504 for Sophomore with ADD Inattentive and anxiety

[Anonymous]

DS struggled submitting homework last year before diagnosis and treatment. His cumulative is GPA 3.1, solely due to inconsistent HW submission. He seems to be doing better while taking Concerta but executive functioning and organization continue to need work. I want to ask for a 504, but not sure what to ask for to help him succeed. Suggestions? Looking at the GPAs required by colleges has me frightened for his future.

[Anonymous]

I don't know what a 504 would do for him in school but you will need to really work with him outside of school to give him the organization skills that he missed developing over the years. If he is not on meds for anxiety, you might want to also consider those.

As someone with inattentive ADD, I can say that it requires a lot of effort to be organized even with medication. It's a skill I had to learn and work at. The biggest and easiest thing to start with is routines. Establish routines for every day of the week. What really sucks is that I have found that if I veer off a routine, I have a really, really hard time getting back on track.

[Anonymous]

Despite the title, this thread is covering much the same ground, but for a middle schooler. http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/593747.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS struggled submitting homework last year before diagnosis and treatment. His cumulative is GPA 3.1, solely due to inconsistent HW submission. He seems to be doing better while taking Concerta but executive functioning and organization continue to need work. I want to ask for a 504, but not sure what to ask for to help him succeed. Suggestions? Looking at the GPAs required by colleges has me frightened for his future.

I don't have a high schooler, but I do have an elementary school child with ADHD PI (non hyper). He doesn't have a 504, but his teachers since 3rd grade have made accommodations for him. He gets priority seating (close to the teacher, so he is more likely to focus, and the teacher redirects him). The teachers make sure he doesn't leave the classroom without writing the homework on his agenda and packing accordingly. Both things make a huge difference and the teachers don't mind at all. It was all their idea, every single year. I think I will be asking for a 504 anyway before he goes to middle school. It won't affect elementary school teachers because I would be asking for what they are already doing, but it will ensure he also get's help in middle school. A friend has a daughter who has a 504 (ADHD/anxiety) and she gets extra time in her tests because the mere thought of a timed test gives the poor girl an anxiety attack. I have also heard that keeping a large filing folder with tabs instead of a binder for each single class helps a lot. A 504 may allow your child to carry one filing folder with 6 tabs, for all classes. It is much easier to keep track of that one item, than a whole bunch of binders. All the papers for that particular class go into that class folder, all withing the filing folder. When the child get's home, he can take his time to organize the papers he has received into the class binders which are kept home. I just re read my post, I hope the filing folder explanation is clear. If not, I'll look for a picture to show you. Good luck!!!

[Anonymous]

I've been there. DS is now a senior in HS and doing fine. For us, things started getting better in sophomore year after many years of frustration for all. DS had trouble focusing since elementary school, so always an issue he/we struggled with. In 8th grade, when it became real how much his grades were suffering (and we feared his self-esteem too), we got a 504 in place. Issues were not turning in homework, forgetting tests and quizzes, inattention in class, difficulty completing in-class assessments. 504 addressed the last two (priority seating, extra time), but not the homework. There is no easy answer to that and I'm sure we did lots of things wrong. What we did do that I think helped over a very long period of time was (1) get him a all-in-one zip binder with tabbed folders for each class (and made him clean it out each week); (2) checked Blackboard constantly to see if things were getting turned in; (3) required him to talk to his teachers about anything he didn't turn in; and (4) require him to turn in all HW even if he wasn't going to get credit for it anymore. One of the best things was having him talk to his teachers. He became very good at self-advocacy, learned to like a lot of his teachers, and his teachers got to know him better. You enlisting the teachers support informally may help too but it will depend on the teacher. So we tried to help (and failed a lot), and meanwhile, he grew up. We all learned a lot in the process. Now, 1st quarter senior year almost done and not missing anything. Is his 1st choice college a long-shot bc of grades? Yes. But he has lots of other good schools to shoot for. Try to make it about the effort and improvement, not the GPA right now. Don't talk about college. He's not listening, it's too far away. Talk about what's right now. Hang in there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been there. DS is now a senior in HS and doing fine. For us, things started getting better in sophomore year after many years of frustration for all. DS had trouble focusing since elementary school, so always an issue he/we struggled with. In 8th grade, when it became real how much his grades were suffering (and we feared his self-esteem too), we got a 504 in place. Issues were not turning in homework, forgetting tests and quizzes, inattention in class, difficulty completing in-class assessments. 504 addressed the last two (priority seating, extra time), but not the homework. There is no easy answer to that and I'm sure we did lots of things wrong. What we did do that I think helped over a very long period of time was (1) get him a all-in-one zip binder with tabbed folders for each class (and made him clean it out each week); (2) checked Blackboard constantly to see if things were getting turned in; (3) required him to talk to his teachers about anything he didn't turn in; and (4) require him to turn in all HW even if he wasn't going to get credit for it anymore. One of the best things was having him talk to his teachers. He became very good at self-advocacy, learned to like a lot of his teachers, and his teachers got to know him better. You enlisting the teachers support informally may help too but it will depend on the teacher. So we tried to help (and failed a lot), and meanwhile, he grew up. We all learned a lot in the process. Now, 1st quarter senior year almost done and not missing anything. Is his 1st choice college a long-shot bc of grades? Yes. But he has lots of other good schools to shoot for. Try to make it about the effort and improvement, not the GPA right now. Don't talk about college. He's not listening, it's too far away. Talk about what's right now. Hang in there.

