Your ADHD Child and School
You are your child's best advocate.
To be a good advocate for your child, learn
as much as you can about ADHD and
how it
affects your child at home, in school, and
in social situations.
If your child
has shown symptoms of ADHD from an early age
and has been evaluated, diagnosed, and
treated with either behavior modification or
medication or a combination of both, when
your child enters the school system, let his
or her teachers know. They will be better
prepared to help the child come into this
new world away from home.
If your child
enters school and experiences difficulties
that lead you to suspect that he or she has
ADHD, you can either seek the services of an
outside professional or you can ask the
local school district to conduct an
evaluation. Some parents prefer to go to a
professional of their own choice. But it is
the school's obligation to evaluate children
that they suspect have ADHD or some other
disability that is affecting not only their
academic work but their interactions with
classmates and teachers.
Many children
with ADHD also have specific learning
disabilities which need to be identified so
they can be addressed along with the ADHD.
You can use the
Learning Disabilities Check List as an
indicator of whether your child may have
learning disabilities. You may want to
share this information with your child's
school and doctors.
 If you feel
that your child has ADHD and isn't learning
in school as he or she should, you should
find out just who in the school system you
should contact. Your child's teacher should
be able to help you with this information.
Then you can request—in writing—that the
school system evaluate your child. The
letter should include the date, your and
your child's names, and the reason for
requesting an evaluation. Keep a copy of the
letter in your own files.
Until the
last few years, many school systems were
reluctant to evaluate a child with ADHD. But
recent laws have made clear the school's
obligation to the child suspected of having
ADHD that is affecting adversely his or her
performance in school. If the school
persists in refusing to evaluate your child,
you can either get a private evaluation or
enlist some help in negotiating with the
school. Help is often as close as a local
parent group. Each state has a Parent
Training and Information (PTI) center as
well as a Protection and Advocacy (P&A)
agency. (For information on the law and on
the PTI and P&A, see the section on support
groups and organizations at the end of this
document.)
Once your
child has been diagnosed with ADHD and
qualifies for special education services,
the school, working with you, must assess
the child's strengths and weaknesses and
design an Individualized Educational Program
(IEP). You should be able periodically to
review and approve your child's IEP. Each
school year brings a new teacher and new
schoolwork, a transition that can be quite
difficult for the child with ADHD. Your
child needs lots of support and
encouragement at this time.
Never forget
the cardinal rule—you are your
child's best advocate.
IDEA - Building The Legacy
This
site was created to provide a
"one-stop shop" for resources
related to IDEA and its
implementing regulations,
released on August 3, 2006. It
is a "living" website and will
change and grow as resources and
information become available.
National
Dissemination Center for
Children with Disabilities (formerly
known as NICHCY): The
Dissemination Center provides
families, students, educators,
and others with information on
disability-related topics
regarding children and youth,
birth through 21. They also
provide information to help you
locate organizations and
agencies within your state that
address disability-related
issues.
State Department
of Special Education:
If the local school district is
unable or unwilling to solve the
problems you experience, states
are the next step.
Office of Special
Education Programs (OSEP),
U.S. Department of Education:
OSEP is responsible for
monitoring state and local
compliance to IDEA. They have
customer service representatives
who work with people from each
state, to provide information
and help resolve problems. |
[Some of the above information
excerpted from Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder a
publication of National Institute for
Mental Health (2006)]
NIH
Publication No. 3572]
|
