Don't give up the fight your son and you have a right to a 504 plan in the state of CT Take it to the school board if you can't get any satisfaction from the school. My son was undiagnosed with a LD for nearly 5 long years and countless dr. He is now in high shcool and is on meds only during the school year and it seems to have worked wonders if you. Keep searching for the right dr and go with your gut instinct when it comes to your child no one knows him better than you do. Good luck to both of you.
Brendon is very blessed to have a mom who cares a lot about him and wants to get him the help he needs. First, the doctor who is prescribing the meds should be able to give you referrals to specialists who can do learning evaluations. We have a fabulous person in Madison who has evaluated all three of our children. You might want to consider a different doctor if the one you are using can't be more helpful than just prescribing pills. There's more to your son's problems than ADHD. In fact, he might not even have ADHD; he more than likely has dyslexia, and meds for ADHD aren't going to help fix that. Ask the guidance counselor at his school about learning specialists and neuropsychological evaluations. Also, find out what your school district offers. They should be able to do an evaluation for you. We went to a private specialist because we our school district did a poor job of evaluating our daughter. Many insurance companies will cover this testing, particularly for ADHD and dyslexia. Keep on trying; your son can be helped. Good luck.
Hi Jessica,
Have you requested an evaluation within the school district? If you are looking for the district to give your child services and you are not opposed to him being classified as special education, write to the superintendant and the principal, and request a CSE (Committe for Special Education) evaulation and meeting. Once the district received this request, they have some legal obligation to provide the evaluation.
Good luck.
Hi Jessica,
Our kids are over medicated!!
And the side effects are mostly many.
Why don't you try fish oil instead. It's really good for the brain.
You might want to check out Dr. Daniel Amen's book: Change your brain, change your life"
Call Melanie Mandell at the Nesher Program for children with different abilities at the 92nd Street Y (212)415-5600. Ask for Melanie, she's great, knows who you might talk to, she's the director of the program and has been for more that 20 years.
This sounds distinctly like dyslexia. I say this not from a professional standpoint, but a personal one. I am now 30 yrs old and a mother of 1 lovely 18 month old daughter. I am also an engineer studying for my professional exam.
Dyslexia is a tough thing to work through and it never goes away but you learn to work with it. The best thing is consistency. Set a routine for him - cookie, play outside or watch tv for one hour than start homework. Be careful with the TV. It can over stimulate. Than sit with him while he does his home work. Get your son a dictionary and have him look up words he is having difficulty with. Have him spell the word when he finds it and write it multiple times on a seperate sheet of paper from his homework. Keep a notebook (like a marble one) that is bound that he can refer to and practice in. A few times - three to four - spelling the word out loud each time should begin to help. The thing about dyslexia is that in addition to "flipping" letters/words, there is a disconnect between the written/seen word and the brain. Adding an audio aspect by spelling the word helps solidify the word.
Your attentiveness to this process will serve him well in the future. I still set up a special area to do work and still read words out loud and I always keep my dictionary very very close at hand. It will frustrate him, but you need to keep your cool. Be sure to take breaks - pounding for hours is unproductive. Work for 30 to 45 minutes than take 15.
Be persistent to get him officially diagnosed. But in the mean time, try the above steps. Trust your gut!
Well, the reversing letters sounds like Dyslexia and the disorganiztion could be ADD/ADHD. But both of these are pretty common learning problems so an expereinced clinician should be able to help your son get on track. ADD//ADHD is often misdiagnosed and/or overdiagnosed. The ADD symptoms could be caused by some other disorder. I would recommend requesting in writing that the school do an evaluation (if you haven't already). When you meet with them be prepared with your specific observations such as his reversing letters, situations where he is disorganized or has trouble focusing and situations where he can focus.
As a social worker I sat in as the "parent" representative for many children in special education who were in state custody. School districts varied a lot. Most were concerned but in areas where money was tight and there was a high %age of special needs students getting an evaluation and services could be very slow. Sometimes you really need to be assertive to get your child's educational needs met. Being educated about your child and their disorder helps a lot as well (if only so you are not overwhelmed by the school teachers and psychologists throwing around a lot of technical words). I see that other posters have offered a lot of great resources. I hope you can help your son get on track this year before he has to start middle school where the work is harder. If you have to get him tutoring or some kind of educational or counseling services outside of school this is probably the year to do it.
