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My oldest DD's school career has been a roller coaster since 1st grade.  By 3rd grade we finally a little bit of an answer when she was diagnosed AD/HD inn and GAD ( generalized anxiety disorder) 504 in place.  With meds she was a little more secure and daily functioning improved, but most of her school work did not.  She would be missing a majority of assignments, most of them done just not turned in, classwork and homework grades Ds and Fs but test scores A's.  Teachers would give her the speech about consequences but not follow through.  I requested her be retained in 5th grade because I didn't think she had the study/learning skills to be successful in Middle School, school refused because she tested at or above grade level.  Middle school was more of the same, no follow through from school,  accomodations allowed for extended time on assignments, which she used to complete the bulk of classwork/homework during the last week or 2 of the semester to allow her to pass.  8th grade was academically a little better but emotionally she was worse.

My DD didn't do well her freshman year in high school.  First semester she was behind / borderline failing all classes, saw no reason to do the work, expecting that as usual she could just turn everything in at the end of the semester or that her test scores would pull her through; she passed 2 classes.  Anxiety was ramping up again, best friend moved away, overwhelmed at large not well supervised school, she missed more days than she attended second semester many times because she would be so anxious she was throwing up either before school or during first 2 hours of school and sent home, which then evolved into tearful refusal to go so we pulled her out of public school, tried charter schools but none accepted her for a variety of reasons so we enrolled her in public charter on-line, same bad study skills, same borderline performance - mainly due to no interest and not able to socialize, even when rewards of extra social time, extended curfew were there. She complained and defiantly claimed that it was everyone else's fault and accepted no responsibility for refusal to even attempt schoolwork and was angry that we would apply consequences to refusal to complete schoolwork.

With a lot of negotiating and support she would figure out what the bare minimum of work needed to achieve a 60% (59% =failing) and has finally completed her freshman year ( 16 months including summer classes).  For the last 6 months she has been begging to go back to public school.  Knowing the cyber school wasn't the right answer for her despite lots of supports by school staff, we set the requirement that she be caught up credit wise to the grade she should be.

So next week, we are heading back to the public school, primarily out of desperation, but willing to keep to our agreement that she could return when she was caught up credit wise.  I am a nervous wreck and don't see it being any more successful this time around.  DD on the other hand doesn't understand why I'm worried she is going to do fine, no plans, just because she says she is.

I'm just hoping that we can survive this semester and then she has the option of getting her GED, or testing out.  I really think she has the ability to be successfull in the grand scheme of life,  but not the skill to be objective and plan how to be successful, and school is definately not a match for her.  I think many of these issue are typical 15 yr old girl issues only she takes everything to an extreme.

I'm not sure that I even have a question to ask but more needed a chance to lay it all out and see if anyone has advice or similar experiences.

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Parent Replies to "Returning to public school... mom is nervous wreck / DD not nervous enough!"

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alford76
alford76 January 14, 2008
Re: Returning to public school... mom is nervous wreck / DD not nervous enough!
The hardest thing when your a parent is deciding when your child might have an illness or learning problem or if they are suffering from school burn out, not motivated any more or any of the other zillion things that make students just stop participating in school. Try to find out what your child likes best about school and try to discuss what is happening at school everyday just like you would discuss with a friend whats been happening in her life since you have been apart. Keep it lite and simple, maybe this will open a communication channel between you and your daughter. Good luck.
Jisper
Jisper January 9, 2008
Need to engage
Chriscnaz,
It really sounds like your daughter is just not motivated. And when a kid, especially a bright teen, is not motivated there is little you can do to convince them that navigating the BS work of High School makes any sense at all.

The first thing I think about when a teen is unmotivated is whether or not marijuana could possibly be involved. First don't fool yourself marijuana is everywhere. I live in an upper middle class suburb and my kids tell me that there are even parents who grow to use themselves. One thing about marijuana is that it can seriously affect motivation and the desire to do anything. Even casual use among teens (ie: a few puffs of a joint every Saturday) can have a huge impact on their ability to do academics during the week.

The second question is if alcohol is at all being used. Alcohol is a depressant and once again even casual drinking, drinking that is not necessarily abusive, can result in a teen being depressed enough to loose motivation.

