Andy
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Posts: 83
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Post by Andy on Oct 1, 2004 8:41:09 GMT -5
::)My 10 yr old ADHD,OCD, SID, Bipolar, ect boy got alot of "negative " feedback at BTSN. The teacher stated he isn't putting his backpack away(she is preparing him for middle school)next year. He leaves it anywhere. Finally she put it on his chair! Good thinking!!?? I hope he got the message. Writing still is poor- OT states the handwriting is great >:(Teacher states she doesn't see it?? Is this all due to lack of attention? He opens things up at home and doesn't put anything away. I tried a reward system. It works sometimes. If I start him on Strattera will this help these issues? I feel like he is 2 yrs old and I am constantly running after him. He also just doesn't "GET" it. Is this due to his disability? Since I look to the future often(I keep telling myself ONE DAY AT A TIME!!) how is he going to fare out in the real world? I don't know about middle school next year. He has an IEP. He has to be changing classes. He doesn't even look at any clocks!! HELLLLLPPPPP!!!
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Post by eaccae on Oct 1, 2004 9:17:26 GMT -5
Andy - it sounds like executive dysfunction to me (both DS and I suffer from this) - actually most ADHD kids have this to a certain extent. But here are two links to two good articles on it - they have some great suggestions. You might want to think about having some organizational accomodations wiht some short term goals - like checklists or reminders from the teacher - with the mindset that if a routine or pattern starts to emerge they will be able to become more independent. This is what we have been doing with DS this year and it has already made a difference. The medication should help a little - but DS is wonderfully focused on his meds (and yes, he DOES have lots of energy as well) - but without the accomodations that we implemented this year - he would still be having major organizational issues. I think it is a "habit" that has to get learned. LDonline.org - Lazy Kids or Executive Dysfunction?schoolbehavior.com - The "Executive" FunctionsAs far as the handwriting! DS has dysgraphia. For 4 years the OT would tell us that his handwriting was grade level, etc. Okay, it was ILLEGIBLE. The teachers found it illegible!!! There was no spacing between words . . . We just couldn't decipher it for over 50% of the time and when we could it was through great effort. They wanted me to get handwriting tutoring twice a week at $60 a session ( ) but didn't feel that THEY needed to work with him!!! I finally started working on the Handwriting Without Tears program again this summer and it made a HUGE difference (we had started it a few years ago - but I don't think he was ready for that with all that was going on). Now we have some accomodations - extended time for writing as it still will take him a VERY long time and the use of the HWT paper if he feels more comfortable . . . But the frusteration I had with the OT drove me CRAZY!!!!
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Andy
Full Member
Posts: 83
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Post by Andy on Oct 1, 2004 9:55:02 GMT -5
Went to the LDL website! Sounds like my son to the T. Called the school Psych and she had nooo idea about ED. Will reference the website to her. Thank you soo much for the information. Do you have your child in a self- contained classroom or mainstreamed? My son has verbal tics, teacher states it is not disturbing the class ???He doesn't stay on task- Has an IEP(aren't they supposed to help him w/that), Yet I don't want him labeled as "sped". It is such a difficult decision.
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Post by Dakotah on Oct 1, 2004 10:18:24 GMT -5
Andy everything you have said hits so close to home. My son is much younger but I still have the same feelings and fears that you describe. Take a minute to look over your son's IEP. (Having an IEP already puts him under the Spec. Ed. catagory) They only service what his specific goals are. If vocal tics or staying on task are not on his IEP they are not "forced" to help him in that area. My son's IEP is not up to date right now. We are having a meeting in Oct. to reevaluate his goals. We are adding organizational and social skills. Labeling Spec. Ed. is difficult but well worth it. In the school system we know that in order to get services you need the label. Talk, talk and talk to his teacher about your feelings before they get the best of you. We had a terrible start to this year and had a conference (thanks to everyone's support here) where we told them exactly how we felt and my husband and I were so surprised at how receptive everyone was to our feelings. Hang in there!
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Post by eaccae on Oct 1, 2004 10:29:58 GMT -5
His is in a mainstream class. But if your son's tics aren't bothering the class - it doesn't sound like he needs to be moved at all. Labeling speced, though, shouldn't mean that he has to be in a selfcontained classroom! I have to tell you - it took me 4 years of headbutting to get some of the very SIMPLE accomodations that deal with the executive dysfunction. The school kept saying that they wanted DS to be more independent because as he got older more was going to be expected of him. I would argue that if he didn't get help or guidance now and build some organizational tools while he was young it was a disservice. What he has isn't going AWAY!!! - That if they implemented the accomodations with the hope that it WOULD become habit/routine - then we were one step closer to independence!! Four years later they have finally given in. Now is the time for them to receive guidance - you and I can't be in the classroom with our children! It is the school's responsibility. I have a friend who is going through the same thing (same age, same school, same problems). They want her son to be more independent on his own. She and her husband just looked at the teacher and told her that it has taken a long time for them to come to terms with the fact that this is something that is not going away and now it was time for the school to come to terms with it and start helping their son so that he CAN gain independence. And in all honesty - some of these things aren't THAT difficult or time consuming to implement!! I know how you feel - DS has to start changing classes next year!! You are doing the right thing - one day at a time is all we can do or we will go crazy!!!
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Post by eaccae on Oct 1, 2004 14:03:52 GMT -5
They have planners this year (4th) - I wish they would have had them before . . . but hey - I used to have those tiny x5 assignment pads!