Take your child to Genesee Developmental Center for testing. I have had great success with them and the examinations they gave produced wonderful insight into my daughters issues. Good Luck jbh
there are some very concerned special education teachers which meet in small groups on sunday mornings at my church they handle many types of children with special needs there must be many exceptions to the rule. you might try speaking with them one on one. this is a different environmentand the staff may have some insight you havent experienced.
Hi Jessica...My name is Terri...I'm 47...I have a 19 yr old son who was diagnosed when he was 6 with ADHD at my request..A couple of years later we were also told he had ocd...and almost 2 yrs ago I took him to a therapist who told me she saw signs of asperberger syndrome...which is a high functioning form of autism...I took hime to a specialist who did confirm this diagnosis...When I went to the school and met with the school psychologist, guidance counselor and teachers I was told "Oh yes we saw signs of that"..when I asked why did they not come to me, they couldn't give me a straight answer...Go with your gut, the schools have to evaluate them properly, most of the time they don't do it because of the expense...Does he have an IEP...If so go back to the special ed committee and request a more in depth evaluation....Fight, fight and fight some more until you get what your child needs...
Did the school have an evaluation done on your son?? If not you must demand that it be done ASAP- speak with the principal, his teachers, and the school psychologist. In New Jersey (not sure about NY) if you request an evaluation by the school, it must be done and at no cost to you. Once the school has an IEP on your son, the teachers can modify how they work with your son-- all children learn differently- some need help organizing thoughts, others need 'quiet' study areas for certain kinds of testing, some children have better retention when studing orally (have to hear it to remember it). My son was evaluated and diagnosed with ADHD/ inatentive type last year. He has a hard time organizing his thoughts and his 'gear'. It mostly effects his writing, and has a special ed teacher come once a week to help him in the writing lab. I am not a fan of 'labeling' kids, but because of his caring 4th grade teacher, he gets extra help that he needs, and my patience doesn't fail as quickly. I have asked his teachers to modify certain things, he can type book reportd rather than hand write, he gets to use his 'free' period to catch up on in class work that he didn't have time to finish.
For us it is still a work in progress, I do not want him to use this as a crutch. He must turn in papers on time, although he may get a one or two day head start.
Do what your ut says, you have to fight for your children and if the school is not willing to assist you, you may have to send him elsewear.
The local public school system must do the tests and find out what is going on to get him the PROPER help. If you are in New York State there is the "No child left behind" program (that may be national, I'm not sure) and all children must be helped regardless of cost, and not a huge cost to the parents. (It may be dr copays on some things but NOT ON THERAPY)
Also just a note a HUGE portion of ADHD children are also Dsylexic. This is a proven fact and something I see a little of in my 7 yo ADHD daughter. It can be mild to very severe and it sounds like he needs help regardless of the "Name" or severety of issues.
If need be get a lawyer (I know expensive) and bring a lawsuit against the school district. Even if he is in private school the public system handles all that and must give him the needed help in the private school setting. It may not come down to that but you are going to influence HIS WHOLE LIFE without the help. Get calling the school and make yourself heard. Try using "honey" before "vinegar" but get mean, but polite, if needed. Alberta
I am not an expert but what I have heard is diet plays a huge role. Please check out Jenny McCarthy's book on how she cured her son of Autism. I know your son is nothing like this but I really feel the put so much in our food now that maybe a more organic or protien rich diet may be better for most children. My daughter has a gross motor skills delay and the one thing I have learned is if you keep your child motivated, and they have capacity and practice they will overcome anything. As long as my daughter is engaged and we incorporate music or dancing she loves doing her physical therapy. As soon as we get clinical she is on to us and the day becomes very long. I wonder if you speak with your son about what interests he may have such as sports, music, art and so on and incorporate that into his development. You are a great mother who cares and remember you will be his best dr. since you know him best.
