Middle school growing pains

[Cfour]

This is my first time on this site. I'm just looking for some helpful and positive insight. My son is 13 and was diagnosed at age 5 with ADHD, inattentive type. Like so many kids with ADHD, he is super smart and has difficulty with executive functioning. And, like so many parents we have struggled to get the school system to meet his needs. We hired an advocate after several failed attempts to get him on an IEP when he was in first grade. After finishing elementary school on an IEP, we transitioned to 7th grade (at the same school - now an academy). Now, we are finding out that few if any of the IEP goals from this year have been met because the school did not provide trained staff in the areas of his goals. Basically, they set goals that they were unable and ill-equipped to meet. Has anyone else had difficulty with middle school transitions? If you have, what steps did you take to hold the school and district accountable?

[Piscesj24]

Hi Cfour,

My daughter, 11, 1st yr middle schooler with ADHD has a 504 plan and pretty attentive teachers who speak with me and follow most of the plans within the 504. I only had one issue at the beginning of the yr. This was when my daughter took it upon herself to switch her scheduled classes. She didnt change the courses, but switched the period schedule apparently due to feeling the earlier class had too many chatty individuals. I didnt the switch due to rhe justification but i was upsrt they allowed an 11 yr old to change it without notifying myself. I do hope your school starts working with you both soon. I have changed my daughter's elementary school because I felt her needs were not being met. I have heard of other parents speaking with the districts school superintendent and if that does not work, legal assistance would also probably need to step in.

[Cfour in reply to Piscesj24]

Thank you for your input. I appreciate it.

[reg2018]

The transition to middle school is a big one as a child goes from having one teacher to many. And what this means is that the teachers also have even more students they are dealing with as well. It makes implementing a 504 or IEP difficult. That puts more responsibility in our hands to be sure that we're following up with the teachers, checking in with them to see how our child is doing, checking to see if the accomodations and goals are working in class and if any adjustments need to be made. I always attend parent teacher conferences so that teachers again have that reminder of connecting my face with my child as well as the emails I send.

On my son's IEP the teachers are required to notify me ahead of time regarding upcoming quizzes, tests and big projects. This helps my son prepare ahead and reduce the likelihood that he'll have to retake the tests. Most of them do a pretty good job of this. At the same time, however, I understand that the teachers have so much on their plate that they aren't always going to remember. Every so often I'll check in with them. For example, it's the start of a new quarter and I know there will be a book report coming up in Language Arts. I'll email the teacher and ask what the requirements of the book report will be. So even though that's her job to tell me, I recognize the teacher's busy schedule. We're a team and we need to work together for the good of my son's progress in school.

Not every school is going to be the best with 504's and IEP's. Keeping a positive attitude with the teachers, though, as you continue to push for what is on the IEP can go a long way in terms of getting what you need for your child.

[Cfour in reply to reg2018]

Thank you for the input. I appreciate it.

[anirush]

It's my older grandson I am in constant email communication with his teachers. So that kind of keeps me informed with what's going on.

My youngest grandson has an IEP but he has an inclusion teacher who stays on top of things. The boys' counselor who was in special ed at one time said half the time teachers don't read all those pages of notifications that come in an IEP. So if things aren't being followed you need to let them know

[Cfour]

Thank you for the input. I appreciate it.

[Onthemove1971]

CFour sounds so frustrating!

One thing that is super important and is

1wawe you (and the school/his case manager) need to be working toward your son becoming as independent as possible without you having you having to do all or the work with getting the info. from the teachers because if you continue he is not learning the skills it takes to succeed now which will make high school so much harder.

Just my 2 debuted BBC vfc