Hi and welcome back! My dd has an IEP and we specified that she will get help organizing her papers. She has a picture list glued to her folder of everything she is supposed to do at the end of the day. She gets lots of help at the beginning of the school year, but as she gets into the routine, she doesn't need help. Maybe that is the case for your son, too.
As for the bully--can you put your son in another school? You should get him out of that environment if possible.
I hope you have a better day tomorrow!
You are doing what needs to be done in one way but not in another. As a high school teacher and the mom of a ten-year-old ADHDer, you MUST hold this teacher accountable as well as the school. Oh, if they only did it on their own, as your son's K teacher did. But, the reality is this: the guy probably doesn't "believe" in the diagnosis--guess what? doesn't matter!! it's real and he's quite legally responsible for more than he's doing. Call the principal and request a meeting--do not worry about if the teacher gets upset--YOU are his advocate and his mother and his MAJOR teacher. Some of my colleagues are horrible about helping if they don't "believe." Tough, teachers. Welcome to reality. It is so frustrating and sad and worrisome--we're at a great place now with my son's adhd and 504 and teachers and my understanding--yes, I used the word "great" that when he was in Kindergarten, I never thought I'd get to use. PLEASE realize that those of us who work in the school system WORK FOR YOU!!! HANG TOUGH!!Hi charish!!! I wish i had some magic advice, but i don't so my small offerings will have to do. I would first ask the teacher to send a daily spiral notebook home with a note of how he does each day. Just a one line note saying he did fine or he did blank, blank and/or blank. Ask for it in writing. preferably in an email and copy the school principal and in the email specifically state why you want this. I would not worry too much about him being a loner. Friends will come soon enough. And then when he has friends, you will be wishing he didn't have so many of them and worrying about the trouble those friends will be influencing him into. (that's just the way I look at it). Now, the issue about your son being on the wrong bus, that is a safety issue and I would NOT stand for that! You should contact the administrator in the district about that! That is dangerous and your son is too young to be left in that situation and it is the schools responsibility to ensure he is safe. And the same thing goes for the bully on the bus. Any time you have any problems and correspond with the teacher, make sure it's in writing and if possible put it in an email and copy the principal. Request the spiral reports daily is not a hard task for the teacher. your child needs it and if they cannot do this, threaten to call an ARD and they will do it with out hesitation! they don't want to have to shuffle their schedules around that much. Now, for the book issue, I requested that my ds have an extra book to be kept at home so we don't have to worry about having him forgetting to bring it home. The school was more than happy to give him one. Ask for one, if they say no, check your state laws, Texas has a law that covers the parents request for extra books at home upon request. I hope this helps.
btw - I'm glad to have you back! that was my first ADMIN task!!!
Sometimes the frustration just builds and you feel totally clueless on what to do or what to try next. At least that's how it is for me.
I'm not entirely a newbie - a year ago or so I was CherishMyKids. I guess I need to whine a little tonight.
My son is 8. He's in 2nd grade. He's ADHD on Concerta 27mg. Kindergarten and preschool were both a nightmare - it was during K year that we got the ADHD diagnosis.
For 1st grade we had a 504 plan / Chapter 15 in place, and he landed in a class with a really wonderful teacher. First grade wasn't without its problems, but it was SO much better than anything before!! We were using 5mg Ritalin 3 times a day then. But you could really ride the roller coaster as he cycled between doses.
This year - total nightmare again. We had a big as in huge, bully in his class that was also on our bus and in our neighborhood. In September he decided my son was a primary target. This kid has a huge record, and soon after we finally had our son put in a different class, I guess this other kid went to alternative school or whatever.
With the constant distraction of unwanted attention, developing a habit of hiding in the school bathroom during the day, and everything else, my DS pretty much got in the habit of just not doing anything. Now in this other class we can't seem to break the cycle. We now have another Chap 15 in place for this year, and my DS started Concerta in August before school.
I wish we had a more "available" teacher - he's nice and he's been pretty good and he's taught for 13 years, but its hard to get more than a sentence as an email reply, and a time I met him after school to talk he was in a time crunch. He's supposed to be signing off on my son's assignment book everyday, but that isn't happening either, and my son is repeatedly coming home without his papers or reading book, because he "forgot." He also sometimes has wound up on the wrong bus, but that's a different story.
I told his therapist tonight I'm just so freaking frustrated!! My family has a loving relationship and when we talk to my son about school its with concern and empathy as well as some urgency. How's my son supposed to get grades if he doesn't get the work done? How's he supposed to get the work done if he can't focus enough to be sure he has everything? How do we get it across to him that he can succeed like he did last year, when he's so busy thinking about Star Wars that he isn't even hearing us?
He's a sweet kid, kind to his baby sister, most of the time, and he's smart - very smart. But he doesn't really have friends because he says he'd rather just play Star Wars or whatever by himself.
I'm hurting and I'm frustrated and I just feel so lost. I don't know what to do half of the time! Why can't it be like it was last year? Am I going to have a kid that's a loner and is seen as the problem kid? How do we help him succeed? I thought we knew more by now!!
Thanks for listening!