HELP NEEDED

Under the federal IDEA law (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) you have the right to request a full battery of testing be done to determine her elligibility to special education (with an IEP - Individual Education Plan) or under section 504 of the ADA law (Americans with Disabilities Act). IDEA/IEP is more restrictive and the child must meet certain criteria. But if the child has a disability of any sort they may have to allow accommodations under 504 (like allowing her to tape record classes even thought she is on grade level because she is diagnosed with a particular form of CAPD (Central Auditory Processing Disorder)). My daughter has perfect hearing (as measured by tones) but has severe CAPD and mild dyslexia. She was not elligible for and IEP as she was in honors classes and on grade level, but under 504 she is elligible for books on tape and tape records all classes (she is in college and still has the accommodations). Put a request for full testing and why you want is done in a letter. Make sure you tell them you want her tested for elligibility under BOTH IDEA and 504. They have 15 days to respond with their plan of action and justification for the plan. They have 90 days to complete testing. If they refuse to do the testing, get it in writing and contact you state department of education to find out the process for getting outside testing at the schools expense. If they refuse to do the testing OR you do not agree with the testing done, the school has to pay for outside testing under IDEA. Take a deep breath and brace yourself. The schools spend much more money trying to get out of compliance with that law than they do complying. The first step is the request IN WRITING. KEEP A COPY OF ALL CORRESPONDANCE WITH SCHOOL OFFICIALS - BOTH YOUR LETTERS TO THEM AND THEIRS TO YOU. YOU MAKE NEED THE PAPERTRAIL. Good Luck. (P.S. my youngest has severe dyslexia and visual processing disorder/hyper-photosensitivity).

Originally Posted By JerryObviously, ran the gauntlet a time or two!! She can get services, so don't be afraid to get pushy about the testing!!

It's always nice to feel appreciated. And yes, I have run the gauntlet.

Originally Posted By Dr. Arthur Becker-WeidmanIn addition to the excellent suggestion regarding a 504 accomodation or IEP, you really need to get your own, independent evaluation. The evaluation should be done by someone who has substantial experience with adopted and foster children with trauma-attachment disorders. Reactive Attachment Disorder is frequently misdiagnosed as ADHD. The symptoms of ADHD are similiar to that of RAD, the key is that the etiology is different and the treatment is substantially different. In addtion, children with a history of neglect often have sensory-integration disorders that can mimic ADHD and other conditions. You'll need an evaluation by an Occupational Therapist who is has sensory-integration certification. The certification is a must; if the person does not have it, look elsewhere.Children with RAD must take on school as the child's primary responsibility...not the parent taking it on for the child. This means that it is the chiid's job to do homework, study, maintain work, etc. The parent provides a time during the day that the child can work and the tools...and help, if the child asks and is responsible and respectful. However, if the child doesn't do his or her work, then the school must deal with that and, after enough 0's the child may be held back...not necessarily a bad thing. We often keep children out of school for 3 or more months when treatment begins...school if a priviledge and not a right. Children who don't want to work can do other things to become self-sufficinet and independent such as housekeeping, lawncare, etc. Take a look at Nancy Thomas materials or her book, When Love is not Enough.Best wishesArthur Becker-Weidman, Ph.D.Center For Family Development716-810-0790[url="http://www.center4familydevelop.com"]http://www.center4familydevelop.com[/url]AWeidman@concentric.net

She was recommended for 504 placement four years ago because of a memory deficit disorder. Two years later she was also diagnosed with attachment disorder and ADHD. The school system has ignored all this. I was told by the school guidence counselor that they didn't care about the outside report; that the school had to do the testing. The only 504 accomodation they would agree to was letting her sit up front closer to the teacher and they let her take tests in a smaller group. That's like telling a deaf child that when they sit closer to the teacher they will be able to hear. This is such a mess!! They seem to feel that she is a fault for behavior that she can't help. She was embarrased by her teacher the other day because she lost her place in the book they were reading. Typical ADHD behavior!! The sad part of all this is that she sees nothing wrong with the way she is treated at school. She thinks that she is stupid. Everyone has told her that all of her life and now she beleives it. She really doesn't understand why I get angry when she is ridiculed by the teacher. This whole thing is so WRONG.

I just wanted to say HI. I used to always read the Special Needs Board. I remember your problems with your FD. Have you heard from her? How's she doing?

they'll probably ignore it like they have everything. Everything I've read tells me that they HAVE to help her. Apparently they haven't read the same things that I have. Maybe I should send the letter and cc my attorney!!!!!!

