Need 504 advice/help

I could really use some guidance. Here's the background (I'll try to be
brief):

Our son is 12 and has been diagnosed with ADD (no H) since age 9. He's been
on Strattera for about 2 years. Beyond that, we've never asked for or received
any formal accommodations in school. He is very bright and gets As and Bs
despite his ADD, but he has to work very hard (or perhaps more accurately,
long) to do so. He most certainly is not achieving his full potential and he
has next to no confidence in his academic ability despite his obvious
intellect.

We've done some at-home accommodation stuff (for example, we will read aloud to
him or let him dictate written assignments rather than write them out) but
nothing formal. We've always been up-front with the school and his teachers
about our at-home accommodations, but this year he asked (and his psychiatrist
agreed) that we not tell the new teachers he had ADD. That lasted about a
month and then we had to go talk to them to explain the missed assignments and
general lack of organization. They've been very supportive and helpful.

When he received the formal ADD diagnosis, the psychologist who conducted his
tests also found a markedly low score on "coding," which as I understand it is
the ability to transfer information in one's mind or on one sheet of paper (or
a book) onto another sheet of paper. His score was so low that the
diagnostician actually wondered if it was a misprint, and also speculated that
he may just have mentally and/or emotionally "checked out" for that part. She
did not repeat the test, however.

From time to time Henry's had some anxiety issues at school. He gets migraines
and also stomach symptoms. The migraines have several triggers, including
stress; the stomach stuff seems to be entirely anxiety-based. Nevertheless, to
be save he's in the process of medical testing for the stomach symptoms and
some fatigue he's experiencing this year.

Henry started middle school in August. He has been extremely anxious from
almost the very first day (despite going in to it with a very, very upbeat and
confident attitude). He has trouble keeping himself organized (we expected
this and had talked about it) and often comes home without the textbooks he
needs to get his work done. He forgets or misses assignments.

He's also a sensitive kid, and the additional discipline problems in the middle
school setting are really wearing on him. He hates to see disrespect to
teachers and to other kids. In addition to distracting him from his work in
the ADD sense, it also distracts him emotionally. I understand that folks with
ADD might have some additional difficulty reading other people and this may
play into this. He has one class, math, where this is especially a problem.

Despite all this, he's a very social kid with a lot of friends and from my
perspective he's pretty popular. He's blessed in that he's good looking and
tall for his age -- 5'9" -- and is well-liked.

I went to visit with the asst. principal today. I was able to get a second set
of text books to keep at home so that we'll always have what we need, and that
will help. I also got agreement to try to move him out of the troublesome math
class (he falls apart after that class, and has had lots of problems in the two
classes he has after math before the end of the day).

I asked about a 504 plan and this is the response I got: "I wouldn't do that
*to him* with grades as good as he's getting." The impression I got was that
the principal felt it would stigmatize him. Quote: "It's not a bad thing, but
it's not a good thing either."

I know that in TX where we live, some schools are struggling with their state
ed dept ratings because they are giving too many kids accommodations on
standardized tests. Apparently there are some regulations about the percentage
of kids per school who can have accommodations. Perhaps this is a federal "no
child left behind" issue -- I haven't done the research yet. I couldn't care
less whether he gets to have accommodations in standardized tests, I think they
are pretty much pure evil (and I say this as a kid who was always in the top
percentiles on those tests). I want accommodations day-to-day if they can
help.

But... I'm not even sure what accommodations I'm asking for. I fear that maybe
we've hit a point at which the large public school is no longer an appropriate
setting for him. I don't know how hard to push on the 504, and whether to take
any stock in the notion that it will stigmatize or label him from this day
forward.

Advice, please?

Thanks for listening,

Dawn

But... I'm not even sure what accommodations I'm asking for. I fear that
maybe
we've hit a point at which the large public school is no longer an
appropriate
setting for him. I don't know how hard to push on the 504, and whether to
take
any stock in the notion that it will stigmatize or label him from this day
forward.

I think you've answered your own question. Whilst public schools are great
in accomodating kids with more severe special needs, especially those they
absolutely HAVE to help, public schools are often very short sighted in how
they deal with ADD, especially if those ADD kids have additional special
needs. Your principal CANNOT, by law, deny you a 504 meeting. He absolutely
HAS to hold an evaluation, and he absolutely HAS to do testing. However, he
can 'persuede) the testers to soft soap the results. And he can have those
results 'modified' so that Henry does not fit the requirements for
accomodations. BTDT.

