If a child in 10th grade continues to do well in school without accommodations, why would the school test a student who is doing well or find them eligible for a 504? A student has to have a disability that “substantially limits”. So everyone saying how easy it is to just show a diagnosis and get a 504 are not correct.

When a parent provides all this help at home it can be difficult to show how the disability “substantially limits”. And then when parents go in and say I want this for college, schools are even less likely to agree.

It puts parents in a tough situation because if you pull back all the support then the child’s grades go down and those low grades go on their transcript. But if you provide all this help at home the schools can’t see the student needs accommodations.


504:
1) have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; or (2) have a record of such an impairment; or (3) be regarded as having such an impairment

Anonymous wrote:The school has no reason to not find your child eligible. It makes me crazy when people say this. Do you think we get a kickback or something? We want kids to get the supports they need so they can pass the stupid state tests and we don’t get in trouble regarding our pass rate!

It is true that lately there is a ridiculous amount of time spent trying “interventions” before finally testing a child.

You do need updated testing for college accommodations, but no need to fork out thousands of dollars. A doctor has to diagnose ADHD, and then the school determines need for IEP.

Fyi, the bolded (requiring trying interventions before evaluating) is explicitly not allowed.

The school has no reason to not find your child eligible. It makes me crazy when people say this. Do you think we get a kickback or something? We want kids to get the supports they need so they can pass the stupid state tests and we don’t get in trouble regarding our pass rate!

It is true that lately there is a ridiculous amount of time spent trying “interventions” before finally testing a child.

You do need updated testing for college accommodations, but no need to fork out thousands of dollars. A doctor has to diagnose ADHD, and then the school determines need for IEP.

Public school has a Child Find obligation - whether your child is currently attending public school or not. Under Child Find they have an obligation to fully assess your child for free. If you disagree with the assessment or think it is insufficient, you can legally demand the school pay for an Independent Educational Evaluation with an assessor you pick (within certain criteria, none of which pertains to cost).

I would have the school one done. We were able to get an IEP for ADHD in 4th grade based on school testing and the diagnosis from the doctor. No full neuropsych. It may be harder to get one in 10th grade - maybe they figure if he made it this far why does he need it? Still, it’ll be quicker and free to go through school.

You'll need one for college accommodations anyway. They generally want you to be in 11th grade/16 yo but I've found that with Covid and wait times to get it scheduled, our college took the one from 10th grade no questions asked, but top colleges could be more demanding on it. We did the full battery because our child had some complex issues.

As much as it sucks, it is worth getting an updated neurospsych. The psychologist reviews different areas for children 16 and higher and this can be used when DS is applying for college. A college will ask for an updated one anyway, so it may be beneficial to get one done now. I know they are expensive and I am in the same boat.

^^^This. But I would do a Psycho Educational (cheaper) privately because the school system has an incentive to see nothing wrong.

Is this a public or private school? If public, they should be doing their own testing. If private, you need to ask them what they need. Do they require a full neuropsych? A psycho ed with IQ, achievement testing, and a ADHD symptom checklist (ie, Conors or Vanderbilt or similar)? Just the ADHD symptom checklist?

Piggy backing from the post where someone was looking for accommodations in college for the first time - similar boat here except for HS. DS was diagnosed with combined ADHD in 5th grade. 2 months later was COVID so he was home, virtual learning for the next year until spring of 6th grade. We never pursued accommodations bc he was doing well in school and he matured out of the emotional volatility we were seeing. He started meds in 7th grade bc the academic demands and EF demands increased. He continued to do well in school without supports (though a lot of support at home). Now in 10th grade it’s clear he would benefit from accommodations. School says he needs an updated neuropsych. Does he need the full fledged $5000 product we did before or is there a less expensive, less time intensive option that would still get the school what they need? Thanks!