Jasmine I have 2 kids ages 13 and (almost) 11, both with ADHD. My son is the oldest, and also pretty severe. There are a couple of things that stood out when I read your post... is your child taking medication to help with the inattention? As a person that has lived 42+ yrs. w/this and is also going thru it with 2 children, I can tell you that med's can change a child's life for the better. I always thought I was dumb and wondered how other kids could sit down and read their assignments quickly and go to work. Meanwhile I was still re-reading the 1st part for the 3rd or 4th time. As for the other piece - needing to have the teacher sit w/them during the test, and wanting to be near you... I wonder if there's some an anxiety issue. Because of everything else that an ADD/ADHD person has to deal with, a lot of the time anxiety becomes an issue. Maybe it could even be written into the 504 that they make an accommodation to have the test taken in a less distracting environment with maybe a resource person present. (I always found windows to be extremely distracting... just looking outside and daydreaming). Hope this helps. Best wishes to you and your child!

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As an latina parent, I had alot of reservations about medications. My 8 year old son went through alot. I finally got the courage to seek professional advise. I had him evaluated by professional that knew about ADHD. Then I developed an IEP/504 that will benefit my son's academic success. I have to tell you it wasn't easy as you already know. I made sure his IEP included copies of his text book so I can work with him from home, extra time on test in separate location with breaks, for his fine motor skills I requested a stress ball. All of these requests I found from the Additude magazine and believe me it works! On a weekly basis, the teacher provides her students with a typed homework sheet. I always make a copy, because my son loses everything. Life is still a challenge, but their are solutions. I learned so much from talking to co-workers who have children with ADHD, talking with friends, and reading as much about the changes and/or new things that come out that can assist my son.

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Thanks guys. Sorry I took soooo long to respond. I feel very overwhelmed and anxious. I took my son to neurologist and she 100% certain he had ADHD. Now I have meeting with school next week in regards to the 504 plan.... I am really thankful for this website and the magazine. It has great tips which I started to implement last year. I even taught the doctor something I learned here. And it feels good to connect with other parents going through similar things. Though none of our situations are exactly the same we do have this in common and can share and learn from each other. Thank you very much again for your comments :-)

My son is 8 and he is not medicated. His dad I found out was also diagnosed with ADHD as a child. I did not know this was hereditary. I am still new to this and I am learning about all the options. I even think that I have a lot of these ADD symptoms but not entirely. I think my son may be a bit anxious. While he is performing better, he has had to overcome a lot of pressure to turn his grades around.... The school & I will talk about less testing in a less distracted environment and having someone around while he is testing. I learned from the doctor that I need to work one on one with him and not push him so hard to work independent from me. Its funny you say windows are distracting. My son took the ADD test at the doctors office right by a window and there was a terrible storm with hurricane winds. Doctor commented on how he kept looking out the window lol. I am thinking to have him retested on a clear skied day.... or at least get a second opinion.

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