Reasonable Accommodations in Rigorous Private School

[Anonymous]

OP, I think the school is trying to tell you something. How long have you been at this school? Is this a decline in support or has it always been this way? I think you need to be prepared for the possibility that you're being counseled out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would love to hear about “reasonable accommodations” that your private school has given you for medical or other challenges. Our kid has a host of medical issues and is not doing well in school. His medical issues cause challenges akin to what you’d see in a kid with ADHD (inattentive type), sensory issues, anxiety, organizational challenges, etc. Despite a long list of medical accommodations, the school only will give him extra time. The school is telling me that it is satisfying other accommodations through substitute accommodations but the substitute accommodations actually don’t exist. It’s very strange. DS not allowed to record classes or join by FaceTime if he’s sick (though both are allowed at my other kid’s school and without any accommodation). We are meeting after Thanksgiving and I’d love to be able to go in with a list of proposals. Anything will work but the main issue is inability to focus in class and turn work in on time (because didn’t know it was due).

What are you expecting the school to do about that? In my DS's case, we are working with him, incl medication. Not expecting the school to figure it out.

Have your son try to sit in the front row of the class whenever he can and teach him to notice when he’s zoning out (e.g., I know I’m zoning when I start doodling or making to do lists) so he can correct it.

FWIW, for some people with attention issues doodling or fidgeting actually help them pay attention. Counterintuitively, some pee need movement, sound or other stimulation to help them focus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would love to hear about “reasonable accommodations” that your private school has given you for medical or other challenges. Our kid has a host of medical issues and is not doing well in school. His medical issues cause challenges akin to what you’d see in a kid with ADHD (inattentive type), sensory issues, anxiety, organizational challenges, etc. Despite a long list of medical accommodations, the school only will give him extra time. The school is telling me that it is satisfying other accommodations through substitute accommodations but the substitute accommodations actually don’t exist. It’s very strange. DS not allowed to record classes or join by FaceTime if he’s sick (though both are allowed at my other kid’s school and without any accommodation). We are meeting after Thanksgiving and I’d love to be able to go in with a list of proposals. Anything will work but the main issue is inability to focus in class and turn work in on time (because didn’t know it was due).

OP, are you talking about accommodations for ADHD or accommodations for a separate medical issue and is that temporary or chronic? The schools are not required to cater to every accommodation you request. They do need to be clear with you about what they will and will not be able to accommodate. If your needs are not met in private school, you can look for a different one. In this space, there's a range of schools, some way more accommodating that others.

[Anonymous]

It’s not reasonable to expect a teacher to record the class or FaceTime while teaching.

For my kid, extended time was given and he was given a waiver for certain PE physical requirements when there was a medical issue.

During a year when the medical needs were too great for him to regularly attend for an extended period of time, we switched to a virtual school with asynchronous classes where he could work at his own pace when he was able.

[Anonymous]

My kid got extra time plus ability to request a break, use fidgets or walk around classroom (in high school with 80 minute classes).

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all the comments. We have been told by a couple of teachers who want to be helpful that there are many kids in the school that are receiving a wide variety of accommodations and that we need to push for some for our son. I just can't figure out what those accommodations might be, and I'm trying to be creative here. The school literally has refused every accommodation other than extra time that the dr has requested on our kid's behalf.

In response to some of the comments above, yes, the school makes available an online portal, but the teachers are not required to use it. Two of his teachers hand-write assignments on the whiteboard and the portal is a loose syllabus of what is going to occur that month. His teachers love paper handouts and rarely do they make the handouts available online. Kids aren't allowed to have phones in class (I completely understand and agree with this prohibition), so he can't take a picture of the handout. Handout plus a note on a whiteboard to do the handout means that kid won't remember that the piece of paper even exists.

The illness is chronic, but the symptoms come and go, with long periods (months) of being perfectly fine. The last two years have been largely symptom free. This year has been hard, but we know/hope that the bad symptoms are temporary - maybe a few months - with the hope that he'll ultimately outgrow (based on family history, it's genetic). If we can get through this year, we expect that he'll be more or less fine through the rest of high school. Last year, we specifically asked if the school could accommodate our kid should his symptoms reappear/worsen. We were assured in writing that the school would work with us and gave examples of specific accommodations. Over the summer, personnel changed, and the new team said no way. Right now, I just want to get him through the year, and hope that he feels better soon.