APS WL IEP for ADHD Inattentive

[Anonymous]

After a hard year at Hamm, with tons of lost and late homework, last minute projects, and an exploding backpack and bedroom of papers we finally had DD evaluated for ADHD and she was diagnosed with mild inattentive ADHD and some difficulty with visual processing.

We didn’t get much hands on support from Hamm but we didn’t have an IEP; the PT conferences were student lead, so we didn’t seem to gain much insight into what goes into the classroom, but DD is at the highest level in math and has all As and Bs despite the disorder.

We are still at the submitting paperwork step with APS and they seem a bit backlogged with the end of the school year. What sort of individualized supports should we expect from WL while DD is there? Our counselor says there should be weekly executive function coaching meetings where they go through her planner and help her schedule, and some accommodations like having a seat near the front (though in high school I assumed kids pick their own seats right?).

What else would we be able to request for this diagnoses?

We were kind of hoping to get into HBW since it’s a smaller school and her counselor would have a smaller cohort even though they would also have teaching duties.

DH thinks we should go private and is pushing OConnell (we are Catholic so this is not unreasonable).

Can anyone help me bolster my case to DH that WL will provide a strong foundation and IEP implementation for getting DD to develop her skills and ready for college?

[Anonymous]

Did they approve her for an IEP? Or are you still at the evaluation stage?

[Anonymous]

A’s and B’s mean an IEP is unlikely. You should expect a 504. It may be worthwhile to get your own executive functioning coach; there are teachers who do this. Another option is instructional studies- there is a non-IEP version of the class that can be helpful but I can’t remember what it’s called.

[Anonymous]

Talk to your primary physician who can possibly provide a ADHD diagnosis. That will help buttress your arguments for an IEP.

[Anonymous]

My inattentive ADHD kid has extra time on tests and the option to test in a separate room. He can also use noise-cancelling headphones.

He's not my kid in APS, but just to give you an idea of things to request.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did they approve her for an IEP? Or are you still at the evaluation stage?

We are just putting together the paperwork

I honestly thought an IEP was automatic with ADHD, But I just have been thinking of 504.

So we won’t get any coaching with a 504? Is that just additional test time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A’s and B’s mean an IEP is unlikely. You should expect a 504. It may be worthwhile to get your own executive functioning coach; there are teachers who do this. Another option is instructional studies- there is a non-IEP version of the class that can be helpful but I can’t remember what it’s called.

Really, so we won’t get executive function coaching with 504? Ugh. DD is resistant to our help but seems to respond when outside involvement.

So would a private study coach be better than O’Connell, seems like it should be right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My inattentive ADHD kid has extra time on tests and the option to test in a separate room. He can also use noise-cancelling headphones.

He's not my kid in APS, but just to give you an idea of things to request.

He’s not in APS, but your NT kids are? Where did he end up going, TJ?

[Anonymous]

She has all A’s and B’s, so it’s hard to prove an educational impact that substantially limits a major life activity.

The definition of a disability is:
Have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; or
Have a record of such an impairment; or
Be regarded as having such an impairment.

I would go to Catholic school where there are more textbooks, workbooks, and clearer firm deadlines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She has all A’s and B’s, so it’s hard to prove an educational impact that substantially limits a major life activity.

The definition of a disability is:
Have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; or
Have a record of such an impairment; or
Be regarded as having such an impairment.

I would go to Catholic school where there are more textbooks, workbooks, and clearer firm deadlines.

Well we expect in high school she will end up with Cs. Will that be enough to trigger IEP by seconds semester Freshman year??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She has all A’s and B’s, so it’s hard to prove an educational impact that substantially limits a major life activity.

The definition of a disability is:
Have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; or
Have a record of such an impairment; or
Be regarded as having such an impairment.

I would go to Catholic school where there are more textbooks, workbooks, and clearer firm deadlines.

Doesn’t WL have math textbooks and science textbooks?

[Anonymous]

Our kid was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD and dyslexia in 7th grade. She was having panic attacks in school when she was asked to read out loud. APS refused to give her a 504 or an IEP because she is an A student. They said there was no evidence that she was having trouble accessing the curriculum. We only got some light reading supports after the Swanson reading specialist independently confirmed that she was, in fact, dyslexic. We were told that she would not qualify for any supports at Yorktown based on her grades. This is all likely illegal, but I am too tired to fight APS. We enrolled her in O’Connell for high school, and they have been wonderful. What I love about DJO is that they are committed to helping every student reach their full potential, as opposed to APS that just wants to get every kid to benchmark— which is so, so low.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our kid was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD and dyslexia in 7th grade. She was having panic attacks in school when she was asked to read out loud. APS refused to give her a 504 or an IEP because she is an A student. They said there was no evidence that she was having trouble accessing the curriculum. We only got some light reading supports after the Swanson reading specialist independently confirmed that she was, in fact, dyslexic. We were told that she would not qualify for any supports at Yorktown based on her grades. This is all likely illegal, but I am too tired to fight APS. We enrolled her in O’Connell for high school, and they have been wonderful. What I love about DJO is that they are committed to helping every student reach their full potential, as opposed to APS that just wants to get every kid to benchmark— which is so, so low.

You didn’t do independent testing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our kid was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD and dyslexia in 7th grade. She was having panic attacks in school when she was asked to read out loud. APS refused to give her a 504 or an IEP because she is an A student. They said there was no evidence that she was having trouble accessing the curriculum. We only got some light reading supports after the Swanson reading specialist independently confirmed that she was, in fact, dyslexic. We were told that she would not qualify for any supports at Yorktown based on her grades. This is all likely illegal, but I am too tired to fight APS. We enrolled her in O’Connell for high school, and they have been wonderful. What I love about DJO is that they are committed to helping every student reach their full potential, as opposed to APS that just wants to get every kid to benchmark— which is so, so low.

You didn’t do independent testing?

Yes, we did. But they wouldn’t accept without doing their own. They told us too many parents were gaming the system just to get extra time on tests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She has all A’s and B’s, so it’s hard to prove an educational impact that substantially limits a major life activity.

The definition of a disability is:
Have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; or
Have a record of such an impairment; or
Be regarded as having such an impairment.

I would go to Catholic school where there are more textbooks, workbooks, and clearer firm deadlines.

You have to prove life impact, not educational impact.

Regardless you won’t get what you want OP, go catholic.