DS writes his homework down himself and the teacher initials it that he did write it down. Sometimes she will clarify the assignment but she won't write it for him. This is HUGE since this is the first time EVER that he has written his homework down. When he finishes - he has to check it off and then bring it to me to initial. To me this is better because to me it is guided - he is getting into the habit - the routine of writing the assignment down with guidance from the teacher. Having the teacher write it down for him might be ultimately defeating. When he doesn't turn something in or tells the teacher that he doesn't have something - she is to ask him to double check his backpack (he was having problems turning things in that he actually DID have in his backpack . . .) but she doesn't do it for him. Why his 3rd grade teacher flat out refused to do this I don't know - it is a 5 second statement. I know a friend of his has a checklist taped to his desk to remind him to do certain things - like put his backpack away . . . As far as the writing goes - this year we have extended time on writing assignments on an as need basis - and the same for math tests. Although his writing has improved greatly and is actually legible - it still has a long way to go and he is very slow at writing. He knows the math but he works at one speed - so he will get most of the questions he answers correct but he will only finish half of the test. That is why we have extended time. Next year we will probably add that he will not be grade on spelling in written assignments. He aces every spelling test and could probably go far in a spelling bee but can't seem to apply spelling to his writing. He also has extended time during the state tests which takes a lot of the pressure off. You wouldn't believe how many kids have this.
We were going to have an accomodation that once a day DS would go through and clean out his desk - with a simple reminder from the teacher - during lunch (they eat in the classroom) or freetime . . . but he hasn't needed it so far!
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Post by Mayleng on Oct 1, 2004 15:23:23 GMT -5
If your son has dysgraphia, it may be time to request an evaluation for assistive technology and get him a alphasmart or laptop so that he can type his work instead.
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Post by theirmom on Oct 1, 2004 17:26:23 GMT -5
gosh, this executive function stuff sounds SO much like my youngest..... he just started junior high and we put him on straterra for social issues and orginizational skills and so far see NO improvement with orginization. I bought him one of those big "binders" that has divider pockets instead of a 3 ring, so that all papers were with him all the time. Great. He looses the binder.......... No one wants to help because he has good grades and needs to be "more independant". I really appreciate this thread. It is good to hear the ways that you all help your kids compensate. Please keep posting your successes.
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Post by d on Oct 1, 2004 18:42:59 GMT -5
gosh, this executive function stuff sounds SO much like my youngest..... he just started junior high and we put him on straterra for social issues and orginizational skills and so far see NO improvement with orginization. I bought him one of those big "binders" that has divider pockets instead of a 3 ring, so that all papers were with him all the time. Great. He looses the binder.......... No one wants to help because he has good grades and needs to be "more independant". I really appreciate this thread. It is good to hear the ways that you all help your kids compensate. Please keep posting your successes. Organizational skills *should* be specifically taught to ADHDers. I mentioned this to my perpetually disorganized ADHDer's 4th grade teacher who made sure it happened. Before then I got the line "but we teach that to *all of our students*...". They do but instead of just being in the classroom where it was taught this teacher made absolutely sure dd really learned these skills. They are with her today in her first year of middle school, two years later. Trust me, as an adult ADHDer, organization is painful for me. I'm not good at it although I can do it. It takes me a long time and is usually overwhelming. DD actually gets twisted out of sorts if her schoolwork isn't organized. That's a far cry from the kid who had pencil shavings and balled up papers in her desk and backpack for years. Is there anything the school can do to help him learn them? PS - DD has a morning binder and afternoon binder - both color coded by subject (and her book covers too). I have her dividers and folders in those binders. Luckily, this binder has a pocket in the back that I send in permission slips and notes. She knows to look in this back pocket to turn things in. So far, so good.
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Post by LurkNoMore on Oct 2, 2004 16:00:08 GMT -5
I know what you are feeling, Andy. My son, C, is also 10 and in the 5th grade. From 2nd - 4th grade, he had a one on one aide (who was very nice, but in hind sight was doing more for him than she should have). We were CONSTANTLY hearing from the teachers about his lack of independence. For the past couple of years, at the end of the year meetings, they recommended self-contained (which meant switching him to the other elementary school in our district). Last year, (4th gr) was horrible...we had the teacher that was clueless (about ADHD and other things...she used to take away his aide (but only sometimes) to see how he would do on his own. By the end of last school year, he hated school and his self-esteem was down the tubes. This teacher seemed to accentuate all of his "differences" and caused him to have some social problems he had never before had. This year he is in the self-contained class. WE really struggled with the decision (the ladies on the board can attest to that). Part of the reason we decided to switch him was to give him the skills he needs to make it in middle school (and beyond). Last year, my daughter was in 6th grade...(not ADD)...we saw how much more work and independence was required. We figured if we didn't make the switch this year, there was no way he was going into a mainstream 6th grade class. So far he is loving it...there are only 7 kids in his class with a spec. ed. teacher, speech path and aide. C got off the bus very excited the first day b/c he was independent (meaning to him, he doesn't have a one on one aide). He goes to his specials with one of the reg. ed. classes and, hopefully, soon will be mainstreamed in for some of his academic subjects. He is coming home and doing his homework by himself (last year, me or hubby had to sit with him and it would take at least 3 hours). He lets me check it and is OK with me showing him if he made a mistake. He is much more verbal about school this year and seems to becoming more self-aware (he notices when the other kids in his class act "different"...and is worrying more about fitting in with what he is wearing etc). He has been (for the most part) writing his homework down in his planner by himself. The teacher is holding him accountable for his work (I've been noticing comments like "you can work neater" etc) This has been the best decision that we could have made for him because he is getting the individualized attention that he needed and wasn't getting in the reg. classroom. We're still hopeful that he will be mainstreamed again next year for middle school, but will cross that bridge when we come to it. Just wanted to add my 2cents...please feel free to ask any questions you may have (last year at this time, I never would have thought that C would be in a self-contained class)!
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