Where to go from here? 1st grade boy -- impulsivity, aggression, bothering other kids, antsiness

[Anonymous]

Sigh. I met with my son's teacher this morning, and I am realizing we need to be more proactive now than we have been. The teacher mentioned impulsivity multiple times and that he's had multiple issues daily since school started. Of course he has mentioned nothing to me.

We've gotten an OT evaluation, and he's in OT as of a month ago. Do I now get an IEP? I have no idea where to start.

He's currently in public school. I'm thinking we might have to consider a better setting for him. Are there privates that people recommend for these types of kids? I'm in NW DC, so would be looking in DC or close in MD.

To me, he's just one of those really active boys with some behaviors that I think will just even out over time, but maybe I've just been in denial - and/or I still need to reconsider how to get his needs met in the meantime.

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

The place that I would start is by speaking to your pediatrician.

[Anonymous]

Who diagnosed your child with something that sent you to an OT?

[Anonymous]

Op here. Sorry, I forgot to mention that I did that. I should say that I ended up talking to the nurse. I should call back again though.

[Anonymous]

Op here again. No one diagnosed my child with something that sent me to an OT. I was talking to friends about their kids' issues that have sent them to OTs and I thought there were similarities, so I sought out an evaluation myself.

[Anonymous]

Yes, you should call back. At least at my child's practice, they have a screening test with some questions that may be useful in determining whether you want to pursue a full evaluation for ADHD with another provider.

[Anonymous]

Op here one more time. We've seen a psychologist/MSW too -- for about 6 months last year.

[Anonymous]

I don't agree with starting with your pediatrician, unless you are asking for a referral. This is not their area of expertise. If you are concerned you should see a) a developmental pediatrician or b) a child/family psychologist. Either one could be extremely helpful.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like you do recognize that there is a problem now since you have already called the doctor, been working with an OT, and a psychologist. It sounds like you might need a full neuropsych test to see where to go from here. You can get testing in two ways- private pay or through the school. If you have the money, I would strongly recommend private testing as you will not need to jump through hoops, it will be quicker, and more than likely more complete. Research the board for recommendations. You can also go through your insurance, but most testers that accept insurance have long waitlists and you might want to get in sooner. If you go through the school, you will need to keep notes of all teacher comments and emails that show he is struggling and then ask for an IEP meeting. At the meeting, the team would determine if testing is warranted. This can be a long and frustrating process...

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't agree with starting with your pediatrician, unless you are asking for a referral. This is not their area of expertise. If you are concerned you should see a) a developmental pediatrician or b) a child/family psychologist. Either one could be extremely helpful.

And while you are doing this, you should formally request an IEP -- they have up to 120 days in DC, so it could take a while. Document all the issues that the teacher is reporting to you; if the teacher tells you something verbally, send her an email summarizing the conversation.

Many developmental pediatricians have long waits. I suggest Paula Elitov, a developmental psychologist who will do school observations as part of her evaluations and has more reasonable availability. If you are seeing these problems at home, I also suggest Dr. Dan Shapiro's parenting class: http://www.parentchildjourney.com

[Anonymous]

You can request that the school do an evaluation, but if you have the financial resources, you'll get a better evaluation from a developmental pediatrician or a child psychologist. If you get a diagnosis and your child continues to have problems in school, you are eligible for an IEP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like you do recognize that there is a problem now since you have already called the doctor, been working with an OT, and a psychologist. It sounds like you might need a full neuropsych test to see where to go from here. You can get testing in two ways- private pay or through the school. If you have the money, I would strongly recommend private testing as you will not need to jump through hoops, it will be quicker, and more than likely more complete. Research the board for recommendations. You can also go through your insurance, but most testers that accept insurance have long waitlists and you might want to get in sooner. If you go through the school, you will need to keep notes of all teacher comments and emails that show he is struggling and then ask for an IEP meeting. At the meeting, the team would determine if testing is warranted. This can be a long and frustrating process...

Good luck!

+1. If you can, get a private neuropsych evaluation that can help determine if your child has ADHD, a learning disability or other condition that is leading to the behavior problems the teacher is seeing.

Then go to the school with the evaluation in hand and request an IEP. But right now you don't know what you'd want an IEP for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't agree with starting with your pediatrician, unless you are asking for a referral. This is not their area of expertise. If you are concerned you should see a) a developmental pediatrician or b) a child/family psychologist. Either one could be extremely helpful.

And while you are doing this, you should formally request an IEP -- they have up to 120 days in DC, so it could take a while. Document all the issues that the teacher is reporting to you; if the teacher tells you something verbally, send her an email summarizing the conversation.

Many developmental pediatricians have long waits. I suggest Paula Elitov, a developmental psychologist who will do school observations as part of her evaluations and has more reasonable availability. If you are seeing these problems at home, I also suggest Dr. Dan Shapiro's parenting class: http://www.parentchildjourney.com

DC special Ed laws changed recently to shorten the wait times. But anyway you should request an eval stat since his behavior is affecting his classroom performance. Are you in DCPS or a charter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't agree with starting with your pediatrician, unless you are asking for a referral. This is not their area of expertise. If you are concerned you should see a) a developmental pediatrician or b) a child/family psychologist. Either one could be extremely helpful.

And while you are doing this, you should formally request an IEP -- they have up to 120 days in DC, so it could take a while. Document all the issues that the teacher is reporting to you; if the teacher tells you something verbally, send her an email summarizing the conversation.

Many developmental pediatricians have long waits. I suggest Paula Elitov, a developmental psychologist who will do school observations as part of her evaluations and has more reasonable availability. If you are seeing these problems at home, I also suggest Dr. Dan Shapiro's parenting class: http://www.parentchildjourney.com

DC special Ed laws changed recently to shorten the wait times. But anyway you should request an eval stat since his behavior is affecting his classroom performance. Are you in DCPS or a charter?

Op here: Do you mean request an evaluation from the school or a psychologist? He's in DCPS.

[Anonymous]

Op here: And thank you all so much. I really appreciate the responses.