First day of school looms for my 1st grade ADHD kid

[Anonymous]

...and all of a sudden I'm extremely nervous about it. My son had a really tough year in FCPS K last year, and was not diagnosed with ADHD until the end of the school year. We had a meeting with his K teacher and the school psychologist right before school ended, and they both said that they'd of course take his diagnosis into account when making classroom assignments. The assignments came out yesterday, and we don't really know anything about his teacher. He'll only know 2 other kids in his class (both girls - we were hoping for some familiar boy faces to try and strengthen some social ties). And we are going into the year with no 504 plan or IEP in place since the school said they needed to wait for class assignments.

I've already sent an email to the school psychologist asking what we can expect (I want to keep things in writing for the time being). Does anyone have any advice about how to start off the new year on the right foot with the teacher, who we hope has some experience dealing with ADHD kids?? I'm concerned about everything from academic to social skills.

For background, our son has been on medication this summer, and it has helped his impulsive and hyperactive behavior immensely. It has made him a bit more anxious, so he is very nervous about starting school on Tuesday, too. We think that his dose may be a bit too high, but the next dose down is a bit too low, so we're sticking with what we've got since the positives are outweighing the negatives.

[Anonymous]

I would e-mail a short note to the teacher and share where you're at (including medication), as well as your son's interests/activities, how he spent the summer, and academic strengths/challenges. Also indicate that the teacher should feel free to contact you at any time with any concerns -- in our experience (we're in Arlington), the worst thing about schools/teachers is that they are often not proactive about communicating and then you get to conferences/report card time and hear a lot of stuff about what's going on for the first time.

Some people suggest giving strategies to the teacher for working with your child but we've shyed away from doing that - teachers are professionals and our approach has been to assume the best and only later sit and brainstorm with them if necessary.

I would follow up with the school if you don't hear from them quickly - they're required to respond to requests for testing etc within a short amount of time.

We've learned all this by trial and error - at times, we've over-communicated and we've found it sometimes is helpful to step back. Our DS (going into 3rd) has ADHD and anxiety.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I'll follow up my previous post by suggesting that you might want to request a student study (if you suspect the ADHD has caused him to be substantially behind or you suspect possible LDs) or a 504 plan (for various accomodations in the classroom). Good luck!

[Anonymous]

There are some great options out there to help children work thru and improve on their individual areas contributing to an ADHD diagnosis. 504 plans are very helpful, but they are not a long term solution. You should have a short run plan like the 504 and teacher communication, and a longer term plan to improve the weak areas. The book The Learning Tree, by Dr. Greenspan outlines his treatment plan for kids with learning challenges, and Overcoming ADHD: Helping Your Child Become Calm, Engaged, and Focused — WITHOUT A PILL by Stanley I. Greenspan, M.D. and Jacob Greenspan is also a good guide.

[Anonymous]

My son is also going into 1st grade in FCPS. He's had an IEP for autism since preschool, but as he's gotten older I think that label doesn't quite fit anymore and his issue is mostly ADHD. He's not on meds yet, but I think we'll need to go that route soon.

My advice is to be up front with the school and share any Dr. reports that you've gotten. I've been very impressed with my child's teachers when I've shared info. about my son. They seem willing to help as much as they can.

FWIW, there are a lot of kids with similar issues in the classroom - with and without official labels. Keep in touch with your child's teacher and let her know about strengths/weaknesses, hobbies, interests, so they can view your child as an individual.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the PPs. Each year, I write a note (sometimes more than one page) to the teacher before classes start. I also ask to meet with all the teachers after the first week for a meet and greet.

I'm dismayed to hear that the school told you you had to wait until teacher assignments were made before starting the IEP/504 process. That's absolutely incorrect. I would immediately request an evaluation and I would also consider hiring your own consultant. You do not have to wait unitl a child is behind for an IEP or for services. If you haven't already, I would look in the the NOVA CHADD group. I've learned a lot from the monthly speakers http://www.chadd.org/ . Good luck.