We are not using medications to treat his ADHD so will an IEP or 504 plan aid in the cooperation from the school? He does have some speech delays and attends therapy twice a week. He is not on medication, as we are trying other things first. Diet and a very structured routine. They are not following our diet guidelines at all. I hear on a weekly basis that medication is what is best for him, so how do I address this issue? That really depends on what kind of cooperation you are looking for. You dont give much information about the child so I will try to paint with a broad brush here.
If you are asking does your child have to be on meds to be allowed to attend PUBLIC school. The answer is no. Districts are not doctors and do not diagnose. Under IDEA they are not even allowed to address the issue with parents of "little Johnny needs to be on medication for his ADHD". That is illegal and a teacher or member of administration can be fired for it. Keep in mind we are talking about public school districts as private schools are not subject to the same stringent laws.
If you are asking will an IEP or 504 take the place of meds in the eyes of the district. The answer is no. The IEP or 504 is put in place only after an evaluation that involves testing and observation. From these tests and based on what input the childs teachers have a findings meeting will be called. This is of course assuming that the district either recognized a problem within the classroom or the parents have written a letter of request for evaluation. Often the findings meeting runs right into an IEP meeting and both long and short term goals are set in the areas of need. Parents are involved in these meetings and should come prepared to talk about what they see at home and how they are dealing with homework issues and the like.
What treatment to utilize is the parents choice. Generally I feel that you should start with behavior modifications and accomodations within the regular classroom and at home. From there if things are not progressing with goals other avenues need to be taken into consideration.
There is one instance when a district can override the parents in the education process but it is almost never used. This comes in when the parents refuse to allow evaluation and/or services for the child. So if the child is TOTALLY out of control in the classroom and causing major disruption thereby hindering the other students learning the district does have the right to take steps to get child services needed. This is almost never done as there is so much the school has to document before they can go before a judge to get an order for educational services.
If you have further questions please feel free to email me. No your child doesn't have to have an IEP or 504 to attend public school. IEP is 'special education' and in order to have this, a childs problems have to affect his learning. And even then, the child has to 'qualify' for an IEP. A child doesn't automatically get this because they have a problem.
Same for 504 plan.
Legally schools don't have to do anything to help a child with problems unless the child has IEP or 504. Having either of these is the only legal way to get the school to help a child with these type of problems.
As for medications, it is illegal for schools to even MENTION meds. But, they always do it anyway becuase they don't want to 'deal' with the child.
The federal law that mandates special ed, (IEP), called IDEA law, 'individuals with disabilities act' prohibits schools from even mentioning meds. Send your child to school - if you are concerned - ask for a meeting with an administrator. Your child will ONLY have a 504 if there is a medical diagnosis and an educational need related to that diagnosis.
A 504 typically covers things like extra time for homework, extra time on tests, tests taken in a quieter location etc. It is a Regular Education program - not special education staff involved.
An IEP is started AFTER a school evaluation, that would consider the outside diagnosis and include, IQ, Behavior, Organization, Independent Work Skills etc. The ADHD diagnosis must be by a medical doctor and they need to provide specific medical diagnosis.
The specifics of the IEP are driven by your child's needs in an academic setting and it is a Special Education program.
re: meds/no-meds. If you have discovered strategies that help your child please share them with the school too. Schools that I've been involved in have a typical statement re: meds that we use after a complete evaluation. "You may want to share this evaluation with your medical professional at your next visit - in particular if you are considering a medication trial."
What I hate to see happen is those parents who don't tell the school what they are doing outside and don't tell outside medical what they are doing in school. It's like they want to keep each side in the dark to see if they come up with the same thing - the looser there is the child.
Personally I understand your reluctance to use Meds however I made that decision myself for my first child and have regreted it for over 15 years. I did do the medication route for child 2 and am grateful for the effectiveness and the difference it has made in his life - he is now a successful business owner who employs many people. First son is still floundering. If your child was a diabetic you would not withold insulun would you? I am NOT saying go and take med - I am saying keep and open mind to what works best for your child. You have all the answers you need for 504 etc. Medication may or may not be best. I have seen it work wonderfully. However, it may take a few trials with various medications to see if anything is going to work.
