desperately need help | ADHD Information

I think a change of school sounds good. I'm sorry to say that your current school doesn't sound at all supportive - like they'd rather have an easy life with a bunch of drugged up kids than to actually make an effort. I may be out of line here but that's what it sounds like. It takes some effort and research to find a better school though.

If you can afford a (good) tutor at home - even just for a half hour or an hour a week, this can do a world of good. It takes some of the pressure off of your own relationship with your son and will give him a different persective.

Finally, as a word of hope, these kids do find a way of sorting themselves out as they get older. Of course your son needs to learn to read (and he will), but don't stress too much about how well he measures up to national standards or "the school's" expectations at the moment. He is very good at something and he has passion. As long as you give him all the support and acceptance you can, he will come through.

Good luck!

Hi,

I do homeschool my DS...so I don't have any suggestions that might help with public school.  But, if you are interested in a couple of recommendations that might work to help you help your son improve his reading..We have successfullly used:

Funnix (20 minute computer lessons - we skip the workbook) and

Explode the Code ( workbooks...great for reinforcing the phonics.

FYI: Our DS is advance in math also, readinng on grade level or above, but struggles mightily in writing.  Ugh!

Good luck!

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Sandy

 

I worked in England in 1992 with a thing called 'Reading Recovery' 'Reading Recovery Scheme'I think the author of the project/written material was Mary Clay. It had exceptionally good results for me. Even the most sceptical of teacher colleagues had to tell me that they were amazed by the success I had on specific no hope children. They didnt know it wasnt me , it was this programme introduced by the government for children specifically with reading difficulties that enabled me. (I am a primary school teacher). Perhaps you can google it, it is probably out of print but maybe there is an old copy somewhere. You would have to read it first and study the whole thing first and then you could support your child with it if you like it.Thank you for your comments. i am so glad i'm not the only one who feels this way. i'm just frustrated with the way the school is dealing with my ds. as far as the alternative school they want to send him to it's a disciplinary school not special education. that was my problem with it. we have been checking out other schools in the area. i've even considered home school for my ds but i don't want him to miss the interaction with kids his age. i'm just trying to figure out what options i have. thank you so much. it takes some of the stress away just knowing there are others out there who have similar situations as we do. Wow, I'm pretty sure that the school is NOT allowed to determine the amount of meds (if any) a student is given. My son is 6yo and is on meds, but they don't help with all the glitches he deals with. I just keep pushing for in-classroom modifications to allow him to continue to keep up with his peers.

My son used to have the same response to reading. If he stumbled over just ONE word, he would throw the book across the room and refuse to even try again. I don't have a magic cure for it, because I think it was just a combination of practice and the meds that got him through the rough areas and let him move on to more fluency. He still gets angry when a word doesn't follow phonetics, but he is learning to sight read those words and move on.

Our personal area of greatest delay is with the writing. The resource teachers and the OT have given a tentative agreement allowing ds to use a keyboard for some work, to ease this problem. Maybe your son needs a different reading program? You might have to push the resource teachers to provide it, but if he isn't learning with the method they are using then they are required to provide an education that does work for him. ESPECIALLY if he has an IEP!!!

You shouldn't have to be at your wit's end, but I think a lot of us here can relate. Is there another school in your area that might better serve his needs? Maybe an alternative school would be better? Not because the school says he should go there, but because the education might be better?

Good for your doc for sticking to his guns about dosage. If you are comfortable with it and your child seems to be doing well with the dose prescribed, then it is probably a classroom issue. If there are a bunch of loud, wild kids in the classroom then your son probably can't concentrate in that environment. For my son, once he is distracted by rowdy kids, it is VERY difficult for him to refocus on the task at hand.

I don't know if any of this is the help you were seeking, but I will just say again that you are in the right and the school is not. It's kind of cruddy that you have to do most of the legwork, but if your advocacy helps your son succeed then it'll be worth it!

My 7 yo child has adhd and on meds. we are having a very difficult time with his reading. he is way behind in tis area but does exceptionally well in math. the problem is that he gets very frustrated and shuts down. i've had conferences with the teacher all year ad it gets me nowhere. i'm at my wit's end. he has an iep but i'm not sure how closely it's being followed. he's been in in school suspension for not doing his work in class and has come home crying and upset because he's frustrated and doesn't have enough time to finish his work. i was even told by the principal that if my child didn't get on higher dosage of medicine he would be sent to alternative school. now keep in mind that he is on meds already. the doc prescribed them based on the form filled out by the teacher. i informed the doc about this and he stated that he would only prescribe what my child needed and refused to have him walking around like a zombie. as far as the school is concerned almost half of the students are on meds for add or adhd. doesn't that seem just a little odd? i really am just trying to figure out how to handle all of this so if anyone has any information that can help PLEASE help.