Desperate for suggestions

[Anonymous]

I am in desperate need of suggestions. My ds in 4th with ADHD and LDs is abs in school.

[Anonymous]

Sorry. That submitted before I was ready.

To sum 4th grade boys feels stupid in current mcps environment. Got rejected from McLean but don't know why. All professionals said it was a good fit. Commonwealth doesn't have space. Looked at glen wood but not right fit for my kid. Who has a rolling admissions that might be a good placement. Kid is too ADHD for lab or sienna. Thanks for any and all suggestions. He does not want to go back to current school in the fall.

[Anonymous]

Ask McLean why -- you need to know what their concerns were as it will inform your decisions going forward.

Kingsbury? Katherine Thomas? Stay in public with a new or stronger IEP and significant outside tutoring?

[Anonymous]

Can your child handle a small non-special ed setting? Maybe Barnesville school or Sandy Springs.

Katherine Thomas or Auburn might be worth looking into.

Is there a way to make child more successful at home school?

[Anonymous]

What do you mean by "too ADHD?" Is he medicated? Would you consider medication?

I would look at the Chelsea School: https://chelseaschool.edu/meet-chelsea-1/

[Anonymous]

Who told you that he was "too" ADHD for Lab and Sienna?

I don't know anything about Sienna, but Lab can handle a much bigger range of kids than McLean, which doesn't know how to teach anyone but kids with the mildest of learning disabilities.

[Anonymous]

Diener?

[Anonymous]

This is op to answer questions...

He is medicated. Unfortunately the stimulant meds work best on his ADHD but they caused tics so had to go off them. the other meds are better than nothing but they don't control like the stimulant meds do. If you saw him you would know what I mean by too ADHD for these schools.

He actually has a great Iep. Teachers don't follow it like they should but on paper it's great. Plus the problem is really about how he feels about himself in this environment not about his iep. Would love to keep him in public but at this point his self esteem needs private.

For some of the mentioned schools: auburn is more about social issues according to them which isn't our main problem. Kingsbury didn't feel like the right peer group either plus we didn't like the overall environment of teachers and staff. Kt and dieter also don't work for him.

Never heard of Chelsea. Anyone have personal experience there? Will add to list to call on Monday along with newton and oak wood.

Any other thoughts or suggestions?

[Anonymous]

OP, I would apply to Lab and Siena even if you think he's too ADHD. They also have summer programs that he might get a lot out of.

In addition to Chelsea, other schools in this area that specialize in language based LDs include:

the Summit School: http://thesummitschool.org
Jemicy School: https://www.jemicyschool.org/page/Home
and Baltimore Lab School.

They are all a trek around the beltway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is op to answer questions...

He is medicated. Unfortunately the stimulant meds work best on his ADHD but they caused tics so had to go off them. the other meds are better than nothing but they don't control like the stimulant meds do. If you saw him you would know what I mean by too ADHD for these schools.

He actually has a great Iep. Teachers don't follow it like they should but on paper it's great. Plus the problem is really about how he feels about himself in this environment not about his iep. Would love to keep him in public but at this point his self esteem needs private.

For some of the mentioned schools: auburn is more about social issues according to them which isn't our main problem. Kingsbury didn't feel like the right peer group either plus we didn't like the overall environment of teachers and staff. Kt and dieter also don't work for him.

Never heard of Chelsea. Anyone have personal experience there? Will add to list to call on Monday along with newton and oak wood.

Any other thoughts or suggestions?

You're looking for a Unicorn OP, I know because we have the same issues.

couple of other comments - you said your DS needs stimulants but doesn't do well on them. You have to try A LOT of meds before you find the right one. We tried Focalin - nope. Vyvance - Nope! Ritalin - NOPE NOPE NOPE!!! Finally Adderral- and that's what works best for DS.

You mentioned that Auburn isn't a good fit because he doesn't need that social piece. I would not cross them off the list. I can tell you from my experience, low self-esteem turns into a social deficit because your DS will start to pull away from his peers, not socialize and with that his social skills in general will begin to weaken. And then you have another uphill battle to face with that issue.

When we applied to McLean when our DS was in 1st grade, our psychologist also told us it was a perfect fit. McLean didn't think so and declined admission. Why? because he couldn't keep his hands to himself. We aren't talking about inappropriate stuff either - mostly touching another student's arm...that sort of thing. Also McLean has its own set of issues because they can't decide what kind of school they want to be. They claim to welcome ADHD kids however if a kid with classic ADHD shows up, they wont admit.

From what you describe, Siena should be a good fit. But it would help to understand what you mean by "TOO ADHD".

[Anonymous]

Are you open to religious schools? You may have luck at small religious schools that have small class sizes.

My son is not yet your sons age but when I was reading about schools, The Heights stood out to me in a good way. I believe they have 3 recesses a day which can be tremendously helpful for boys with ADHD. It may be worth taking a look.

[Anonymous]

Op here...
Thanks for the additional suggestions. Siena is the one who told us he wasn't a good fit because of his ADHD. They also told us auburn is their sister school and the focus there is autism type social issues which we don't have.

As far as meds we have tried so many but once you develop tics on one stimulant you can't go on another stimulant but even with that he had already been on a couple different swims before tics developed. We also tried several non stimulant meds before deciding this was the best we could get for right now.

Looks like I'll be busy following up on these suggestions tomorrow. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here...
Thanks for the additional suggestions. Siena is the one who told us he wasn't a good fit because of his ADHD. They also told us auburn is their sister school and the focus there is autism type social issues which we don't have.

As far as meds we have tried so many but once you develop tics on one stimulant you can't go on another stimulant but even with that he had already been on a couple different swims before tics developed. We also tried several non stimulant meds before deciding this was the best we could get for right now.

Looks like I'll be busy following up on these suggestions tomorrow. Thanks!

who on earth told you that OP?

My DS developed a tic the minute we tried Vyvance. We tried a few more stimulants right after that and found what worked for DS - and it was a combo of stimulant meds.

Tour Auburn OP. There are ADHD kids there too. you need to give us examples of his behaviors so that we can understand why Siena is saying "too ADHD". Is he bouncing off walls? is he too hyper? or too inattentive? you're being too evasive about this - as its been asked a couple of times already what "too ADHD" means and you still haven't answered it. This is coming from a mom of a very ADHD kid.

[Anonymous]

Also, what is worse, the tic or ADHD? My son has off and on tics with vyvannse but it's worth it to us and we have learned how to deal and so has he

[Anonymous]

In a couple of years look at Parkmont. http://www.parkmont.org/

Wish they started younger!