I am having trouble making a good decision about my son education.

[DoritosNurse]

Hello everyone, I have a son who has combined ADHD with dyslexia. He was officially diagnosed 2 months before he was 7 years old. He is a social butterfly, loves to be around other kids. He is currently in 2nd grade but technically he is testing as he is in first grade. He is with the general environment with other piers. I do have a 504 and IEP with his current school. What I am struggling with is that each six weeks his grades are dropping even more. We have increased his medication which is Astaryz 52mg. I have him tutored twice a week. He has 24 other students in his class. And I feel like he is not getting all the support he deserves due to the teacher student ratio. There is a school here in town that specializes in children with ADHD/ Autism, dyslexia, etc and it’s a private school but it’s $1300/month. I received an email stating there was availability for him for the fall and i don’t know what to do. I wanted to see how many parents have taken this step for their children… I feel stuck.. please share your thoughts…

Thank you!

[Onthemove1971]

Thanks for your post.

Just curious what you feel he is not getting?

I would hope all of your concerns are documents in the educational plan.

[Tiredagain1]

We had a similar experience with our 6 year-old son. The Gen Ed environment is too overwhelming, and the pace, at times, is not conducive to an ADHD child. We switched schools within the district to one that has a Behavioral Program, which guides and is geared to manage the introduction to Gen Ed. It has worked amazingly in the 8 months in the program. This approach along with a meds adjustment has improved his social behaviors, confidence and happiness.

The meds are atomoxetine and aripiprazole.

[Alt49]

I would push for more supports in his current environment first. Do they have have a resource room where he could get more academic help? They could also provide push-in supports. If the current district does not have the ability to help him in his current placement I would push for them to pay for the out of district placement. I’d definitely try to make it work where he is. Moving to that kind of school seems like an extreme next step but that’s with little info and context so I could be off.

[DataDiva]

We placed our daughter into a small (70 students pre-K through 8), private Montessori school with an 8:1 guide/student ratio, and Orton-Gillingham reading/language approach (she did not need, but you mentioned dyslexia). With ADHD meds (she still needs focus to learn and emotional regulation to help with self correction), she has thrived. She went from hating school when in traditional school, to learning and thriving. With only 16 children in the lower Elementary and an individual learning plan, she doesn’t have the constant overwhelm she had in the larger classes. The tuition money is the some of the most worthwhile expenditures we have every month.