The perfect 504 plan?

[Onthemove1971]

I will be writing a 504 plan for my 12 year old who attends middle.

Please share what has worked and what has not worked, to help me with this process.

Thanks

[OneDayAtATime1]

Hi, I have a seven year old son with sever ADHD and these are some of the things that have been helpful to him included in his 504 plan.

-I have found that allowing my son to take frequent breaks "when needed" helps him to focus more.

-Letting him choose whether he wants to work with other students or alone during group assignments.

-His teacher does a count down when its time for the class to transition to another activity or classroom.

-His day is broken down in a time schedule so that he stays on track.

- If his emotional state is compromised(i.e. he gets angry or sad or feels uncomfortable for any number of reasons) he has a choice to go to the counselor, nurse or principle for a "cool down" period.

-Preferential seating in the classroom and lunchroom

Hopefully some of these tips help. Wishing you the best!!

[il1515 in reply to OneDayAtATime1]

Does your child know he has ADHD himself? With my 504 plan, he can take breaks but he's afraid too. He tried to be the same as other classmate. I told him you can walk around or take extra break during test with no problem, but he said no because no one is allow. So I feel like even the plan is there, it makes him an exception and he's afraid to use these privilege.

[seller]

I'm not sure they will put this in a 504 Plan, but I'd ask for a "no homework" addition. I would ask that he be able to do his work at school only. Another idea is additional time between classes and PE to be the last class. We had lots of trouble with tardies and my son ended up with several detentions due to the school tardy policy. PE was particularly bad because he had to rush to shower, change, etc.....and he was never good at rushing to anything, especially class! In hindsight, we probably should have asked for an IEP because no one ever followed his 504 plan once he got to junior high and high school.

[OneDayAtATime1 in reply to seller]

They can do shorter assignment to accommodate the student I know for sure that is possible.

[5Flyingeagle in reply to seller]

How did you deal with the tardiness with the school?

My daughter is only in 2nd Grade, but she has been tardy almost every day since KinKindergarten.

[seller in reply to 5Flyingeagle]

This was high school and it was really terrible because too many tardies mean detention....one day he was 1 min late to detention and actually got an in-school suspension!! For tardies!! By this time, I am sorry to say, my son hated school and everyone involved. But there should be an easy fix for second grade: can her teacher walk her into the classroom? Or an aide? Or even have her walk in with a friend? Have you been to the school in the morning to see what happens? My son was just too busy talking to get to class on time! I would have a chat with her teacher and see what she says. There should be no consequences for tardies at this grade, but I am sure this is not true for the upper grades.

[5Flyingeagle in reply to seller]

The tardiness is caused at home. When I get her there on time last year she would stand next to me untill the bell rang and most of the I had to grab a teacher and have her take her to line up.this year haven't got there but once or twice but it was after the line up bell so I dropped her off in office/nurses office then she went to class.

[seller in reply to 5Flyingeagle]

Let's hope her school does not worry too much about tardy second graders. However, as she gets older - maybe not until middle school - that will change. Is she tardy because she doesn't get up on time? Or dawdles before school? Our ADHD kids can be really challenging in the morning. Can you take a look at your morning routine and see if it can be tweaked? I used to get up earlier than our son and give him his AM dose of Concerta, then he went back to sleep, and by the time I woke him again, he had some meds in his system and was not so hard to get moving. I had his clothes laid out, backpack and lunch ready.....and because he went to a sitter before school, I let her give him breakfast. Would she be interested in a rewards system, where she got a prize for moving along in the morning?

[5Flyingeagle in reply to seller]

I get her up no problem. Sometimes she takes forever to eat and then forever to brush teeth then most mornings she has to poop. Then I get her dressed and brush her hair.

She wears the same clothes every day so that is not an issue. What is an issue once in a while she will choose different clothes either that morning or the night before. I have no problem with change of clothes; but before I can do her hair anxiety sets in and she not sure what she wants to wear to school. On those days even more time is wasted. She won't go to bed before 10 p.m. and I get her up at 6 a.m. tardy bell rings 7:45. She still wears diaper at night and to poop most of the time. She never wants to go to school. What I don't understand is it seems like she enjoys it. All but math & writing. Well probity anything that has to do with work.

