Be an advocate for your child at school!

[BVBV]

I just wanted to encourage parents of ADHD kids to stay in tune with your child regarding their academic and behavior challenges at school and don’t be afraid to set boundaries. My 9 year old son (ADHD, hyperactive, struggles to focus) actually started off the school year great for about the first 6 weeks, yes he had focus issues and some redirection needed in specials at times but was doing well in his homeroom which is the majority of his day. His behavior started to slip all around (except for his homeroom where he has an awesome teacher) at the same time he started meeting daily with an untrained EBD teacher. I spoke with this man a few times and then met at conferences and he was so negative, constantly complaining and blowing the smallest of issues out of proportion and not believing myself and my son. I decided this was a toxic situation and told his teacher, the principal, and Special Ed staff that this EBD teacher (with no training) was no longer allowed to meet with my son. I then went and met with the principal in person about the matter. My son was reassigned to a different Special Ed teacher for his daily social skills and since making the change all his behavior issues outside of the classroom have stopped! I hesitated to make a move initially because I have a good relationship with his teachers and didn’t want to make waves but I am SO glad I spoke up. I just want to encourage all parents to respectfully speak up when you know something is off at school. We know our children the best and they deserve to be treated with respect. Positive reinforcement is so much more effective than negativity!

[Aspen797]

Wow! What a great reminder. Thank you.

[NYCmom2]

So glad you were able to advocate, get action and see results! Bravo!

[Peerandparent]

Thanks for sharing! It's great that your son has such a fierce advocate!

Teachers rarely have formal training on ADHD, so they can be just as prone as the general population (sometimes moreso) to having stigma or misinformation guiding their approach. We, as parents, need to keep our radar tuned for warning signs, as well as trying to keep an open dialogue with our kids so we can see issues before they develop into full blown problems!

[BVBV in reply to Peerandparent]

Yes, and this particular teacher was incredibly and uncomfortably negative while having his teaching license in HS Marketing, but he was able to get a year allowance as an Elementary EBD teacher due to a shortage of Special Ed staff.

[Peerandparent in reply to BVBV]

In some roles having someone unqualified can be worse than having no one at all.

[PatriotMom]

This is a great point. I have found so many teachers take things so personally- my son always seems like such an enigma to them...