Let me tell you. When it works, it really works. We had a first grader in our behavior class who cursed, hit, kicked and threw things all day long. Then he was medicated and it was like night and day. The issues is, would you deny an artificial leg to a one legged child? If you child's nervous system is damaged in some way, then to withhold medication is irresponsible.
You can have all the 504 plans in the world and if your kid still drives the teacher nuts, he or she is going to suffer some blows to his or her self-esteem that are NOT necessary. I would be lying to you if I said that teachers go out of their way to implement IEP plans, let alone 504 plans.
The other issue is to have your child tested by a psychologist to make sure he or she does not have a learning disability. This can cause symptoms that look like ADHD. Also, Tourette's may also look like ADHD.
Make sure you have had a neurological work up on your child and then try some meds. If they don't work, fine. If they do work, you will save your child a lot of grief.
In my experience I have NEVER seen diet work as well as meds. Structure is very helpful, but you have to be lucky to get a teacher that has it. A 504 plan can help but you may have trouble. There are requirements in each state that regulate the use of both an IEP and a 504. An outside diagnosis of ADHD may not qualify your child for either especially if it is basically impacting behavior and not academics to a significant degree. Check with your local school. if you want accommodations-yes you need a plan-
if you don't want any considerations--no you don't
A child with ADHD may be able to be successful with a 504 plan that includes a behavior plan and things like extra time
an IEP is needed if he needs special ed support-eith in the regular class by a special ed teacher or needs a special ed resource period or repalcement classes
a 504 plan can be used for behavioral support only-contrat to a nother answer At the end of this past semester I got my son a 504 plan and he is on medication. I am hoping that we have a better semester coming. Medication for us was an easy choice because it made his life better. It was not for the benefit for me as a parent or the school. It was a benefit for the children.
Also, we recently had on OT evaluation for him and he is being referred to check to see if he as a visual preceptial issue. Accordring to the OT, many times students can be diagnosed as ADD/ADHD with a visual perceptual problem. The previous OT recommendation might not be a bad idea.
There is a great website that you might find as helpful. It is www.wrightslaw.com.
Good Luck and keep in mind what is best for your child and no one else! You do not have to have an IEP or 504 plan to have your child attend public school, but they can help. You will need to go to a meeting (doesn't have to be when he first goes to school but whenever you want.) They will determine whether your son needs some special support because of his ADHD. Maybe in his IEP it says that he can move from his chair to the carpet if he needs to move, change of diet etc. It is your choice to medicate or not, your teacher does not have to make him take medicine. I'm a teacher and I see the medicine helps with attention, I don't care to take medicine for the hyper part. But if he can't focus in school it could have a big impact on his life and make it so he isn't successful. If he falls behind early on because he can't pay attention, then he will have an even harder time catching up. That's the only time when I see medicine should be used, not because he can't sit still but because he will not be successful in school which will most likely make him unsuccessful in his career too. Many parents/teachers think kids need medication because they can't sit still. I have a little girl who is rolling on the carpet, constantly making noise, etc. But she seems to be able to pick up things academically, so I don't see a use for medicine. But I have another girl who sits still but can't focus at all. She is falling behind and unless we can find a way to get her to focus, she will possibly be retained because she's not ready for the next grade. She just can't seem to focus on one thing.
My advice for the diet is if you want them to follow the guidelines for his diet, then you need to provide his food. Unless a doctor has given them a note, they can't really accomodate him financially. When a parent asks us to give their child juice and not a milk, we have to charge them an extra 50 cents for their juice. Parents get upset about this because it's replacing milk but that's the school districts choice, not ours. But I have a boy who's mother sent in a doctor's note saying he can't have milk. He gets juice for free with his meal. I also had a parent who said their kid was allegic to all this food but we had no doctor's note so we couldn't make accomodations. As soon as they went to the doctor and brought a list (ended up just being peanut butter...not the 10 things they had told us) we could make sure that we could give them an alternate meal that didn't have peanuts. If you child is getting speech at school, he probably will have an IEP. Meds or no meds is your choice. But the school should follow the diet. You probably need to send in your own food. Get a script from the doctor for the diet.