[seller in reply to 5Flyingeagle]

Would she respond to a rewards system? Is there something she will likes? Could you do a "sticker board", where she gets stickers for her morning tasks? Does she take ADHD meds?

[5Flyingeagle in reply to seller]

No she is not on any meds. Husband doesn't want to medicate. He doesn't deal with her at all. He just thinks it is the way I deal with her and stuff. Even thou I have professional diagousees. I have tried reward system it worked maybe for a day with me consdtaly on her. At school one of the Autistic teachers made a reward chart for getting to school on time and for changing clothes. Hasn't happened yet. One of the prizes is tablet time at school (educational things) and she loves her tablet.

[5Flyingeagle in reply to seller]

The teacher t old me she hasn't got her work done so she can give her a grade on it. The teacher sent it home for her to finish and bring back tomorrow (end of 1st quarter). No way I am going to get her to do 7 pages. Some she needs to finish and others she needs to do the whole thing. The teacherhas sent home work before. She won't do it. They have a packet of homework they send out Monday and return back on Friday, since Kindergarten; she hasn't done a one. I have tried. If I am lucky to get her to sit at table with work in front of her she starts then messes up and shit hits the fan. Nothing more gets done. The teacher knows she won't do work at home. Shoot she won't do it for teacher how am I supposed to get her to do it.

[Pennywink]

Let me check our neuropsych evaluation when I get home.

We haven't done an official 504 yet, as most accommodations are already built in to 1st & 2nd grade for my son, but our school has plans to get one started before my son starts standardized testing next school year.

Understood.org has a great 504 sample, with links to other awesome 504 info.

understood.org/en/school-le...

I will say, though expensive, a comprehensive list of accommodations tailored to my son's needs was probably the best thing to come out of our neuropsych evaluation. The school definitely took the report very seriously. The school psychologist could possibly be a lot of help to you as well (ours really has been.)

In the meantime, here's a list of ideas from Dr. Barkley:

russellbarkley.org/factshee...

[Miaviles]

Mi son has ADHD and writing LD, in his 504 we have 1.5 time to complete test and assignments, reduced homework, small group environment, work not finished at school can go home, preferential seating, use of timer, graphic organizers, the teachers provide class notes and verifies that his agenda includes anything that he needs to complete or study.

[Onthemove1971 in reply to Miaviles]

Thanks do much, I forgot class notes.

[ldfitzpatrick]

Preferred seating to the front of the room, extended testing time as needed, testing in a separate, quiet area with fewer distractions, review of assignment book before the end of class, an extra set of books at home. The good news is - my daughter is in 11th grade now and she's functioning pretty well on her own and without all these safety nets - although she does use the extra testing time as needed sometimes. There is light at the end of the tunnel! Keep reaching out to those who have been there before you! There is so much support in this community!

[Boymom2003]

My son is now 15. Over the years we have tried several approaches. The most effective for him around age 12 were things that others didn't notice much because he was becoming more self aware. Some accommodations were:

Chewing Gum

Sitting in the back corner of the room so his constant movement and fidgeting didn't bother others.

Taking the attendance into the office

Paper monitor (handing out papers)

After school checking in with the teacher daily to ensure he understood homework assignments and had the needed materials. This was also a good time to discuss how the day went and provide positive feedback.

He and the teacher worked out a silent signal to notify him if his behavior needed to be put in check. She would walk around the room when speaking pausing for a second with her had on his desk. That was code for him to remember to focus or to stop any annoying behavior. No call-outs in front of others or name on the board.

Our favorite, the "book return". The teacher kept a backpack full of books near her desk. If she felt he needed a break out of the room she would ask him to take it to the office. If he felt he needed a break he would ask if she would like him to turn them in for her. the weight of the backpack helped with sensory needs. When he got to the office the secretary would thank him for returning the books and he would go back to class.

Good luck!

[MsJazzy]

I'm glad that you are planning to develop a 504 plan for your child. One important thing to keep in mind, is to try to narrow down to the 3 most important accommodations or modifications that will make the most difference for your child and address the greatest needs. If there are too many, the teachers may feel overwhelmed and will be less able to implement them. Be sure to work with the 504 team in developing a realistic plan. For middle school, you should also consider including strategies that are needed for test taking. I wish you all the best this school year.