New at this ideas for 7 year old with ADHD

[lcdc1]

HI, I concur with the advice you all are talking about and just wanted to add - HI and good to meet you!

I would also add to get your kid on an IEP or at least a 504 plan to help him in school. Keep working with all of the meds you can, each person finds the right mix eventually. Meds along with some other interventions will turn out to be helpful as your kid finds coping methods that will help him to be successful.

[mom23boyz]

Wow, once again thank you all for all of the great ideas and experience sharing. So far, the teacher and principal have been very accomadating to his needs, except for sending him to the in-school suspension room to finish his work. I am going to ask that he be sent to the resource room or library but not a punishment type of room!! Thanks for your ideas on that. We go to the doctor in another week and a half so I am going to question about new meds also. I will let you know how it turns out!

[puzzled]

Apr 6, 2008 11:23:29 GMT -5 mom23boyz said:

Wow, once again thank you all for all of the great ideas and experience sharing. So far, the teacher and principal have been very accomadating to his needs, except for sending him to the in-school suspension room to finish his work. I am going to ask that he be sent to the resource room or library but not a punishment type of room!! Thanks for your ideas on that. We go to the doctor in another week and a half so I am going to question about new meds also. I will let you know how it turns out!

Hi and welcome to our board!

I would just like to add that right now, while the principal and teacher are being so accommodating is the perfect time to get the 504 plan in place. It is really just writing down the strategies and accomms that you as a team, have found work to help your son to learn more efficiently. In the future, you may not have such an accommodating team.

[mom23boyz]

Thanks puzzled, does anyone have any good website for outlines as far as a 504 plan goes? I appreciate all the help. I worry about what the other children will think about him if he leaves the room for tests, brings home work, etc? Anyone had problems with this? Thanks again!

[charliegirl]

Apr 6, 2008 15:15:46 GMT -5 mom23boyz said:

I worry about what the other children will think about him if he leaves the room for tests, brings home work, etc? Anyone had problems with this? Thanks again!

The other kids are already forming opinions of your son since he is kept in from recess, probably constantly redirected by the teacher in an attempt to get him to focus, etc. If he is able to go to another room when he needs the quiet or brings work home, it is actually less of a stigma than having the teacher seemingly on his case all the time.

I found that out the hard way. By the time my son was allowed to go to a resource room he had gotten the reputation of being retarded even though he isn't. The kids saw him as unable to do the work rather than having problems with attention and focus. When he finally went to an academic intervention class he came home and told me who all was in it. They were all kids perceived by their peers as being smart. He was shocked. It was actually less obvious to the other kids than the negative attention gotten in the classroom.

[puzzled]

I was the same as you are mom23boyz, I had an accommodating principal and teachers, I simply went to them and asked that the strategies already in place be put into writing to make them more official. I did so because my son was going to middle school, and I thought (rightly as it turns out) that the teachers in the higher grades would not willingly accommodate as easily as the elementary teachers did. I was fortunate that the middle school principal had no qualms about the 504 and actually helped me to add to it, but I have had issues with the teachers actually holding to it. Chase has had to advocate for himself at times to remind the teachers of what is on the plan.

I have an extra set of books, preferential seating, fewer homework problems if needed (this one he is unaware of and we have not used yet), permission to go to his locker to retrieve finished homework within reason without affecting his grade on the homework, and weekly emails telling me if he has turned in all his work (this is the one none of the teachers seem willing to do), I am going to start sending weekly emails TO them asking for the info to see if any will respond, if not, I will contact the principal for further action.

My son is ADHD inattentive, and his main issue is doing homework-remembering to put it in his planner, remembering to bring it home to be done, remembering to do it, then remembering to get it turned in. This is more of a problem with long term assignments, though it remains an ongoing issue in all assignments.

There are also advocates, I cannot remember where I found the listing of them for my state, maybe someone else can point you in the right direction...she spent hours on the phone giving me ideas and strategies to try.

[mom23boyz]

Thanks charliegirl and puzzled! I am going to try and find some info to get some things put down in writing. I did run into the problem the other day of my son telling the teacher that he wanted to bring his math home, instead of doing it in class! I couldnt believe it, I told him he needs to do the work assigned to him in class and only bring home assigned homework. How do you explain to a 7 year old that this is not a choice for him to make? Have you dealt with this? I want him to bring it home if he does not get it done, but I dont want him goofing off and thinking he can pick and choose what he does! Thanks again, I know this post just keeps going, and going, LOL

[charliegirl]

Did he explain why he wanted to bring it home? Was it impossible to focus in class for some reason? I know there are times when things in my head will keep me from focusing as much as any outside distractions can. There are times when I can work at it and bring myself into focus but it isn't easy or always possible.

It may help to find out whether that is the case or whether he just wanted to goof off. Once you know, it will make it easier to figure out how to deal with it. He has to learn coping skills in order to succeed in the world and the more you understand, the more likely you will be to be able to help him.

One of my favorite sites is www.allkindsofminds.org You may find that helpful.

[mom23boyz]

Thanks again charliegirl. You said he has to learn coping skills, and this is why my husband has problems with getting him a 504 plan. He believes our son needs to learn to do his work while having distractions around him. I believe that he told the teacher that he would rather bring it home for homework, but didnt say why, so from now on I will find out why. It could be that there was too much going on! I am so glad to find this site and to know I am not the only one! Thanks again

[charliegirl]

A 504 will help to level the playing field for him. Right now, he is competing with kids who have no ADHD or LDS. The classes are geared towards them and their learning styles. By not finding accomodations which will make learning easier or at least attainable, you are depriving him of getting the education he is capable of.

As for buckling down and learning to focus, no matter what accomodations or help he has, he will have to learn to do that. Life with ADHD is never easy, even with meds and accoms, they only help make life manageable but they aren't allowing him to avoid working hard and doing his best. Right now, he has to work at least 2 or 3 times harder than other kids just to stay even with them. That means more time and more effort every day. As he gets older, it will get even harder.

An IEP or 504 doesn't mean a free ride or an easy way out. He is still held to the same standards as his classmates. He still has to take the same tests and get the same passing grades. I hope you can get your dh to understand that.