IEP accommodations for ADHD & Autism

[GhostOrchid]

It has been an uphill battle, but the school is finally giving my son a much needed IEP. (The battle started in 4th grade!) The draft is coming home today and I have a few days to think it over and send in my comments. I'd really love some ideas on accomodations that might help address some of the issues listed below.

My son has ADHD--combined type and Level 1 autism w/ social communication impairments and restricted, repetitive pattern impairment without intellectual or language impairment. I know this forum is for ADHD, but I believe there are a few other parents on here who have kids with ADHD & Autism. Although, I welcome comments/suggestions from those with and without the autism experience.

First, the psych eval mentions modified lessons and extended time. His 504 has some language regarding this, but we have a hard time getting teachers to actually give modified lessons and extended time. The teachers think it is ok not to give him more time than the other kids because "he had time to do it in class" and "he is smarter than most of his peers" and "it is only 4 problems".

Second, they do almost everything online including math. The teacher assigns 4 problems a night for homework. If he misses one that is a 75! She lets all the students go back and correct their work for full credit, but they can't just correct the problems he got wrong. They have to do all 4 problems and a lot of times it is 4 new problems. The teachers don't seem to understand that this is a horrible process for ADHD much less the added autism. Last night he had a 50, so I told him he had to redo it. He almost melted down because that was his 2nd try. On the first try, he had a 75.

Third, there is a substitute teacher who called him a jerk one day and assigned him extra homework because his Chromebook wasn't charged on a different day. She didn't help him charge his Chromebook. Instead, she told him "that sounds like a you problem". Then she let another kid move his belongings and take his seat while he was in the restroom. (They have assigned seats in this class.) When he returned, she told him to move to another seat. Crappy move on her part regardless of the kids, but things like this bother kids with autism more than it might neurotypical kids. I'm not positive but I think this substitute is around 19 YO. How do I address this with an IEP besides saying don't be a $#@!* to my kid?

Sorry this is so long. I'd love any recommendations on how to address these issues with the IEP. My son acts really immature for his age. His executive functioning skills are way behind his peers and I'm looking for practical things that will help.

[Aspen797]

This sounds very familiar!! And frustrating. So sorry you all have had to endure this. The work completion accommodations that have helped our son are: 1) Do only that needed for mastery; 2) extended time. Extended time is great, but sometimes our kids do not need 20 problems to master a concept. Or they have other assignments that take a lot of time and are assigned non-essential work (busywork). If your child’s psych eval indicated issues with processing speed, working memory, or fine motor, the first accommodation can be particularly helpful. Regarding the actual teaching, some accommodations that have been helpful here include: 1) provide rubrics and/or examples; 2) offer visual organizers for work; 4) give prior warning of unexpected changes to routine (fire drills, changes in seating, etc).

Regarding IEP goals, push for the executive functioning skill training you know he needs. Before high school it is so helpful to learn how to prioritize assignments (and within assignments), develop a to-do list, estimate time needed accurately, using timers, manage a calendar/academic planner, etc. Some great resources are on the PACER website—videos, handouts, etc. as well as OCALI. Authors Dawson and Guare are amazing. For middle/high school, this book in particular rocks:amazon.com/Work-Smart-Acade...

Our child also benefitted from goals around social skills and perspective taking. Speech therapy primarily handled this. If you have heard from the school regarding so-called behavior issues with other kids, that’s your leverage for these goals.

Your child is so fortunate to have you in their corner pushing for them!

[Gimgim1]

The two replies from other parents are good! I’m sorry you and your son are going through this - it does sound very familiar. “That’s a you problem” comment has also been said to my son by more than one teacher at his school! Does MC6GC mean anything to you? I would absolutely bring up this comment in the meeting.

[artistmomMe]

Hi there! Our 16 YO daughter has inattentive ADHD and ASD. The best advice I can give to you is to hire an advocate. The woman we found played a huge role in updating the IEP. We had no idea how to navigate the process until we hired an expert.

Good luck! The schools definitely don't make it easy.

[adhdisnojoke in reply to artistmomMe]

Hi artistmomMe ,

I'm in a similar boat as the original poster and an advocate sounds wonderful. Where did you find your advocate and how did you go about hiring one?

I agree the schools don't make it easy! Thanks for any help you can offer regarding an advocate.

[artistmomMe in reply to adhdisnojoke]

hi!

I'd start with a google search in your area. That's what we did. We were shocked to see how many advocates existed. We then narrowed it down to 2 people and ultimately chose a woman who had experience in our school district. She has been a tremendous help and the school now sees how serious we are. Good luck!

[Bgkmom]

Are you in a public school? If so, the teachers have to give him the extended time. It's a federal law. I would talk with the SPED person and have concrete and in writing what the teachers need to do.

[Mamamichl]

wow. I’m a sped teacher and it saddens me that teachers are like this still. In fact my last supervisor was an ableist. Why I’m not there anymore. Li have adhd, and I’ve worked with all conditions, especially asd. I would see if you can find articles about inclusive language. Also, see if you can fight for an IEP instead of a 504 because is it more of a legally binding document if it’s not followed. Still document day and time/class every time that it’s not followed. Call your state department of education and report them if need be. Many states also have disability support networks for families in school. If you want to start local, contact the head of the sped department in the district you are in and ask if the person can be better trained. You can also request him to be in a room with a seasoned teacher.

You can ask for a lot more accommodations than you seem to have. You can get a visual schedule of things, you can request his seat not be moved or that he has a preferential seating location that works for him. Some kids get to do their work in a different location to not get distracted or be distracting to others. Some ieps I’ve seen even have kids able to do their work on whiteboards or able to explain their reasoning verbally.

Feel free to pm me if you want more help! Zen hugs 🫂

[Onthemove1971]

These are all great comments. One thing that is important to think about is: Who can help with the accommodations in the IEP?

There are general education teachers and they are trained to teach a general curriculum.

Then there are educational specialist and their role is to help children who struggle with learning. They can work inside the general classroom with your child and they can pull kids out to help them with work.

Then there are classrooms with children with disabilities who are working on all different skills. These classroom usually have special education teachers.

It will be important in the IEP to make sure he has support for his learning from both general education teachers and special education. In the IEP they will talk about how much time he spends outside of the classroom this is listed in %. If he is struggling in an area you should ask for increase in special education services.

The Special Education teachers should help reduce the number of problems, help to make sure he is getting the accommodations and modifications if he has them.

Hope you can get him the help he needs.

[Imakecutebabies]

It might help to specify "modified lessons" and "extended time" more specifically. For instance, "time and a half to complete work" (or double, or whatever you think is reasonable) makes it clear how much time they must give him even if he had time in class. And the comment above about doing only what is needed to show mastery helps specify how to modify the lesson. If he's getting 50% on his homework problems, though, that's not demonstrating mastery and he might need some extra instruction from a resource teacher. All 4 of those problems may have been practicing different skills or skill variations, so he might be needing to show mastery of 4 different concepts--just completing the first one won't do that.

[GhostOrchid]

Thank you all for the support and advice. I hate that I haven't been able to reply sooner, but it has been a hectic week. The school sent a draft IEP and it was sad. Really sad. It was his two 504 accommodations plus OT for 45 mins/week. I'm countering with 8-10 accommodations extra goals and a lot recommendations for staff training. I'll update with more details when I return home after Thanksgiving. Again thank you all!!