Thank you. I appreciate the wisdom. We let this drag on too long without seeking help. His self esteem/ worth have really suffered. He thinks he is destined for mediocrity if he can even get in to college. It then becomes a self fulfilling prophecy, he thinks what is the point of trying. It is heartbreaking to see him so defeated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS struggled submitting homework last year before diagnosis and treatment. His cumulative is GPA 3.1, solely due to inconsistent HW submission. He seems to be doing better while taking Concerta but executive functioning and organization continue to need work. I want to ask for a 504, but not sure what to ask for to help him succeed. Suggestions? Looking at the GPAs required by colleges has me frightened for his future.

I don't have a high schooler, but I do have an elementary school child with ADHD PI (non hyper). He doesn't have a 504, but his teachers since 3rd grade have made accommodations for him. He gets priority seating (close to the teacher, so he is more likely to focus, and the teacher redirects him). The teachers make sure he doesn't leave the classroom without writing the homework on his agenda and packing accordingly. Both things make a huge difference and the teachers don't mind at all. It was all their idea, every single year. I think I will be asking for a 504 anyway before he goes to middle school. It won't affect elementary school teachers because I would be asking for what they are already doing, but it will ensure he also get's help in middle school. A friend has a daughter who has a 504 (ADHD/anxiety) and she gets extra time in her tests because the mere thought of a timed test gives the poor girl an anxiety attack. I have also heard that keeping a large filing folder with tabs instead of a binder for each single class helps a lot. A 504 may allow your child to carry one filing folder with 6 tabs, for all classes. It is much easier to keep track of that one item, than a whole bunch of binders. All the papers for that particular class go into that class folder, all withing the filing folder. When the child get's home, he can take his time to organize the papers he has received into the class binders which are kept home. I just re read my post, I hope the filing folder explanation is clear. If not, I'll look for a picture to show you. Good luck!!!

There are also wonderful zippered binders with tabbed folders. Our DC started using one of these and organization has improved a lot. It amazes me that schools around here don't design special school supply lists for kids with ADHD and/or LDs that incorporate binders likes these -- it's a simple, practical, low-cost solution in many cases.

[Anonymous]

I'm the poster with the senior. Believe me when I tell you we have had some very low moments over the years, and it is heartbreaking. You aren't alone. You start now, you keep at it, and I think you'll wake up a few months from now and realize things have a gotten a little better, fewer assignments missed, whatever, and so it goes. It's a process. You do the best you can and that's all you can do. If you are worried about him emotionally have him talk to someone, school counselor or a psych of some variety. Or maybe the college counselor if he's really worried about that and they are good at listening/calming. Sometimes an outsider can give everyone a perspective that you can't see from close up. The neuropsych we saw at the very beginning provided that for us. And your DS still has plenty of time, let him know that. He's 15, it is just the start of sophomore year, and a B average is not bad. Colleges love to see improvement, even if it doesn't start until junior year or even first semester senior year. He'll get into college if that's what he wants, a year off is OK, community college too, and he will be fine. But try not to worry about that, it's just too much on your plate.

[Anonymous]

I hear you OP and I have the same kid who just started sophomore year. He has an IEP but like the PP said, there really isn't much at school they can do. Even with an IEP he doesn't get to turn in late work or retake tests (which I think is a good thing). His GPA hovers around a 3.1 going from a 2.9-3.3 most times.

The beginning of Freshman year was horrific. A lot of yelling and just inability for him to get a handle on anything. This year has been much more calm since I literally have to look at his homework every night. I also have to make a plan on Sunday for when his quizzes are and when he is going to study. I hope that I am teaching him some skills for college -- but like you, I can be up all night worrying about what the future holds for him. I do think it has gotten better and he is maturing and taking more responsibility. It is really tough though and each time I start backing away from the hand holding he screws it up.

[Anonymous]

Poster with senior again. Forgot one other thing that we started in 8th grade--we moved his desk to a small area open to the kitchen where he had to do all his homework/studying so I could keep an eye on things and be available for questions. No games allowed on that computer. Phone on the counter. And my DH found a program which took periodic screen shots which DH could access from his computer and also see what was going on. The monitoring definitely helped cut down on distracted fiddling on the computer. Now he is allowed to study some in his room if he chooses but he almost always works in the kitchen.

[Anonymous]

PP with the other sophomore -- similar to the PP. Mine still does his homework at the kitchen table and I don't have to watch him do it. I just need to see that it is done and has been submitted online.

OP, can your child submit homework online? I have found that to be HUGE. If he can take a picture of it and send to his teachers then it is there for him to either 1.) print out at school or 2.)confirm that the teacher received it.

It would frustrate me in middle school that he would do the homework then not turn it in. How does that even happen?!?! Then he was failing to turn in classwork. I just had to shake my head and say to him: When everyone stands up and turns in the paper at the end of class you should too. Don't walk out with it!

[Anonymous]

Yes, the completed, but not turn in, homework was the story of our life...sigh...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Poster with senior again. Forgot one other thing that we started in 8th grade--we moved his desk to a small area open to the kitchen where he had to do all his homework/studying so I could keep an eye on things and be available for questions. No games allowed on that computer. Phone on the counter. And my DH found a program which took periodic screen shots which DH could access from his computer and also see what was going on. The monitoring definitely helped cut down on distracted fiddling on the computer. Now he is allowed to study some in his room if he chooses but he almost always works in the kitchen.

What is the screen shot program called?

[Anonymous]

I'll have to check with DH--might be something he was able to set up on our network.

[Anonymous]

Screen shot program is called ActivTrak. It's a free download (or was when we did it). You can find it on the web.