As a mom with special needs bio kids now adopting a special needs kid, my next step would be to document all the abusive situations that occur in the classroom. Make copies of the resultsand 504 recommendations and contact your state department of education to determine their proceduresfor grievance. Also ask for (even if you do not plan to use the info) recommendations for lawyers whospecialize in education law. Sometimes just the idea that you MIGHT consider talking to a lawyermakes the state pucsh the schools to do something. If you contact an education lawyer, ask for asimple consultation first - sometimes there is a minimal or no charge for a consult. Make sure theyknow that this is a special needs "adoption" issue - tug the heart strings. Maybe they will helppro bono. Sometimes it is best to swallow your pride if it will help the kids. I know that I have!!

Originally Posted By JerryShe keeps in touch, mostly when she has a problems, but that's okay. We were discussing her the other day. Since she was 16 when she came to us we were trying to decide if all the efforts we made will have an impact on her life. We felt we did. Even though her personality and family history were well set we think we showed her she didn't have to live life as a victim. She knows she has a choice, and we continue to reinforce that message. She's had the same boyfriend for over 2 years which is pretty good for her. She continues to learn how to resolve conflict in positive ways, and she's become very adamant about not having babies (which breaks with the traditions she knows). I think as she grows into adulthood our impact will come to have greater meaning. It will be at her pace, as she puts meaning to her life and our time together.

I have had a very bad experience with school assessements. I think the biggest problem in that I live in a very rural and narrow minded area. They have not heard of RAD, have not heard of Sensory integration, have not heard of central auditory, and are not familiar with bipolar in children. The school has provided a full battery of assessements, but they are invalid. They are not done by properly trained professionals. According to the school, my son's mild CAPD issues do not necessitate a fm system or noise desentization therapy. But the private audiologist and speech path both test him in at below the 2nd percentile for processing speech in noise. I think I am just throwing issues at the school that is out of their realm of training. Unfortunately they refuse to colloborate with the trained professionals. My son did get OT at school, very inept OT. They have greatly compounded his frustration over handwriting by using inappropriate techniques. They refuse to permit him to use Callerobics as recommended by his outpatient SI trained OT. They refuse to colloborate with outpatient OT. Their classroom recommendations to the teacher are not based on SI and hurt more than help. Amazingly, last year my 2nd grade son tested in at a 12 year level on fine motor in the assessment they used to test him out of OT. Looking at this more closely, they assessed the only area of SI (visual motor) - in which he is not severely delayed. Meanwhile, my son has printing that looks like a kindergarteners and detests cursive writing. Now enters the guidance counselor into his life, that wants to develop a behavior plan. My son just had a rough several weeks during a trial on a medication change for bipolar. He is now back to being stable. How can they do behavior mod on a medical issue?? But then, they again have not called either his OT or his therapist for advise. And again, I have to be the terrible parent to raise a rucus with the school and refuse to let them implement the plan without therapists input. Not all schools are as bad as what we are facing. Some have wonderful, well trained therapists and do justice to both SI and CAPD issues. But I just caution anyone just starting out in this, to get a private assessment yourself. If they choose the wrong assessment tools, they will bluff you into believing there is nothing wrong. As another example. When my son was 5 years old he was assessed by our IU for preschool services. His language assessment showed him having speech at 6 months past his age. Amazing given that he had only been speaking english for a little over 1 year at that time. A few months later, he had neuropsych testing that revealed english as a second language deficits. Again -the school had simply done the wrong tests. Sorry this is so long, but the school has been a big source of frustration for me.

Originally Posted By Dr. Arthur Becker-WeidmanWithout knowing the details of your child's conditions, history, or the quality of assessments and treatments received, I'm inclined to question the diagnosis of ADHD. Most of the children we treat...upwards of 80%, have had previous diagnoses of ADHD and other conditions and received excellent treatment for those conditions with NO effect. That was because these children do not have ADHD, they have reactive attachment disorder and, often, sensory integration disorders, which have similiar symptoms as ADHD. If your child has received proper treatment and there has not been a substantial improvement in your child's symptoms, than you really should question the diagnosis and get an assessment by a trained and competant therpaist. You can look at the web page for the Association for the Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children for a person near you. [url="http://www.attach.org"]http://www.attach.org[/url]Arthur Becker-Weidman, Ph.D.,Center For Family Development5820 Main St., suite 406Williamsville, NY 14221716-810-0790AWeidman@Concentric.net[url="http://www.Center4FamilyDevelop.com"]http://www.Center4FamilyDevelop.com[/url]