Off task.... Again!

[EmJay]

So difficult child gets daily conduct grades sent home. There are codes for what he could get marked off for. He rarely ever gets the same grade twice in a row. For example; this week alone, B. C. D. F. So far!
He KEEPS getting marked off for being "off task"...

yes, i know, typical ADHD behavior. but i don't want to go running to the dr. to end up getting more medications for this.

any ideas, clues, advice on how I could help him out here or help the teacher help him?

she seems very nonchalant about him and his conduct. and there is never an explanation. Just the #9!

 

[TeDo]

Does he have an IEP? If not, he needs one. If he has the official diagnosis of ADHD and inattentiveness is THE only concern then it seems to me that the inattentiveness should not be graded so severely. It IS his disability and there is no medication that makes it go away completely. They need to work WITH him and try to ENGAGE him so there is less reason to be inattentive. This just reeks of punishing the disability as far as I'm concerned. I sincerely hope the "grades" don't bother him AND that they are not EVER used on a permanent report card. Grrrrr

 

[EmJay]

Does he have an IEP? If not, he needs one. If he has the official diagnosis of ADHD and inattentiveness is THE only concern then it seems to me that the inattentiveness should not be graded so severely. It IS his disability and there is no medication that makes it go away completely. They need to work WITH him and try to ENGAGE him so there is less reason to be inattentive. This just reeks of punishing the disability as far as I'm concerned. I sincerely hope the "grades" don't bother him AND that they are not EVER used on a permanent report card. Grrrrr

I was told that his ADHD alone could not get him accommodations! So to answer your question; NO, he does not have an IEP. I will be looking into getting him evaluated by an Occupational Therapist (OT) for Sensory Issues after the holidays. But as it stands now, the grades do not go on a permanent record. When he gets his report card he always has A's in conduct. He is supposed to receive an office referral for F's but this teacher hasn't given him one "YET"... I don't necessarily PUNISH him when he gets marked off for things that are obviously from his ADHD; but I want to help him out. I want to find something that clicks with him and helps him to nip this in the butt.
I will prolly need to go to the school and talk with the teacher to find out exactly what's going on. I know he has a child that sits behind him that is alot more severe than he is and I have no doubt it causes severe distractions for him. The teacher has him right by her desk though.... I'm just thinking as I type. I'm sorry!

 

[TeDo]

A diagnosis of ADHD does not automatically qualify him for an IEP but "if it impacts his ability to learn in any way or disrupts the learning of others", the behaviors and/or other issues CAUSED by the diagnosis would. I would strongly suggest that you formally ask for him to be thoroughly evaluated for SpEd services. You have his daily "conduct" grades to back up your claim that his behavior is interrupting his behavior. If that is truly what they feel he deserves each day, how on earth is he getting an A in conduct on his PERMANENT report card. The answer, and this is purely my opinion, is that they don't want to show grounds for an IEP for behavior. Hold on to those daily reports....they could be worth "gold" when the time comes and they try to tell you after a thorough evaluation for services that his "behavior is within normal range for his age group". You've got the "AHA BUT...." reports in your hand now.

Good thing to get independent evaluations but I would get the school moving sooner rather than later. JMHO

 

[buddy]

Here is a problem I see with your teacher being "nice" and giving a n "a' in conduct...... there is no evidence on paper that he needs the iEP. You do not want to wait till highschool to have to fight for this. right now the fact is, grades dont matter in life. they will not affect his employment in the future. She needs to be honest. YOu need documentation that shows that he is struggling as he REALLY is.

It is great that she is trying to be understanding and you can google accomodations for ADHD, 504 plans for adhd, IEP for adhd, etc. and get lots of ideas. Bottom line, he needs formal accomodations and as we told you before, no matter what they told you, if his disability is interfering with school, even socially, then he is entitled to protection/accomodations/support under the law, including an IEP. If you do not formally write a letter to request an assessment, then this could go on for years. And one important part you will need is a request for an FBA (functional behavior analysis) which will identify the triggers/antecedents to the behaviors and the motivations for behaviors and then they need to develop a Positive Behavior plan, which giving bad grades is not.... He needs to learn the skills that are making it difficult to do the behaviors, he needs things broken up in chunks so he does not have so much to pay attention to.... there are many many accomodations, depending on his skill deficits and triggers. The point things need to be building skills not punishing out poor behaviors.

Sorry you are going thru this with a school that is being such poops. But you can do something about it. It is not fun, I admit. But if you wait, you may have an angry, depressed, frustrated kid who could give up . HUGE hugs to you! I know it is so not easy and hurts to know your kid is not able to do what he needs to do.

 

[InsaneCdn]

she seems very nonchalant about him and his conduct. and there is never an explanation. Just the #9!

No explanation? Sorry. I'd be pushing THAT button.
It doesn't require a written report. One or two key words, a simple phrase... things that get re-used.
You - and they - and your difficult child - need to understand what the big issues are...
And that takes documentation.

Even with the diagnosis already, the psychiatrist or therapist can request the school to keep a detailed behavior log form for a couple of weeks... because the psychiatrist needs the info (you do too, but that's beside the point!) Somehow, you need to know exactly what is going on, what the trends are, eventually what the triggers are.

For example... if "staying on task" is a problem... next question is, "when". Not just now frequently, but time of day... (not 10:34 a.m., but "first period" or "fifth period"...) more often in the afternoons? more often on Friday than on Monday, or is Monday a worse day? more often if there is a sub or other major transition? The answers point to very different causes... and therefore, different sorts of interventions and supports.

 

[BusynMember]

Well, we were told the same thing about my daughter's ADD. So we took her a neuropsychologist and he still couldn't find anything at all, not even ADD, but something WAS impacting her ability to learn. We finally had to get an advocate and she went to our Dept. of Public Education. We did not get an IEP, but we did get a 504 plan, which was extremely helpful to her. She is getting mostly B's this year as a sophomore in high school (this is after her struggling to pass every test last year). She is on a low dose of Vyvanse and NO WAY would I let the school force me to give her more medicine...she starts to feel funny on a higher dose. Educators can not legally force you to give your child any medication...that is not their job. They are not doctors.

I suggest you call the Dept. of Education in your state and find out who your district's free student advocate is and call her/him. ADD/ADHD is a fuzzy area. It is not considered a bad enough disability for many special services, yet they want you to medicate your child...it helps to HAVE the help of an advocate.

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