Now if neither marijuana or alcohol are players, how is your daughter's weight? It is not unusual for girls to develop eating disorders to cope with their anxiety and depression. The eating disorder messes the kids chemistry and the kids can present as depressed and unmotivated.

Finally what does she like to do? Is she interested in fashion (ie: Project Runway) or design (HGTV) or is she opinionated politically or socially conscious? Is she into artsy films? Cutting edge music? etc..... Once you know what her hooks are you have to see if you can get her connected to an adult or a program that will get her excited and motivated to learn.

BTW, my son was seriously unmotivated and on the verge of quitting school this fall at age 16. I made him visit a "Young Adult Vocational Program" run by the department of mental health. After visiting that program my son became much more interested in academics and using his intellect to learn. I think the prospect of working for a Window Washing company or at Petco really opened his eyes to what it means to not complete high school.

Good Luck and I am hear for support or a shoulder to cry on. It is so hard to see our teens struggle . When a little kid struggles you feel like your presence alone will make things better. But when they are older it is so much harder.
chriscnaz
chriscnaz January 8, 2008
Re: Returning to public school... mom is nervous wreck / DD not nervous enough!
We have discussed testing but she is absolutely opposed to it, and until that changes she knows enough to sabatoge any actions I might take. We occasionally revisit it, so that she knows it is available for her as a positive and not consequence.

She is and has been in counseling, and it has greatly helped with the anxiety and depression issues over the past 2 years, you are right one that point.

I do have a relationship with the SPED Dir and the schools VP for SPED, unfortunately it's not a good one. I am widely known as
"that parent" because of filing and winning on a state complaint for MS son this year, as well as attending multiple IEPs with our district each year as a parent support/mental health worker. In a small town everyone seems to know everything about you!

I like the idea of having her work with someone else on school issues, hopefully that is something she'll agree to do.
pkkinzie08
pkkinzie08 January 8, 2008
Re: Returning to public school... mom is nervous wreck / DD not nervous enough!
Your school experience mirrors mine with my daughter. Private school for elementary, charter school, alternative school, and back to public hs. My son stayed in public school from grades 7-11 (so far). I have found that to stay at one school with an ADHD child is important as the social network becomes stronger. I like public school better because they have more services. I strongly recommend you have the school test him (skip meds for testing) and then request an IEP instead of a 504. I admit that this is not always easy but with your child's grades, I would think they couldn't refuse. Anyway, I've found that they only refuse so long if you pester them enough. We had to go to mediation for my daughter and then they were very accommodating. She was severely depressed at 15 and the school was dragging their feet so we consulted an educational consultant and put her into a high school residential treatment program. Then, we used the arbitration to get them to pay for it. She came back to high school in her junior year and successfully completed her diploma. The family system had become so intertwined that it was essential she hear the message from those outside the family and also to get intensive treatment for her depression. My son was denied an IEP in middle school, but I fought and he got it in High School. I can hold the school accountable with the IEP and he is also eligible for free counseling and many other benefits. I wish I could say he is excelling but I can't. He is happy with school, however, and loves his teachers, friends and classes. He just thinks homework is a waste of time. So, last semester (junior yr) we let him fail. It really scared him and he has started to pick up. I think the best approach is to let them fail in middle school so it won't count against college.

I urge you to get on personal speaking terms with your local Director of Special Education. You can do this by joining a SELPA group in which he/she attends. Don't get combative, just persistent parent. It truly sounds like your child needs some counseling, so I would also encourage that. These kids have so much frustration just getting through a school day that they need someone neutral to download their emotions. Your nervousness is felt by her. I know it's hard but try and remain positive, "you can do it!", and emphasize her strengths. Get her involved in some after school activity so that the whole day isn't about school or finishing homework. Email the teachers consistently to catch where she heading down before it escalates. Hire a senior or college student to work with her instead of you. My son works better that way and I don't get so nervous!

Any contributed content above is the subjective opinion of that member or external author, and not of GreatSchools. GreatSchools does not check for accuracy in community posts or verify the contributor’s identity. If you are searching for health-related advice we strongly suggest you seek professional medical support. View our Community Guidelines for more details.

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