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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]What are you doing to help him develop appropriate coping strategies?

Do you do any of the following?

1) Have him do 30 minutes of real exercise before school every day and more after school?  Does he have breakfast with a decent amount of protein?
2) Does your school have an individual trampoline in a special ed room where kids can go to jump for ten minutes if they need to let off some energy?  This is what my ES school had and it was written into some children's IEP that it be available.
3) Does he have any fidgets?
4) Does he have an exercise ball for a chair? or can he stand at a desk instead of sit?
5) Have you tried relaxation yoga or meditation?
6) Does your school have a labyrinth to walk at recess?
7) Does he have a positive behavior chart on his desk?  Written into his IEP?
8) Does he get frequent breaks?
9) Can he take tests in a smaller classroom with fewer children?
10) Does he see a psychologist or LCSW that is experienced with ADHD?
11) Has he every been to a social skills group?
12) Does he get positive reinforcement at home?

[/quote]

1) No, but good idea
2) No
3) Yes, but teacher not happy about that.
4) Yet to bring that up...
5) No, would never work...you need to see him
6) No
7) I have one at home. It works for homework surprisingly well. They did that last year and it worked well. This teacher is too busy or something. 
8) No
9) Tests well
10) psychiatrist
11) actually great social skills. All kids love him. Really in tune with others and very good judge of character. Knows when to back down. Just self centered.
12) not as much as we should...[/quote]

I am the PP to whom you responded.  A few comments:
1) What is in his IEP?  Put the positive behavior chart IN the IEP, then the teacher cannot be "too busy or something"  Does he have any behavior goals in his IEP?  Having them as goals can also help it rise up in priority with the teacher.  Is there one aide in his class that helps all the special ed students or does your child have a one on one aide?
2) Buy a mini trampoline and gift it to the school.  Then put it into his IEP.  It works wonders- medicated or not.  Remember medication isn't a magic elixir, it is part of an overall plan.
3) Ask for an IEP meeting and bring up trying to have him sit on an exercise ball or stand (bring the exercise ball with you).
4) Try yoga or meditation  after heavy exercise.  Not just once, but over a long period of time (think years,not days).  Start very simple and for very small amounts of time.  It take time and commitment to raise a child with special needs.  
5) Get "frequent breaks" into h is IEP/504.
6) How often does he see a psychiatrist?  The ones I know don't see people weekly, they are there for medication and have a LCSW or psychologist on staff for the weekly sessions.
7)  If he is self centered, a social skills class would be excellent for him.
8) I would start the IEP/504 changes now, so that they can be in place next year.  I would also have a meeting in the beginning of next year to go over the IEP have a "meet and greet" withe his teachers.
9) I suggest you go to wrightslaw.com and take a few of their classes (very inexpensive and on your own time), read through the website.  It is very good and I learned quite a bit of information about the process of everything. expectations I should have, and what accommodations may be helpful.

Good luck![/quote]

In the process of getting the IEP, but OMG the school really does not want to go there $$$. We tried to get him accommodations for handwriting and that failed twice. This particular teacher is not happy with me because I went to the principal early on about her. She was rude to the baby sitter and she put my son to sit next to a bully who tortured him. The bully was well known to be that way and before school started I asked her not to put them together since my son will not fight back. So a week of phone calls to principal, and then the bully's parents themselves, then a lawyer, DS got moved. Other parents went through similar things with that child. End of the year, no way to "repair" at this point. [/quote]

6:42 again.  Where in the process are you regarding IEP?  It is fairly late in the year to be still going through the IEP process.  Have you/are you using the school provided testing or are you having/have you had private testing?  Was your DC diagnosed with dysgraphia and ADHD?  If so, what were the recommended accommodations of the evaluator?  Since his teacher was using a positive behavior chart last year, what was the reason given? Why wasn't the IEP process started last year?   What do you mean "no way to repair"?

I am not suggesting medications - at all, but in order to better understand your views I would like to ask a few questions.  What led you to the decision to not medicate?  What things did you consider?  Is there something about your child that makes him a poor candidate for medication?  My DS is allergic to stimulant medication, so that is the reason he does not take the stimulant forms.  After much thought and deliberation considering his specific needs, we decided to medicate with Strattera and it has been successful- but it is [i]not[/i] a drug I would recommend to most children because of the potential side effects- he has to be monitored closely.  So, I am curious about the thought process that led to your decision to eliminate medications as a possible course of action.  I am also confused as to why you chose a psychiatrist instead of a psychologist to treat your DC, given your medication decision.  Most people only see the psychiatrist for medication issues- otherwise it is way too expensive to do on a weekly basis. [/quote]

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