My recommendation is two pronged. Find out what the school will allow from
PRIVATE testing. If they will allow you to use a private testing facility,
do it asap and find out what's going on with the coding. That could be a
number of LD issues, and could in fact make Henry eligible not only for a
504, but an IEP as well. While you're investigating this, also look at what
your school district offers in the way of smaller, SPED programs. Many have
schools within schools, programs in the middle school that help with
accomodations. Maybe math, for example, might be taught in a small class
setting with remedial help and several aides. My DD is in 7th grade in a
public school that does this. She is in a math class with 8 other kids and 3
teachers, which is really individualized according to the needs of the kids.
She's gone from barely passing math to being a straight A student because
she has an aide that explains EVERY nuance of every assignment with her,
with additional examples, until she catches on.

If your district does not offer such accomodations, then you might want to
consider a private school, but then again, getting into a private middle
school is no easy feat and might require an exam and an interview that Henry
might not be able to handle if he gets very nervous around testing.

I'd be happy to share off list what we're doing with my DS, who does not
attend our local schools, and how I got his accomodations, which are HUGE.

Marjorie

The question may be whether they will pay for outside testing. My son was
tested by the school district for learning disabilities and I then had him
tested by a private psychologist who reviewed the tests done by the school
and verified them (and did a few additional tests). No school district on
earth can tell me what medical care I will or will not get for my child.

Marion Baumgarten

No school district on
earth can tell me what medical care I will or will not get for my child.

I'm not sure I'd characterize what Henry needs as medical care. YMMV. And, in
case I didn't make it clear, I'm also trying to balance his preferences here.
He wants no accommodation, and I doubt will accept anything that isn't pretty
much invisible to his peers. So that's an issue. Moving to another school
might also allow him to move in to a new environment where he already has
accommodations from the get-go, which would be easier than suddenly receiving
them, I think.

We're having a meeting (not a 504) with his teachers, the counselor and the
nurse. I'm looking forward to seeing their suggestions, and I'll bring another
copy of his test results from several years ago, along with a request to have
initial re-testing done by the school (and if I don't like those results, I can
go elsewhere).

Meanwhile Henry's grades *did* drop from the first 6 weeks to the second, so at
least I have some evidence on paper, using their own assessment tools, to
suggest we need to intervene. Then again, I expect lots of 6th graders see
this kind of drop early in their middle school careers.

-Dawn

(Iowacookiemom) wrote in message ...

Meanwhile Henry's grades *did* drop from the first 6 weeks to the second, so at
least I have some evidence on paper, using their own assessment tools, to
suggest we need to intervene. Then again, I expect lots of 6th graders see
this kind of drop early in their middle school careers.


Not to minimize Henry's problems, or to suggest that you do nothing, I
will say that we are encountering many similar problems with our own
13 year old son, now in 8th grade. There are lots of developmental
issues that I'm sure you are aware of and they probably aggravate any
underlying problems. They are tough enough for kids not dealing with
a disability! Our son forgets books and assignments, puts things off
to the last minute, forgets to bring me notes and forms, and generally
goofs off in school. He is involved in lots of thingsI alternate
between complete frustration, a hands-off approach, cajoling,
punishing... I just hope we make it through middle school.

Chris

(Chris Himes) wrote:

(Iowacookiemom) wrote in message ...

Meanwhile Henry's grades *did* drop from the first 6 weeks to the second, so at
least I have some evidence on paper, using their own assessment tools, to
suggest we need to intervene. Then again, I expect lots of 6th graders see
this kind of drop early in their middle school careers.


Not to minimize Henry's problems, or to suggest that you do nothing, I
will say that we are encountering many similar problems with our own
13 year old son, now in 8th grade. There are lots of developmental
issues that I'm sure you are aware of and they probably aggravate any
underlying problems. They are tough enough for kids not dealing with
a disability! Our son forgets books and assignments, puts things off
to the last minute, forgets to bring me notes and forms, and generally
goofs off in school. He is involved in lots of thingsI alternate
between complete frustration, a hands-off approach, cajoling,
punishing... I just hope we make it through middle school.


I used to teach middle school. FWIW, I don't think there is much
learning gained in middle school except maybe if they take algebra.
But I'm not sure that the brains of all middle schoolers are wired to
deal with abstract logic though, so I don't believe that algebra is
absolutely necessarily taken in middle school.

My dh, who also taught 7th grade (math), said that the boys in 7th
grade spent most of their time hitting each other on the arm and
bouncing off the walls and ceiling.

