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[quote=Anonymous]Here's our background - my son is six.  His birthday is a week before the cut off, so we held him back and started him in kindergarten a year "late".  He has ADHD, and according to the diagnosing Dr, it's "severe" inattentive/hyperactive type.  We have him on medication that helps him to control a good bit of the the behavior.  Previous to this year (where he is in Arlington Public School for K) we went through three pre-schools in nine months - the first we left because the instructor publicly belittled and humiliated him for his poor behavior (instructor ended up fired for it after a county licensing investigation), the second we went to, a catholic school, the teacher permanently placed him and his desk in the corner and the kids all called him the naughty boy and he cried all the time (and acted worse).  Finally we found a third place that could handle him and about that same time got the ADHD diagnosis and started him on meds.

He has always had major behavior and impulsivity problems - on meds they still exist.  So we had a pre-meet with the school about a month ago to get the IEP qualification process started.  I have another child with an IEP but his is for dyslexia and it was a clear learning disability.  At the early meeting the school told us that they would have a hard time justifying anything for DS unless he was showing academic problems.

Well, he's not.  But is it because he's basically a year older than the kids or because really the ADHD doesn't affect him anymore?  I still see tons of really poor behavior and impulse control issues that he can't control.  And, while these things are somewhat acceptable in kindergarten they really aren't in first grade.  I talked with his teacher at length last week and she really thinks he needs some extra help and services, but she's concerned that we will have a hard time convincing the rest of the team of the need - apparently DS was an angel when he was observed last week (of cousre he was...).

So, questions for you all.  Am I being unreasonable in asking for some behavioral help?  I don't want all our struggles with my other child to color this - it just took so long to get help there that I don't want to put it off now if I see a problem that can be nipped earlier rather than later.  Given how hard it was for DS with the social and behavior things in his past schools, I don't want him to be treated like the naughty kid and ostracized again for behavior he can't control, I'd rather the school help me to teach him appropriate reactions and control.

Since we have a medical ADHD diagnosis, I'd think that we could qualify for the OHI category, but I'm concerned that the school won't even move forward with testing, that they'll say that he isn't suffering academically and he has no problem accessing the academics.  Can you think of any suggestions you might have for ways I can suggest the school move forward with a t least a more in depth analysis of his challenges?

Thanks for your avice.  Our meeting with the school is on Thursday and I want to be prehaperd.[/quote]

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