New diagnosis of ADHD-ASD - at DC charter, questions

[Anonymous]

16:29, thanks. Kid seems to do well overall (with supports in place), though there is some new news in the report I'm processing.

16:46. Thanks. The 170 min of specialized instruction are push-in, mainly during writing block. Kid is included, likes school overall, but has some social struggles, says there are a lot of bullies. Hates writing. Kid does have a best friend, but not a lot of friends.

Lots to do! I'll be pursuing an eval for medicating the ADHD (recommended in the report) among other things.

[Anonymous]

My DS has ASD, ADHD combined, disorder of written expression, verbal and perceptual reasoning scores in the 99.9% and working memory (96%) and processing speed (88%). Also at a D.C. Charter and currently gets 12 hrs a wk Sp Ed hours including pull out OT and social skills. Most of his Sp Ed hours are for writing, DS gets push in writing support from the Sp Ed teacher in two languages bc he attends an immersion language charter.

DS is coded under "Autism" currently in fourth grade always fully mainstreamed since preK. We have been very happy with services and supports. DS was first diagnosed with ASD in prek and got an IEP under "autism". ADHD, combined, and the disorder of written expression found in 2nd grade and code remained "autism" but services and supports added in IEP for writing and ADHD after they were diagnosed.

Getting whatever supports and services DS needs in the IEP has not been an issue. DS has many friends and is liked by peers. Loves school and recess

From our experience at our charter, the code under which a child gets an IEP does not matter: There are only 13 codes for getting an IEP so it is not meant to be a perfect fit whereas the IEP itself should be as close to perfect in meeting individual needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS has ASD, ADHD combined, disorder of written expression, verbal and perceptual reasoning scores in the 99.9% and working memory (96%) and processing speed (88%). Also at a D.C. Charter and currently gets 12 hrs a wk Sp Ed hours including pull out OT and social skills. Most of his Sp Ed hours are for writing, DS gets push in writing support from the Sp Ed teacher in two languages bc he attends an immersion language charter.

DS is coded under "Autism" currently in fourth grade always fully mainstreamed since preK. We have been very happy with services and supports. DS was first diagnosed with ASD in prek and got an IEP under "autism". ADHD, combined, and the disorder of written expression found in 2nd grade and code remained "autism" but services and supports added in IEP for writing and ADHD after they were diagnosed.

Getting whatever supports and services DS needs in the IEP has not been an issue. DS has many friends and is liked by peers. Loves school and recess

From our experience at our charter, the code under which a child gets an IEP does not matter: There are only 13 codes for getting an IEP so it is not meant to be a perfect fit whereas the IEP itself should be as close to perfect in meeting individual needs.

^DS's social issues improved dramatically after being medicated for his ADHD. No bullying at our school either.

[Anonymous]

Thanks 1:54, I'm at your school and our kid does complain of bullying, though likes school v much overall. Far fewer hours of support too including none in target language. Think we need some there. Can I connect with you offline somehow?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks 1:54, I'm at your school and our kid does complain of bullying, though likes school v much overall. Far fewer hours of support too including none in target language. Think we need some there. Can I connect with you offline somehow?

You can post an anon email address. The writing support is not given in the target language bc the Sp Ed teacher does not know it (I don't know if the school has any bilingual Sp Ed teachers anymore, the one we had who was awesome left after 1st grade after two yrs) but DS needs help with organizing and using a graphic organizer so the Sp Ed can tell him what to do in English which DS works in the target language. Also, his teacher in the target language is very helpful.

My kid tells me there is no bullying in his grade at all so these issues are grade specific. You should complain if there is even a hint of bullying, I've found the school very responsive even if I thought the issue was very minor. There are all sorts of issues in our grade that could be a target for bullies but there isn't any bullying... so much so that a friend of mine who works at the school calls it a little "utopia" - The kids at least in our grade are very accepting of just about anything even more than many adults.

DS use to get 20 hrs of sp ed support a week - which just meant that the Sp Ed teacher was present in the classroom. DS does not need help with academics except with writing but needs social supports. He loves the Sp Ed teacher and the school counselor. We cut it down to 12hrs a week bc the pullouts (for social skills w/SLP especially) was interfering with academics and he didn't really like the class anyway and has lots of friends although he is only friendly with the "chosen" few. Other kids like and want to be friends with DS so we didn't see it as a problem.

[Anonymous]

No schools are required to provide services in the teacher language. Even immersion charters. That's going to be tough.

[Anonymous]

1:52, OP here. Of course the school knows about the complaints about bullies. They've been mentioned time and again. What do you think they should do? Honestly I'm not sure that kid is bullied, but rather that kid misunderstands or easily takes offense, and that's something we and they are working on.

Regarding support in the other language. I was reacting to your statement, "DS gets push in writing support from the Sp Ed teacher in two languages bc he attends an immersion language charter. "

So DS doesn't get writing support in both languages, but rather both classrooms? This would be great as kid's struggles are with writing in both; it's organization as well as other things.

For a while, kid had some SpEd support in other language, but the SpEd teacher was English-speaking only. That's still helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1:52, OP here. Of course the school knows about the complaints about bullies. They've been mentioned time and again. What do you think they should do? Honestly I'm not sure that kid is bullied, but rather that kid misunderstands or easily takes offense, and that's something we and they are working on.

Regarding support in the other language. I was reacting to your statement, "DS gets push in writing support from the Sp Ed teacher in two languages bc he attends an immersion language charter. "

So DS doesn't get writing support in both languages, but rather both classrooms? This would be great as kid's struggles are with writing in both; it's organization as well as other things.

For a while, kid had some SpEd support in other language, but the SpEd teacher was English-speaking only. That's still helpful.

Yes English only speaking sped teacher helps in both classrooms with writing. It is helpful with organization in writing which is what DS needs help with most. Are you bilingual? I am and it does not take any effort for me to apply instruction given in one language into another. Equally helpful for DS.

It sounds like the school is taking your concerns about bullying seriously and is trying to be helpful. Good luck!