Of course with school beginning, along comes a whole host of issues a usual. It took me all year last year but I did get a 504 in place for my 9 yar old daughter. I can't see that it is helping us.........just a couple of very minor issues...i.e. planner required with her.
I am seeing so many tests being given in the regular classroom and Nikki knows the subject matter but just bombs at test time. I don't know if she is doing a hurry up and get done and not taking the time or if she simply does not have the attention span to stay concentrated for that amount of time. I am seeing aggression in the evenings. It is very hard to work with her but I forge through the best I can.
Do your children have anything implemented in school to help with these problems. It may be time for a med adjustment but she is taking 20 mg of Straterra and the next dose is 40mg........I tried it and her teacher was very concerned with her.........she was withdrawn, not active and wouldn't interact...actually made grades worse.
I would love some words of wisdom for those of you who hae dealt with these issues.
Thanks
Is there a reason why you are using strattera rather than a stimulant med? My son took strattera along with a stimulant and at first it did seem to work but as time when on and the doc increased the dosage he became quite grumpy and difficult to be around. We took him off the strattera, and also switched his stimulant from concerta to adderall and things improved greatly.
As far as the 504 plan goes it seems like you need different accomodations because the ones you do have in place don't address all of your daughters needs. I would recommed that she has some type of alternative testing procedures....she knows the material but she just cant seeem to get it down...maybe she could verbally answer the test questions and record her answers into a tape recorder ( just an idea), perhaps she needs the test presented to her in chunks rather than all at once ...I would call the school and request a meeting.
These are just a couple of ideas I am sure some other posters will have some good ideas regarding the 504 plan and accomodations that actually help
I have heard of (but not looked into) test-taking classes offered to children. They teach test-taking strategies. You might check into that.I am a teacher with Add so I can relate to my Add kids. The problem with tests is time. It takes longer to find the information in their brains and get it down on paper. For example, during a spelling test the student might just recall how to spell a word and the teacher is giving the next word, and that is just totally confusing. Then all of a sudden here comes the next word, and their still on the first one. By then just forget it. On other tests they will look around and see others finishing, and then they will hurry or guess. Some tests are just too long and they just get bored and check out. Here is what you can do:
1. Try to get all tests taken away from other kids with no time limits.
2. On long tests ask if the student can take them over a couple of days, or take them home to finish under close adult supervision. The teacher will have to know you and trust you for this to happen.
3. Standardized test should absolutely be taken alone with no time limits.
4. Be pushy. You know your child best. If the child has IEP insist that it is followed. However, do not make the teacher feel like you are out to get her. Find a way to work together at all costs.
5. Go to the principal only after you have tried several times to work it out with the teacher. Then tell her you would like a meeting with the principal to get aother opinion. This will help you to be a team and not opposing enemies in a battle.
6. Do not take on your child's pain. This makes it very hard for you to be objective. You will make emotional decisions that won't help anyone. Ask for outside opinions if you are not sure.
Hope this helps!
The special ed teacher worked with my daughter on her spelling tests which were constantly F's. She worked with testing outside of class, and with different methods for the test taking the helped the teacher provide the best method for test taking (which ended up being in the classroom). It turned out that on the review tests she got A's, she just did not get the words the first time she was tested. So we worked on her practice tests.
For the timed math tests, we would cut them into strips until my daughter could do a whole page at once. It took time building up to a whole page, but 100 problems at once was just too many. They also gave her more time. She always got every problem that she did right, she just took a couple minutes longer then everyone else.
The special ed teacher and I had long discussions at each step because we both noticed different things about how my daughter did things. The school was very helpful because they found learning disorders and suspected ADHD. The ADHD was only diagnosed at the end of the school year and is not part of the record yet.
vickie38962.91