Many children with add/adhd have learning disabilties. How I wish more teachers/administrators and the like had children with these issues. Perhaps they could better understand what we deal with daily. Arm yourself. I am not sure what a SIET is, however, she doesn't seem to be working for your child. If possible, replace her. Speak with her, and voice your concerns. You are his mother, and will be long after she has moved on. I too have an upcoming IEP meeting, this week. I posted some links in the above post. Wrightslaw and the IDEA part B, explain what is expected of schools and what we can expect for our children. Youtube even has some information about IEP meetings. Call your board, and speak with the SPED chairperson. He or she should be able to look into the situation. I did this recently, and the board sent a specialist in autism to work with my son. He is almost 10, and uses mechanical pencils given to him by the specialist to use in class. He also received some headphones to use to block out some of the noise that distracts him. Amazing what a call to higherups can produce. Let me know if I can help. I also located a special ed advocate who helped me with some other things concerning special ed and the law. There may be groups in your town that can help. Ask other SPED parents. We are way too silent. I am learning to be more vocal for my children. I try to be fair with officials, but I know that we all need a wake up call every now and then to keep us on track.

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Hi nymommy:

It's true that about 30-40% of children with ADHD also have a learning disability, and that misdiagnosis happens too often - mistaking ADHD for a learning disability and vice versa. I would definitely recommend having your son tested for ADHD. A positive diagnosis does NOT automatically mean that he has to go into a special education room - it simply gives you more tools in your arsenal re: getting accommodations.

I would recommend ADDitude's ADHD at School eBook as a great place to start - it's got information about requesting an evaluation through the school, setting up accommodations, working with teachers, etc.

I don't know anything about SEIT's but it sound entirely reasonable for you to insist on a second opinion/evaluation. How could the school wholly trust the evaluation of someone whose job depends on your son having a poor performance review?!?

Best of luck. And let us know how it turns out.

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NYMommy,

As an Advocate, I see this issue a lot. You are absolutely entitled to be frustrated with this process and know that your concerns appear well-founded. It's true that ADD and Learning Disabilities are often found together with students, but it's also true that many students with ADD are inappropriately diagnosed LD and/or misplaced in special education. Furthermore, educational testing, including IQ testing, can be variant with ADD students based on so many things and can at times be misleading, therefore you are absolutely entitled to a second opinion (it's also federal law). Each school district may have different procedures on how to do this but here in New York City, you have to write a formal letter to the appropriate district office explaining what you are requesting and why you are requesting it - keep it very specific, like your observations, teacher observations, etc. and any outside evaluations you have had done - and show the disconnect between these and the testing results you dispute. They should put off the IEP meeting until the new testing is completed, and if they don't, you should push for this (why do an IEP meeting without all of the test results?). As for special education services, something we do here in New York City with ADD students that don't have Learning Disabilities and don't need special education services is to get them Section 504's that provide accommodations such as extended test taking time, oral and written instructions, etc. that may be helpful for your son. If he has behavioral problems or does in the future, the school should be able to do a behavioral plan with or without him being in special education - this should be centered around what works with your son to deter and respond to inattentiveness, frustration, hyperactivity, etc. and other symptoms he may experience as a result of being ADD. Lastly, any outside evaluation, whether paid by you or the school district, should be very explicit about your son's learning strengths and needs and educational recommendations - this can be very important for Section 504's, IEP's, and/or behavioral plans. I recommend at minimum a psychological, but preferably a neuropsychological evaluation if you really feel your son is ADD.

I hope this helps!

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The first thing you need to remember is you are the one who is in charge. (calls the shots) If your son does better without the helper then let him be without her. It is absolutly not true that learning disabilities and adhd/add go hand and hand. My son is in 1st grade in a class of 19 and does well. His teacher does some special things for him, for ex:she has a chart on his agenda book for him to use as a checklist so he can get unpacked and prepared for the day), the special ed classes learn on a slower level therefore your son will probaly have to stay in a SE class the rest of his school years b/c than he would be on a level he is taught at. Go with an outside source or even have the school district re-evaluate him. You could always appeal the decision if that is the direction they choose to label him. They have 30 days (depends on the state) to have a formal meeting with you to discuss then matter. If the teacher is informed or has had previous experience with children with add/adhd then she could come up with simple things to keep your son on track. For example have him sit closer to her- if sitting on the floor for a lesson, or have his seat att the front of the class. Myabe even by putting a quieter child next to him so if he were to strike up a chat the other child would not participate.

