing classwork that wasn't completed at school). The teacher seemed unperturbed but this is their first year teaching and it sounded very alarming (although not surprising since this is what DC is like at home too) to me.

What do we do next? Ask for a conference? An evaluation? While the teacher's response was a bit blase, this seems like a huge red flag to me.

It is a huge red flag and you don't want it to get worse. Work with him at home, hire the best tutor you can and start the IEP process like others described. You can default to a 504 if needed but aim for the IEP. But don't expect any miracles with the IEP or anything at all. Our child has had writing goals forever but really nothing has helped at school. Only private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. You start by asking your child why they are not turning in any written work. You come up with a plan together to check the online grade book or learning management system for assignments. You watch then complete written homework and pack it somewhere they won’t forget it, or help them submit it online.
2. You talk with the teacher to brainstorm some different strategies to help them. Maybe the teacher can give check-ins, prompts for attention, and reminders to turn in work. They can send unfinished work home and let you know it needs to be completed. Allowing oral responses may be an option, but it sounds like your kid can write and just isn’t, so I could see the teacher wanting to try other strategies first.
3. After you’ve tried the strategies, you request a 504 again, either because the strategies are working and you want to formalize them for next year, or because they are not working and you need a different solution.
4. If they deny you, you request a Child Study, which begins the IEP process. You probably won’t qualify for an IEP, but the school can’t ignore you. They are required by law to follow through on Child Study requests.
5. If still no progress, you elevate through the school system, hire an advocate, or look for a different school.

OP this is a good approach. Don't jump to "prove your knowledge a different way" before you know why they aren't doing the written work. Your DS is only in 6th grade, they can't give up on writing already. Remember that the schools' opening position will be, "the child doesn't need specialized teaching, the child just needs to change their behavior." Work refusal is complicated (BTDT) so don't be afraid to move forward to an advocate. Hire a good one - not one who will ask the school for a few non-significant concessions and run up your bill.

Every advocate we have hired so far has been useless and we've used all the "best" ones on here like Weinfeld, etc. Don't do it. I'd try Suzie Blattener who we're hearing is the only one really worth money for this kind of thing. There are a few more who specialize in other issues that I can recommend if it comes to that but right now you're trying to pinpoint what's wrong and get support and Suzie is the only one we've heard who actually provides support and thinks about it. AVOID the ones who are just other SN moms who got into the business. Tried that with 2 different ones and they were complete flakes and other than providing empathy provided zero value. They could barely remember my child's name, never followed up on anything etc. It's a total scam.