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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here. Couple of follow-up questions and answers. DC is a freshman at TJ, and grades are all over the place. Started with all A's in 1st qtr in everything except Math, but then as the year progressed grades have dipped in almost everything except PE. May finish the year with mostly B+ and some A-, but the main concern is Math and the inability to correct silly mistakes that keeps happening. A lot of it has to do with organizational skills and study habits, both are nearly non-existent in the sense that there is no pattern. Study happens along with all other things going on, such as chat, video, music, etc. We have tried many things, but nothing has worked as a long term solution.

We don't know if this is related to ADHD or ADD, there is no hyper behavior or complains from any teachers / students ever so far. That makes it very hard to figure out. However, we have noticed several unusual things over the years to suspect something is different.

How do we go about testing / diagnosis? We have reached out to pediatrics and they have a behavior therapist who assist they said. Is this a good option? It is covered by insurance. Should we go this option or go with out of pocket expenses someone more prefessional. What are the types of tests that need to be conducted. [/quote]

PP with the list back.

Grades. Almost no one graduates from TJ with a 4.0.  In our house, DC finished freshman year with As in PE, English, PE, Spanish and music, A- in DT, a B+ in Bio and. b in RS.  We called this a very successful year.  And, oh yeah, a C+ in Math 3. Which Was so avoidable. He didn’t test corrections because “they won’t give me a C”. Guess what kid...   Summer CS was an A.  Ended with about a 4.05 W GPA.  Average freshman GPA usually falls between a 4.0 and 4.1, allegedly. So again, in our house a win.

Sophomore year.  He should end with As in English, PE and his humanities AP class which is his super passionate area of interest.  A-, maybe an A in a squeaker in WH. B+ in Spanish. B in Chemistry. Which has been much harder for him than Bio, because it is much more math oriented.  So again, if this is where we end up, we call it a very successful year.  You may not care about my kids grades in individual classes. But so many parents say, my kid got an easy A in AP Physics or whatever. And down the road, you learn about all the classes they dodn’t Get As in. My kid is obviously more humanities heavy than we realized when we let him go to TJ. Math and chemistry are weak spots. I consider TJ Bs in weak classes to be the best my kid will do.

Wait, you noticed I missed math?  Yeah. The Math Department at TJ is a disaster in the Math 3-5 sequence.  And not just for ADHD kids.  And the people I know who are outstanding in math absolutely hate it.   The math 4/5 team was all new teachers and was a mess. Hence, the school wide How to Survive TJ Math meeting. (Short answer: suck it up or leave).  Math 4 and physics, especially AP, but even honors have the reputation of being the nastiest classes at TJ. If your kid in in Math 3, I have bad news for you, it gets worse. C+ in Math 4 with actual effort and a newfound realization that Cs happen. But it looks like a sold B in Math 5 (huge win.  Because yes, careless errors). Three things happened. We got a great math Tutor. Former TJ grad who understands the TJ specific curriculum. Priceless. They don’t teach math at TJ and assume you pick it up by osmosis. He has a super amazing guidance counselor who switched his math teacher between semesters.  So he went from having a disorganized complete disaster with marginal English, to just a weak math teacher. And most kids find Math 5 easier. If you are starting math 4/5 next year, get a tutor in place day 1.  If you live in Western Fairfax and Louden, I can pass a name along, if you have a way for me to do it.

Electronics. Are the single biggest source of friction in our house. After a year and half or non-stop arguing, we have two new rules. No smartphone. He has a flip phone for emergencies. We managed back in the day. He is too.  I know I have to give it back at some point, so he can learn to use it before college. But I’m in no hurry.  And surprisingly, after the initial freak out and how do you manage life without an IPhone, neither does my kid. In fact, he has gone so far as to say we were right to take it away, because he cannot control his use right now. He is working with a therapist on the electronics addiction. For now, the therapist supports no smartphone.  He can do what he needs to academically and email us from TJ on his laptop. He had a teacher who wanted them to use a smartphone to take pictures for a project. I emailed and explained that DC found smartphones to be too distracting and consequently did not have access to one. She strongly approved (and was very amused) and found another way.

Rule 2. Homework involving a computer is done at the kitchen table or the den that opens up off the kitchen.  Laptops that do leave this area are confiscated immediately, and one learns how the household desktop works. That happened once.  It doesn’t fully stop the internet time suck. But it keeps him on task.  There is usually an adult in the area, and I make it a point to read nearby or work or suf DCUM. An adult tries to stay up at night as late as he does. Someone asks every hour or so what he is working on. Again, once we got past the horror of not being able to lock himself in his room with the laptop, he actually seems to like this set up.  He gets that what he was doing when he started TJ was not working, and he hated feeling overwhelmed and possibly having to drop down to his base school. I’m actually impressed with the maturity level. It gives me hope.

And testing . Diana Dahlgren in Fairfax does an excellent job with psychoeducational testing. One of her kids went through atJ, and she knows that FCPs and the college board need, and how to navigate AAP and TJ and the college board.  I’m actually meh on her as a person, but she is very good at what she does.  And she produces an ironclad written report that is exactly what TJ wants and exactly what the college board wants and gives you a very clear set of recommendations for treatment from EF coaching and a a medication consult to academic accommodations. It also spells out recommended accommodations for the school and why.  TJ loves her reports. The college board gave us a very easy time on accommodations, which is apparently unusual. So I recommend her, even if I don’t really like her.  My Ds’s testing was about half covered by testing as medical diagnosis and half not as academic testing.

Psychiatrist: Doug Tebor in McLean is very good for adolescents. And last I checked his practice was still open. Have a real psychiatrist manage ADHD medication for an adolescent.  ADHD is comorbid with anxiety and depression which often come out in adolescence. You want someone who specializes in this.

Therapy for the sheer stress of parenting and ADHD kid at TJ in general, but in our case not being able to manage the electronics specifically. Dave Edwards who works with Joe Cabush in Fairfax. Has weekend hours. Very good with teenage boys. I am very impressed wih how far my son has come since the fall when we gave up trying to deal with the electronics (and electronic trail of porn.  Gotta love parenting a teenage boy) and asked his psychiatrist for a referral. This is not stare at your belly button and complain about your parents therapy. This is my kid admitting the electronics use was out of control and messing up his chances of staying at TJ, which he loves. And accepting that really strict limits were in his best interests right now. Now we are working on how to reintroduce electronics slowly so he can learn to control his use in college.

Very long post. But I feel like TJ fails at providing guidance to parents of 2e kids. So kids who could succeed don’t. And the more I admit my kid is 2e, the more I discover just how many parents are reinventing the wheel.  My favorite TJ mom friend keeps saying it takes a villiage to get a kid through TJ. So, welcome to mine. I’m happy to answer as many questions as you have.

Sorry for any typos.  It’s late, and my kids got their ADHD from somewhere.

Wow. This should be the poster for why not to send your kid to TJ. Psychiatrists, tutors, and coaching?

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