I do not always take things as suggested. My son was said to have emotional disturance but the K he went to last year was like no way not your son & he did not. The parent is the one who makes all the FINAL DECISIONS. Try not to loose sleep at night all it will do is make the situation worse, resolve it & move on to the next issue. Hope this helps, from Vanessa

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Our school distrtict, despite major language delays declassified my son at age 4 after a year of special schooling. As Kindergarten started I had him reevaluated and they labeled him "ED" by 1st grade ( I have been fighting to get him multidisabled) because 1. they put him thru 2 1/2 years of behavioral modification that DID NOT work 2. i got a diagnosis of Central Auditory, Anxiety and possibly, Sensory Issues (which is close to ADHD and often leads to be incorrectly diagnosed with ADHD) 3. I paid for Auditory and all private testing 4. I paid for advocate to get him Speech and Resource (how did the school ignore speeech delays?) 5.The IEP had no goals , the Child Study Team , as teachers, principals, were winging it (they did NOT know what to do? They would NOT give him an aide 6. 2 months ago I put him in another public school with 6 in his class and two aides Although he struggles with memory, social issues he DOES NOT shut down , or show any behavioral problems......

How many kids with ADHD are actually labeled "ED" ? First school says if we had ADHD diagnosis , he'd be multi disabled? Then they said i had 5 diagnosis of adhd (put him on medication) I NEVER had even ONE diagnosis of ADHD .......

Our child study case manager is a "psychologist" and it's ashame that she NEVER once went outside her area of "expertise " to understand anything else put incorrectly classifying a child "ED"

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IEP meetings are team meetings. No single person on the team CALLS the SHOTS!. The goal of the team is to put the needs of the child first. The label is a method of identification in order to provide services to the child. Placement is driven by the needs of the child and not the label. If the report you have been given says that your child can not do certain things, ask for this data to support this. They need to show you examples of what would be expected of a typical developing child and examples of your child's performance. You can also provide examples of what he works on with you at home. Districts are required to educatate students in the Least Restrictive Environment. What has been working or not working in the current placement? What additional interventions have been implemented and what has been the outcome? What does your child need to be successful and what is the most appropriate palcement for success? Placement is provided on a continunuum of services from least restricive to most restrictive. Placement into a very restrictive or separate class from a gened class should not occur without first implementing resource support unless substantial information/data is provided to support the more restrictive placement. A district facilitator should be facilitating this meeting. If the child's needs are put first and not what any one particular team member wants, each member of the team will walk away knowing that the most appropriate placement was made for your child to be successful. Also know, that the placment is not forever. As the needs of your child changes, so will the placement. This is why the IEP is called and Individualized Education Plan. Hopefully this will give you some things to think about and provide you some info.

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What would be the benefit of having your child labeled multidisabled as opposed to ED?

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When you go to your child's IEP meeting try and get a parent advocate for the child. He should not have to be in a special ed class due to having ADD/ADHD. If your son is doing good in the program where he is leave him in the class. I even suggest a Ctt class where he is with both general and special ed students.

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Thank you all so much for your replies! Here is the latest...

I took my son to a developmental pediatrician and he was diagnosed with ADHD Combined Type. The district had him reevaluated again and the scores came out below average. However, in the test score report, the evaluator stated he was very distracted throughout the test, and that one or two answers wrong significantly brings a child's score down and this is probably not a reflection of his true skills. After this evaluation, my son went for a kindergarten dial screening and past the test with flying colors!

We still have yet to have our annual CPSE meeting and I'm feeling so worried about it. I feel like my child has become a guinea pig with all these tests and that he's under a microscope when he goes to school each day. I see no difference between him and other kids his age. I want him to get all the help he needs, but putting him a self contained classroom would be such an injustice to him.

What is the difference between a 504 plan and an IEP? I'm hoping to get him into regular ed with special accommodations, like sitting him in the front of the class and resource room where he gets tests read to him. I just don't want him to lose all his services.

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