I asked dd#2 (who has an excellent memory) whether she remembered some
of the specific thing that I know she was taught in ms and she didn't
remember any of them. So if it is any comfort to you, IMHO the
whole middle school section of time could be completely eliminated
without any loss.

Even the 'permanent record' thing -- isn't. The records of my
children up through high school have been destroyed except for their
actual HS grades.


grandma Rosalie

"Iowacookiemom" wrote in message
...
Meanwhile Henry's grades *did* drop from the first 6 weeks to the second,
so at
least I have some evidence on paper, using their own assessment tools, to
suggest we need to intervene. Then again, I expect lots of 6th graders
see
this kind of drop early in their middle school careers.

Our "middle school" starts in 7th grade. In parent orientation the
principal
pointed out that over half (yes MOST) students have a "C" or below in at
least one class at the 6 week mark in their first year. The school then
provides
mandatory homework club, that once they get all their grades up above
a "C" become optional. She stressed that students this age often have
problems with organization and time management, that is worked on in
this homework club.

You might check into whether your school has such a program. If your
son's grades are dropping, but he's still getting B's, they may not have
flagged him for this program. I know there were some kids there who
were not required to be there by grades, but wanted the training on
organization skills.

You may still want to intervene, but it doesn't sound like he is out of the
ordinary compared to his peers. Most of them need intervention.

In article ,
Cathy Kearns wrote:

Our "middle school" starts in 7th grade. In parent orientation the
principal
pointed out that over half (yes MOST) students have a "C" or below in at
least one class at the 6 week mark in their first year.

Isn't this what a "C" means? I thought a "C" grade generally denoted
"average" achievement. If that were the case, then (except in Lake
Woebegone), over half of the students in each class should be getting
grades of "C" or below.

--Robyn (whose kids don't get letter grades, so this is from my memory
of my own school days, and may be outdated...)

In article , Robyn Kozierok wrote:
In article ,
Cathy Kearns wrote:

Our "middle school" starts in 7th grade. In parent orientation the
principal
pointed out that over half (yes MOST) students have a "C" or below in at
least one class at the 6 week mark in their first year.

Isn't this what a "C" means? I thought a "C" grade generally denoted
"average" achievement. If that were the case, then (except in Lake
Woebegone), over half of the students in each class should be getting
grades of "C" or below.

"C" has not meant "average" in the US for decades.
Try googling "grade inflation".

One quote I like is from
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/fyi/tea....inflation.ap/
"Harvard University, addressing concerns about grade inflation, is
considering restoring a B as the average grade..." Note that they are
talking about *lowering* the average grade to a B, not raising it.

In my own grading at UCSC in the School of Engineering, the average
grade is about a B-. We have a system in which the lowest passing
grade is a C, with D and F both representing failure (there is no C-).
For graduate courses, the lowest passing grade is a B, which makes
graduate grades almost meaningless.

One figure (http://www.gradeinflation.com/) shows that at private
colleges, the average GPA is 3.26 (just below B+), up from 3.11 ten
years earlier.

The big jump at the college level seems to have happened in the late
60s and early 70s, followed by a pleateau, and inflation again from
1987 to the present. They are reporting about a 0.7 increase in GPA
since 1967.

For a counteropinion, look at http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/gi.htm
"The Dangerous Myth of Grade Inflation"

There are many other web sites, either documenting grade inflation or
debunking the documentation.





------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin Karplus http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~karplus
Professor of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz
Undergraduate and Graduate Director, Bioinformatics
Senior member, IEEE Board of Directors, ISCB (starting Jan 2005)
life member (LAB, Adventure Cycling, American Youth Hostels)
Effective Cycling Instructor #218-ck (lapsed)
Affiliations for identification only.

"Robyn Kozierok" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Cathy Kearns wrote:

Our "middle school" starts in 7th grade. In parent orientation the
principal
pointed out that over half (yes MOST) students have a "C" or below in at
least one class at the 6 week mark in their first year.

Isn't this what a "C" means? I thought a "C" grade generally denoted
"average" achievement. If that were the case, then (except in Lake
Woebegone), over half of the students in each class should be getting
grades of "C" or below.

That would be true if C meant average and entire classes were graded on a
curve, which wasn't the case here. Here a C means achieving the minimum
needed to pass, so if you drop a below a C you won't be passing. Your
average student gets a B. Though, that hasn't changed in the 30 something
years since I was a student.

--Robyn (whose kids don't get letter grades, so this is from my memory
of my own school days, and may be outdated...)