Best school for this boy?
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Anonymous
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We live in the Tysons/Falls Church area. Our son's testing has come back with ADHD Combined, anxiety, mild depression and a reading disorder/dyslexia. Besides all that he is very smart IQ wise and is 97% in math skills, he's creative and social and does not have any behavior issues except the ADHD constant moving stuff. He is in 6th at a mainstream religious private that really doesn't seem to be equipped to handle all this really well, and while they've made it work for years since he is smart enough to get by with decent grades despite his deficiencies, we think its time for a school change. He is medicated but the tester doesn't think the medication is working as well as it could so we will look into a change there, and will need to start therapy again and some tutoring to get him through the rest of this year. Its all a little overwhelming to be honest and he'll be crushed to leave his school.
My initial thoughts would be to look at Kilmer MS for public next year. We've never done public so don't know what they offer in middle school for accommodations. Right now he's not getting much in the way of accommodations, so keeping up with the executive functioning parts of homework is overwhelming, writing is challenging in all classes, and he struggles in language arts although he can type and his reading comprehension is strong. Socially he is doing well, he has some geeky friends, and he likes sports. The ADHD/working memory issues cause major forgetfulness and his teachers are frustrated with him though, I don't think its good to stay there. Would Flint Hill be able to accommodate though their special center? The other thought is Commonwealth, McLean School or maybe Lab?, although the commutes might kill us. Maybe Ideaventions or New School? They seem much smaller and I'm not sure how they do academically. They seem so small, its not what I pictured for him but I'm not sure what the best thing is. I'd love to get others' thoughts. |
Anonymous
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I think you have a few balls to juggle.
First and foremost, you need a good IEP, especially if you stay in public. Since you have various diagnoses, I'm guessing you did a neuropsychological evaluation at some point. If it's between 2-3 years old, you can apply to most private SN schools. Start with the recommendations and crosswalk to possible accommodations/interventions. Check Wrights Law. To address the dyslexia, look at the summit school in edgewater, md, commonwealth, oak wood, Chelsea school, kingsbury, lab, or Siena. I'd also look into ASDEC classes and tutoring. |
Anonymous
OP here - We aren't in public, so we don't have an IEP. If we went to public, yes we would get one. This was recent testing. The tester didn't recommend specific schools though. |
Anonymous
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You can begin the IEP process now with your county, even if you intend to finish the school year in the private school.
That would give you an idea of what that option would look like. With that profile, I'd try to get the typical ADHD accommodations for keyboarding, executive functions and perhaps some instruction for writing. If your son likes and is good at sports, the public school could work well. It's important that kids have some areas where they succeed instead of it being all about their deficits. I'd look at Commonwealth too. I think the application deadline is coming up soon. |
Anonymous
| Get the IEP now. We transferred from private to public and I wish I knew we could have earlier as it took 4-5 months to get the IEP in place and by then 1/2 the school year was over. |
Anonymous
| Yes, agree with pp, initiate the IEP process through the public school. |
Anonymous
1) THIS is great advice 2) A specialized dyslexia private would be ideal as they are used to co-morbid ADHD and mild depression in their students 3) Do it ASAP- don't waste any more of his time 4) He will flourish in the right environment 5) Have you looked at the Oakwood School? |
Anonymous
| OP, I have a similar kid. I am looking at Commonwealth and Oakwood with the hope of returning to public for high school. |
Anonymous
| How do you get started on an IEP with FCPS if you don't attend? Do you call Child Find? Contact the principal? |
Anonymous
Yes. There is a parochial/private school office for sped as well. |
Anonymous
| McLean - fits the profile of my son there and he is thriving |
Anonymous
| Those are all good options. Visit them to get a sense of where your son would fit best. |
Anonymous
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Please check out The Newton School. They can handle all of this and from what I've seen can remediate the reading and teach an ADHD kid to write better than many publics. Most importantly your child will be able to physically move here more than perhaps any other school you look at. They understand a lot related to the profile you describe, especially the need to move. If there is a group of kids at Newton (currently) that are your child's age and have similar challenges, that is a great scenario. My son attended, (ADHD, gifted) and presented for the most-part Neuro-typical (besides being quite squirrely) He has a small group of friends from Newton that he stays in touch with. Since peers can be a bit spread out geographically.
Best part. Commute won't kill you. |
Anonymous
Schools like Commonwealth often have rolling admissions and the ability to enroll at any time during the year. Having said that, the school is currently at capacity, so more likely you'd be part of next year's Admissions cycle. |
Anonymous
Many schools have January deadlines, so, op should review and get all the necessary forms in e.g. Teacher recommendations etc. |