private school for ADHD kid with executive functioning issues

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What grade? Does she have a Dx? What kind of supports does she need? Holton has girls with ADHD but it’s always more difficult to be admitted with a Dx.

If she gets in, it will be in grade 5. What is Dx? She forgets to take materials or HW to class despite multiple reminders and check lists. She complains that she hates school because of all these lists she has follow. At class, her teachers complain that she is not paying attention and does not have context of where the class is especially during reading.
Most of all she finds her current school stressful.

We got her tested for ADHD and she indeed showed all signs of it. She is a capable kid and understands grade level math and does well in vocab etc. Only reading she is behind. I am not sure if it is the school's fault or her ADHD that is causing this difficulty. Looking to move her to a more nurturing environment. Is Holton Arms a nurturing place for such kids or is it for all straight A/ perfect discipline type kids?

[Anonymous]

Holton and nurturing??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What grade? Does she have a Dx? What kind of supports does she need? Holton has girls with ADHD but it’s always more difficult to be admitted with a Dx.

If she gets in, it will be in grade 5. What is Dx? She forgets to take materials or HW to class despite multiple reminders and check lists. She complains that she hates school because of all these lists she has follow. At class, her teachers complain that she is not paying attention and does not have context of where the class is especially during reading.
Most of all she finds her current school stressful.

We got her tested for ADHD and she indeed showed all signs of it. She is a capable kid and understands grade level math and does well in vocab etc. Only reading she is behind. I am not sure if it is the school's fault or her ADHD that is causing this difficulty. Looking to move her to a more nurturing environment. Is Holton Arms a nurturing place for such kids or is it for all straight A/ perfect discipline type kids?

Sorry. Dx = diagnosis.

[Anonymous]

Yes she had a dignosis. It was not severe adhd though.

[Anonymous]

Skip Field. Skip Commonwealth.

[Anonymous]

Field for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Skip Field. Skip Commonwealth.

NP. Can you be more specific about your experience? And do you have recommendations?

[Anonymous]

For DC and Maryland families, the names I hear most often are Burke, Field, St. Andrews, Sandy Spring and Bullis. Quite a few ADHD kids go to all of those and thrive. Location and culture may make some better than others for particular families.

I think a smart kid with ADHD can get through a Big 3 curriculum but doing it would be stressful.

Former Big 3 parent who decided to send kid elsewhere because of the homework load.

[Anonymous]

Are you KIDDING?

Field is total chaos with kids who don't listen
St. Andrews is amazing with every kind of learner
Sandy Spring great
Sheridan school great
Siena School great
Bullis--spoiled kids, entitled, terrible teachers until you get to the high school
Holton is the least nurturing place you could every go with the exception of NCS
GDS MS is insane, US great
Stone Ridge work too intense for someone with severe ADD ADHD in upper school, but fine for mild ADD/ADHD
Holy Child supportive
Burke is for kids who are totally unsuccessful somewhere else from what I understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you KIDDING?

Field is total chaos with kids who don't listen
St. Andrews is amazing with every kind of learner
Sandy Spring great
Sheridan school great
Siena School great
Bullis--spoiled kids, entitled, terrible teachers until you get to the high school
Holton is the least nurturing place you could every go with the exception of NCS
GDS MS is insane, US great
Stone Ridge work too intense for someone with severe ADD ADHD in upper school, but fine for mild ADD/ADHD
Holy Child supportive
Burke is for kids who are totally unsuccessful somewhere else from what I understand.

Do you have a read on schools in VA?

[Anonymous]

I would take the "ARE YOU KIDDING" post with a grain of salt, or maybe a pound of salt. I have heard good things about all of the schools listed. I do agree that some of the schools on the list are reputed to be less forgiving than others, and some have somewhat more of a conformist culture, which can lead to more social anxiety and mean girl stuff.

Lots of people think it is just fine to make fun of Bullis because it has more athletes and more Potomac families than most schools. If you visited it, you would find a pretty nice place that's more diverse than you would ever imagine from reading this board.

Burke has many successful kids, including some who had Big 3 as an option but chose Burke. It's true that you come across some families who say their kid is thriving at Burke but was unhappy at a "W School" in MoCo or a Big 3 school or even two prior schools. I think that is a positive for Burke.

The tendency on this board to pigeonhole every school is a little annoying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you KIDDING?

Field is total chaos with kids who don't listen
St. Andrews is amazing with every kind of learner
Sandy Spring great
Sheridan school great
Siena School great
Bullis--spoiled kids, entitled, terrible teachers until you get to the high school
Holton is the least nurturing place you could every go with the exception of NCS
GDS MS is insane, US great
Stone Ridge work too intense for someone with severe ADD ADHD in upper school, but fine for mild ADD/ADHD
Holy Child supportive
Burke is for kids who are totally unsuccessful somewhere else from what I understand.

What is the source of your information? I don't believe that you have first hand experience with all of these schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What grade? Does she have a Dx? What kind of supports does she need? Holton has girls with ADHD but it’s always more difficult to be admitted with a Dx.

If she gets in, it will be in grade 5. What is Dx? She forgets to take materials or HW to class despite multiple reminders and check lists. She complains that she hates school because of all these lists she has follow. At class, her teachers complain that she is not paying attention and does not have context of where the class is especially during reading.
Most of all she finds her current school stressful.

We got her tested for ADHD and she indeed showed all signs of it. She is a capable kid and understands grade level math and does well in vocab etc. Only reading she is behind. I am not sure if it is the school's fault or her ADHD that is causing this difficulty. Looking to move her to a more nurturing environment. Is Holton Arms a nurturing place for such kids or is it for all straight A/ perfect discipline type kids?

This is serious. Get her into a special program school. Sounds like dyslexia as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What grade? Does she have a Dx? What kind of supports does she need? Holton has girls with ADHD but it’s always more difficult to be admitted with a Dx.

If she gets in, it will be in grade 5. What is Dx? She forgets to take materials or HW to class despite multiple reminders and check lists. She complains that she hates school because of all these lists she has follow. At class, her teachers complain that she is not paying attention and does not have context of where the class is especially during reading.
Most of all she finds her current school stressful.

We got her tested for ADHD and she indeed showed all signs of it. She is a capable kid and understands grade level math and does well in vocab etc. Only reading she is behind. I am not sure if it is the school's fault or her ADHD that is causing this difficulty. Looking to move her to a more nurturing environment. Is Holton Arms a nurturing place for such kids or is it for all straight A/ perfect discipline type kids?

This is serious. Get her into a special program school. Sounds like dyslexia as well.

This is a bit extreme. My child sounded very much like yours in grades 3-4. We did a full neuropsych, confirmed the ADHD diagnosis, learned some other things about relative strengths and weaknesses, and made a decision to medicate to help improve focus in school and reduce anxiety and unhappiness about what a struggle it was. In addition, we did the Unstuck and On Target curriculum through a private provider - it is a targeted executive function intervention that was designed originally for children on the autism spectrum, but is now shown to be very effective with kids with ADHD who struggle with executive function. Being medicated allowed my child to access the benefits of that intervention and apply its strategies in the classroom and home front. Moving to a nurturing environment can also help a ton with kids who struggle with focus, but it's not a panacea by itself. You have to be willing to invest time and resources in other strategies to build success with your kid. Medication may or may not be the right choice for now, but it should be seriously considered while you get other tools in place. There is a ton of information and compassionate support for these struggles on the special needs forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thoughts on McLean? Edmund Burke?

DD with executive functioning issues and anxiety is at McLean. Upper school is more rigorous than we expected but everyone is very supportive. Small classes and some really exceptional teachers.