Jessica where do you live? It is a very long and difficult process however the school district should be able to get him tested. If not check with your peditrician he/she should have information available to give you. If not if all else fails try a child psychologist. You can find one and pay a sliding scale fee, ask the psychologist to test your son's IQ, they have many different test that they administer and can score for themselves. Finally try your local children's hospital they have resource centers that should be able to give you some information. If you live in NYC, Bronx, Westchester I could give you the name of an excellent center that could help you out. Don't give up this is too important.
After having my daughter have to go to summer school to pass eighth grade because the school couldn't be bothered to send home work and provide the tutor I even offered to pay for due to her having several surgeries I learned the hard way. You have to be a loud, persistent PAIN IN THEIR you know whats. If the teacher doesnt do anything - go to the guidence counselor, nothing happens? Go to the Principal, still nothing - Board of ED - threaten to hire a lawyer - actually hire a lawyer - contact the local newspaper. Do whatever you have to do to get the help that your son needs. It IS their job to educate him. For his own good - do it really really soon. If he feels like a loser/stupid going into high school - you may be in for a really hard adolescence.
Hi Jessica, I also have a child that has ADHD and an undiagnosed learning disability. I believe he has some auditory processing issues stemming from severe speech and language delays. With that said, I want you to know that I am in the same boat in terms of getting my son help through the school, not being able to afford intensive outside testing, and watching him struggle to the point it breaks my heart. He is 14 now and has been evaluated by a 3 schools 6 times! Each time they tell me adhd/auditory processing but because his IQ is high he does not qualify for an IEP (special education assistance) but only qualifies for a 504. A 504 is a tricky thing because unlike an IEP which is a federal implementation plan, a 504 is driven by the school itself. I have actually had teachers roll thier eyes at me when I ask was he given extra time for the test as outlined on the 504. It is so very frustrating.
Like everyone else who responded, I agree that you need to fight, fight, fight. The toll it is taking on you and your child can have devastating effects. My son is going through adolescence and because he feels stupid he sometimes acts impulsively and makes very poor choices. I want to give him freedom but it is scary.
Lastly, everyone has their own experiences with medication and diets. I have found that my son has responded extremely well to the medication he is taking. While it is a hard decision to make I see it as a temporary tool that we need in order to help him learn how to compensate for the issues he is facing. Don't be afraid to try anything you can to help your son. Sometimes that means putting up a huge front and being really brave especially when it comes to the school providing the help your child needs. Teachers need to think outside the box for some children. I often would like to say to the teachers that roll their eyes and insist my son is lazy, what if this was your child?
You are a great mom. Be brave, be strong and get all the particulars about your school district. Your child will sense your strength and will know that you believe in him. That is a key ingredient to raising a successful child.
Have you went to www.chadd.org? They have all kinds of resources and can help you get an advocate? It sounds like you may need to contact an advocate. They will help you get the testing and IEP that it sounds like your child needs and are a godsend.
your situation sounds very similiar to ours. Please make an appointment with a Vision Specialist…NOT a plain Optomistrist or Opthomologist, but one that also specializes in Vision Processing Disorders.
Having symptoms of ADD/ADHD is also a symptom of VPDs. Especially if you already have him taking medications for this and are not seeing any scholastic improvement! Also, by the end of 2nd grade letter and word “turning” is another symptom as it is still common up to 2nd grade. Go to www.ffvision.com to see our doctor’s office and a list of symptoms that can help you eliminate VPDs from your possible learning disorders.
We spent YEARS fighting the school because each year her new teacher would request an ADHD eval and they would find her to be “normal” for her age. When they made the 3rd request, I told them to stop beating a dead horse and quit testing her for something that always comes back witht he same result. They decided to do intelligence testing and while reviewing her test answers (not just her scores) I SAW something that made me realize she saw things much differently that we did. This prompted internet searches and thankfully a specialist that was fairly close.
I’ll never regret the money spent (it wasn’t covered by insurance and in MN not all VPDs are not Learning Disorders).