504 is an accomodation plan-
Iep is an individual education plan.
Have you tried OT?
Best wishes. An IEP is an individualized education plan, so it will lay down what the expectations are on all sides (teachers, parents, child). It has nothing to do with whether or not your child is on medication but a plan for your child's education. You bring up so many issues! I'm going to have to work hard to give each one the attention you deserve.
1) IEP or 504 plan. A diagnosis of ADHD--by itself--does not qualify your child for diddly squat. In order to qualify for the lower level of protection under Section 504, a team (including you and school staff) would need examine the evidence and demonstrate that your child's health impairment significantly impacts a major life activity. I'm not going to get into definitions because those are fairly controversial issues that may be expressed differently in the law from state to state.
Your son may qualify for an IEP if he a) has a disability, b) requires specially designed instruction, and c) meets the criteria set forth under your state law. So you have kids with ADHD who are eligible for IEPs and special education under IDEA, who are eligible for Modification Plans under Section 504, and who aren't eligible for either one.
2) You don't say how old your son is, but I'm thinking he may be preschool age. In some school districts, school is only provided for younger students who are eligible for Special Education. There is no comparable preschool education for nondisabled students. In my district, they were moving towards providing a general education preschool, before the latest round of budget cuts--too bad! In that particular circumstance, your child would need an IEP to attend public preschool, but a 504 Plan wouldn't help.
3) In my state, Speech and Pathology is considered Special Education in the state law, so your student would have an IEP for speech services anyway. Because state laws differ so widely, I'm going to encourage you to find a local disability rights advocate. You can click on the link below, and look for the pull-down menu under "Get Help In Your State".
I don't always agree with the advocates who work with our schools, but I love to see them. They do a much better job than we do in speaking the parents' language--instead of Teacher-ese or Psychologist-ese--when explaining what your options are.
4) Diet and structured routine are going to be really important, so it's great that you are addressing those. Thank you! I strongly suspect that many kids with an ADHD diagnosis actually have a Too Much Sugar Problem (TMSP?). We never get to find out with some kids because the parents never change the routine at home.
I suspect, from what I've seen in the schools, that the legal protections for following parents' dietary guidelines are not great, but there are also questions of ethics, professionalism, and best practices. If I were principal of that school, I'd be asking some questions to get to the bottom of that situation.
5) I like to recognize the limits of my own qualifications and leave prescriptions for medication to the medical doctors! If you were hearing about medication on a weekly basis from staff in one of my schools, I would have a problem with that.
6) It's difficult to change opinions, because opinions are usually based on experience. In my work, I've had a little more experience than I ever wanted with ADHD and prescriptions. I work in the only state in the union that provides monthly psychiatrist appointments for students who need medication for ADHD, depression, or other mental health disorders.
I knew a kid whose parents quit giving her medication, and nobody at school noticed--teachers, counselors, even the psychiatrist didn't ask, "And do you happen to be taking the medication now?" At that point, we realized the student didn't need the medication or the plan, and she became a non-disabled student in the eyes of the law and the school. I consider it a success story, and I think her family does, too.
I've known several kids whose medication worked, and the teachers were shocked to learn they had a disorder! We're talking about kids on the honor roll, kids on the Homecoming Court. I've known some kids whose medication didn't work because they didn't take it on a regular basis. I've known kids who had some side effects and needed the prescriptions to be changed or the dosages adjusted. Luckily there are many more options than there used to be back in the day.
I have a couple of good friends who are middle-aged men now, but have severe ADHD and used to take Ritalin when they were kids. They both quit taking it when they got to be older. One is the creative director for a computer game company that he founded. He keeps sending me notes and photos from his vacation in New Zealand this week, and I am so envious! The other is a Lieutenant Colonel in the army. Both of them still have the disorder, but it isn't a disability for either one of them, anymore, even without the medication.
On the other hand, research and my own experience suggests that it is fairly common for kids who have ADHD and are never medicated to eventually "Self-medicate" with drugs they can buy on the street. Not a guaranteed outcome, mind you. Just a common one that creates several new problems and usually takes away their protection under IDEA, Section 504, and state laws for disabled students. |
