My son has ADD. He now has to begin public school. He is very smart How can I ensure his success?

He has been in private school until now, but with the changes in the economy we can no longer afford to keep him there. He was tested and his scores indicate that he is very superior in most academic areas but has severe ADD. He was able to achieve this level of success because of the small class size and the structure of the school he attended. Financially it has been a challenge. We have made the decision to put him in public school but I'm concerned that he is going to fall behind in his academics.

Parent Answers to "My son has ADD. He now has to begin public school. He is very smart How can I ensure his success? "

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Your answer was extremely helpful. I was able to move in the right direction with my research and preparation.

Thanks

Savemal13 - good advice. It is true that often public schools are better able to deal with kids that need addtional attention. They often have more personnel that are trained in the various educational interventions.

My experience has been that the larger classrooms are the toughest hurdle. But, there are ways to compensate and to support the child so that they can be successful.

In general, an IEP affords the most service and protection.

While there are tradeoffs moving from a private to public school, and vice versa, you needn't panic just yet. Public school education can offer supports that private schools sometimes can't or won't. You may need to be on top of things more as it appeared that the private school more or less met the needs of your child without intense intervention. However, with the public school aware of your child's unique educational needs, they may be able to monitor him for this, as well.

Arming yourself with knowledge is the best bet at this point. Perusing thru the information provided recently is a great start. In my district, we typically place children on 504's when it affects their ability to maneuver around campus to include physical type limitations. A 504 can be used for attention problems, but the 504 is used in place of an IEP when it doesn't affect them academically. It would seem in your case that your son's ADD might affect his ability to be academically successful. Some districts classify a student as Other Health Impaired (OHI) who have a diagnosis of ADD or ADHD. And there are also children who are able to be successful without plans or labels, this being due to perseverence and hard work. It really depends on many factors including how severe their deficits are.

I would suggest meeting with school personnel (i.e. teachers, advisors or counselors, special ed staff, and / or principal) to best determine how their specific school works with children who share your son's abilities. Once you know what their typical course of action is, you can them formulate your own.

You may want to consider having him placed on a 504 for accommodations for the ADHD (extra time, instructions repeated, preferential seating, signing off on agenda that kind of thing) or an IEP which would include accommodations plus specialized instruction in the areas that he might need (organization, study skills, self advocacy).

Here is info about 504's and IEP's:
www.schwablearning.org/articles.aspx?r=777
www.wrightslaw.com/howey/504.idea.htm
www.schwablearning.org/articles.aspx?r=26
www.schwablearning.org/articles.aspx?r=73

Hope you take Healthy's advice and visit us at the Learning and Attention Group and the 2-Exceptional group.

How old is your son? The term for gifted kids with ADHD and/or LDs is "2e" or "twice exceptional," meaning they're at both extremes of the learning spectrum. I have a son who is also "2e," and I've listed TONS of reference/resource materials here:community.greatschools.net/groups/16042
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