On Tue, 26 Apr 2005 18:25:56 EDT, Kevin Karplus
wrote:

I'm a little confused by the claims on this newsgroup that
1) having an IEP is a stigma
2) getting an IEP is a major problem

I don't see how having an IEP for ADD would be any more of a stigma
than the ADD diagnosis itself.

I don't know how similar our IEP laws and customs are here in Canada.
But it's been my impression that getting the IEP is straightforward
and that having IEPs for learning disabilities and/or for giftedness
has offered extra opportunities while not creating restrictions or
stigmas.

I wondered whether the original advice Dawn got from the assistant
principal about not proceeding officially was about the stigmatized
perceptions of boys with ADD, among the teachers in his school or
among high school teachers. Why he didn't go on to say "such as Ms
S, but here is how you/we might approach her" is a good question.

Without an IEP, maybe he thought he was giving Henry a chance to
"pass" without teachers labelling him as ADD before meeting him,
either in junior high or in high school.

Louise