Meeting Tomorrow

trinity2883

New Member
I am new to the site. Hi!

I am the stepmom to a 6 year old (almost 7) boy who was recently diagnosed with ODD, and he has not started the new school year (1st grade) very well already (we are on day 4). He really struggled with behavior last year, which is putting it lightly. I have an appointment with the school counselor and school psychologist tomorrow to go over his diagnosis paperwork and come up with a plan for him this year because his teacher has already expressed difficulty with his "activity level." Again, that is putting it lightly. At his evaluation the psychologist was adamant that he doesn't qualify as ADHD at this time because he only had a couple of the ADHD markers so she wanted to test that again when he's a bit older. He, however, has NO impulse control and a good temper on him. He's VERY loud and "in your face" about everything, which doesn't exactly win him long-term friends.

So I'm debating whether to push for a 504 or IEP....I know 504 is the minimum we'll work out tomorrow. I just want to give him the best chance to succeed in school.

Ideas? Should I push more for the sensory side of things right off the bat (like a bouncy seat)? I'm not sure what to address, what to push for, what to allow and what to not allow. He is a little slow with reading and has a pronunciation delay, but otherwise he does fine academically when you can keep him in his seat and not messing with other people.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
Hi, and welcome.

Does he have any specific diagnoses?
Its not unusual to delay an ADHD diagnosis until school-age - usually Grade 1 is the earliest.

BUT... how much testing has he actually gone through? Ever been screened for anything on the autism spectrum, for example?
What were his early years like - before you were around.
You mentioned sensory issues... has he ever had an Occupational Therapist (OT) evaluation? What kind of sensory issues?

We all want "solutions"... but solutions don't work unless we know what the problem is. So often, its hard to get interventions at all unless you have the dxes and/or professinoal recommendations to support the accommodations and interventions.

Others will be along with more questions and more info...
Welcome.
 

JJJ

Active Member
The school should do their own testing to determine areas that will have a negative educational impact. That is what the meeting should focus on. The major areas are : gross motor, fine motor, speech and language, cognitive, social and emotional, and self-help skills.

You said that you are the step-mom. Please be aware that the IEP process requires signatures on legal forms. Step-parents are legal strangers to their step-children. Do you have a power of attorney from dad? Are both of your step-son's parents in agreement of you handling this? Even if you have a POA, mom can overrule you unless there is a court order to the contrary.
 
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