Accommodations - 504 Plan or IEP? | ADHD Information

I posted this in under the "Medications" thread by mistake.  Thought it would be more appropriate to post it here. 

What kind of accommodations can I ask for or are commonly given to children with ADHD (attention deficit without hyperactivity?) in high school.  The school seems open to a 504 plan and asked me to come in to discuss it. 

My daughter was diagnosed in 1st grade but did well because we were very involved w/her teachers and were able to micromanage her but now that she's in high school we are finding it increasingly difficult to find out what is going on or to communicate with her teachers.  She forgets to do her assignments or remember when they are due, she struggles with organization, prioritizing.  She is one of the last to complete her tests in class.  She takes hours to do her homework.  She can't seem to remember much that was taught/discussed in class. 

you could ask for a daily agenda so homework is written down. You can double check it's all there. Maybe extra time for homework. Like all this weeks homework wont be marked late until the following Monday. She could have weekends to "catch up".  Extra time for tests and/or testing in a quieter environment, like a resource room or room alone. My daughter gets distracted just by the other kids, she does better alone. Preferential seating. If she's right in front of the teacher, maybe they can redirect her if she's daydreaming during class.Ah Diane........its the "back off" part that's a little difficult for us seasoned ADHD mom's, isn't it?!!!  We've spent years learning to advocate and fight for our little one's rights....... then BAM.....they turn into teens and our roles take on a whole new meaning!   Arrrrggghhh!    It drives me batty sometimes!   A sense of humor goes a LOOOONG way tho.   Right now my son has the honor of having a F in Algebra thanks to missing assignments.  The conversations we have discussing (in a calm, rationale, manner of course) his plans to turn this F around get down right comical at times.  I just hug him, smile, tell him I love him, then tell him I have the utmost faith in his ability to do his Algebra.

He has until the end of May to get his grade up from a 59 to a 70 in order to be allowed to take summer driver's ed.  Hmmmmmm......lets see just how motivated he is to get behind the wheel!! :)

Okiemom
, they make us laugh, make us crazy too! YUP, hard to back off when I finally smartened up and hired an educational advocate (for a LOT of money) who just wants to keep evaluating her and make me worry they arent helping her on one side, and my daughter who seems perfectly happy where she is at and wants me to leave her alone. I'm ready for some one else to make these decisions .

Diane:  thanks for your helpful suggestions.  I'm meeting w/the school next week and plan on asking for a daily agenda.  I hope the teachers will cooperate, it's such a big school.  Extra time for homework and tests would be great.  Preferential seating would also be helpful.  She does tend to drift off and when she was in grade school, her teacher would sometimes touch her shoulder to get her back on track.  Are the schools required to follow the 504 plan?

okiemom this is a great post that I 100% agree with. My daughter is also SEVERLY inattentive and greatly struggles with disorganization and forgetfullness. She is not gifted, but her work is heavily modified and AT her level. She just HATES homework. It is and always has been a constant struggle. As my 6 year old (Kindergarten) matures and is beginning to handle homework responsibilities, I am seeing more and more how much MORE difficult my oldest is. She lost her 2nd agenda book this year so I made her buy herself a new one. She has got to take this repsonsibility on herself, but her way to do it is for me to "back off". When I do, she does nothing, so we keep trying, I worry a LOT about high school, but we can only do what we can do.

bellesmom so I guess the point to you is get her the accomodations you can, but in some ways we have to all leanr to let some of it go, we cant live their lives for them (but wouldnt that be SO much easier )

Dear Bellsmom,

Thank you for this post.  I have a dd in 6th grade who has inattentive type.  She is doing okay academically but I am a bit worried about high school too. (early I know).  We have a 504 but I never know what to ask for.  Now I think next year I will ask for another set of books at home.  That would make things much easier.  Also no spelling deduction would be great.  Her Language arts teacher is not subtracting for it now but I wonder if another teacher would deduct in the future. 

Thanks again,

 

 

yes they are, but doesnt mean in practice they will. The agenda books a re great, however, we had to go buy my daughter one last night as she's lost the first 2 the school gave her this year! So that can be an issue, she might forget the book or to write stuff down. It's worth a try though, good habit to get her in, writing the assignment down in the class and then remembering the book. Another thought is a second set of bookd for home. Our school let's kids rent then for a nominal fee or in my daughtres case the second set is in her IEP.My son is 15 in 9th grade.  He has ongoing issues with organization, planning, and missing homework and is on an IEP.  It is far more difficult I've found, to micromanage IEP accomodations in high school due to all the factors you mention.... more teachers, more chances of communication breakdown, etc.

We have pref seating, extra test time, 50 % math homework reduction, 1 day extra allowance for homework turn in, extra set of books at home, no spelling deduction, and teacher notes handouts as acomodations. My son also gets extra time/ special room when taking the ACT college test, which he's taken twice already.   Even with all this....its still a struggle.  We never could get my son to consistently use an agenda. If you can get her to use it, that would be great.  Another thought is to let your daughter go to an after school monitored study hall where an assigned teacher checks and signs off the agenda.

Our main issue that affects grades is missing assignments.  My son has pretty severe Inattentive type ADHD.  He is extremely disorganized and turns in stuff late, even later than the IEP allowance, incomplete, and/or sometimes just doesn't do the assignment at all. He just simply hates homework and all the extra mental effort to do it because it is boring to him.  He struggles with HW even with an evening dose of short acting stimulant.  At the HS level, it doesn't take many zeros on assignments to tank his overall grade in a class.   He is a bright kid, with an actual gifted IQ, and he cognitively KNOWS not turning in the work kills his grade.  We've given him great support.....tutors, modifications, therapy, medical intervention (meds),..... so at some point..... he just has to DO the homework.  He has the ability, in our case, its more a choice to not do it.   Lectures and pressure don't work..... the therapist says he has to take "ownership"..... which at this point I agree with.  Somehow he will get through this.....but it is a continual struggle.

At the high school level, advocating for your child takes on a different dimension that it does in the earlier years.  It is a gradual process.....but you have to turn it over to them at some point.  Teaching your daughter to advocate for herself is the best gift you can give her. You don't of course just "let go", but you gradually let them take more ownership and responsibility for it.

Okiemom