Eight Steps for Communicating with the School about Your Child's Educational Needs– (adapted from additudemag.com)
1. Get an Accurate Evaluation
- Write a letter requesting an evaluation to see if your ADHD child might benefit from academic accommodations.
- Address it to the Director of Special Education Services, not to your child's teachers, guidance counselor, or principal.
- Date your letter and note the day it was received for your records.
- Your school must complete all aspects of the evaluation within 60 calendar days.
- Consider a private evaluation, if the school cannot provide an evaluation that meets your expectations.
- In some circumstances, the school may have to pay for the outside assessment.
- Ask for an outside assessment if you think your child’s initial school evaluation was inaccurate.
- Refer to February handout for more information!
- https://www.uab.edu/adhdparentsupport/resouces/meeting-handouts/29-the-psychological-assessment-process
2. Meet With the Evaluation Team
- A school-sponsored evaluation is conducted by a multidisciplinary team.
- The team may include special education teachers, the school psychologist, and other professionals.
- The team will meet with you to learn more about your child and how ADHD affects her school performance.
- Private evaluations may or may not be multidisciplinary, but should request information from your child’s teachers/school.
- Team members will:
- Review your child's academic records.
- Conduct a behavioral assessment.
- Observe her in the classroom.
- Discuss the results with you.
- Together, you will decide whether your child needs special education services to address how ADHD impacts her ability to learn.
3. Decide Which Laws Are Applicable
- The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) è Individualized Education Program (IEP)
- Covers kids with specific conditions, including intellectual and developmental disability, learning disorders, emotional disturbances, hearing impairments, and speech and language difficulties
- Specific designations for IEPs in Alabama include: Autism, Deaf-Blindness, Developmental Delay, Emotional Disability, Hearing Impairment, Intellectual Disability, Multiple Disabilities, Orthopedic Impairment, Other Health Impairment, Specific Learning Disability, Speech or Language Impairment, Traumatic Brain Injury, Visual Impairment
- Children with ADHD may qualify if they have one of these problems in addition to ADHD
- Children with ADHD may also quality for an IEP under the designation of “Other Health Impairment”
- Covers kids with specific conditions, including intellectual and developmental disability, learning disorders, emotional disturbances, hearing impairments, and speech and language difficulties
- Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act è 504 Plan
- Prohibits schools from discriminating against students because of physical and mental impairments
- Section 504 can cover kids who don’t qualify for services under IDEA but who need extra help in the classroom
- Can secure accommodations (such as preferential seating, extra time on tests, or help with note taking) for kids with brain-based learning barriers
- See below for an explanation of accommodations vs. curriculum modifications.
***FYI: If the team decides your child doesn’t need special education services, you’re entitled to appeal your case in a "due-process" hearing - a legal proceeding that often requires legal representation for the family, testimony from independent experts, and a review of meeting transcripts, test scores, and other documents.
4. Develop a Plan
- IEP: Specifies your child’s educational goals and how those goals will be met in the least restrictive environment
- After your child’s evaluation, the IEP team must meet within 30 days to determine if your child is eligible for an IEP.
- If eligible, the IEP must be written in the next 30 days.
- Make sure the IEP spells out exactly how the school will help your child meet his goals, which should be specific, measurable, and achievable.
- See IEP goal examples below.
- Include time limits.
- The IEP should explain exactly how and with what supports your child will meet his goal. Unless the strategies are specified, there’s no way to enforce them.
- Your psychologist, the school psychologist, special education, and regular education teachers should contribute to developing strategies and behavior plans that will be appropriate for your child.
- 504 Plan: A school representative will help you and your child's teacher compile a 504 Plan, or a list of accommodations that must be followed at all times.
- Unlike an IEP, there are no legal requirements about what should be included in a 504 Plan, and the school isn't required to involve the child's parents in the process (although many schools do).
5. Insist on a Customized Plan
- Your child’s plan should be appropriate for her goals.
- The school may try to tailor your child's IEP around its existing programs, but it is legally bound to provide services based on your child’s needs, NOT what it currently has available.
- On the other hand, every child does not need every accommodation. Children may not need the same accommodations on different assignments, in different settings, or from year to year. Don’t assume every accommodation is appropriate for every student in every content area.
- If you're not satisfied with the IEP, don't agree to it.
- You can withhold your signature and request changes or input from additional experts.
- If the school is unwilling to add/cater services, you can request a due-process hearing. The school district may have to pay for your child's education in another school that offers the needed services.
6. Monitor Your Child’s Progress
- IEP: By law, the educational team must meet annually to review your child's IEP.
- Many school districts schedule the annual meeting in the spring, so that team members can review current strategies and your child’s progress, and set goals for the coming year.
- BUT, you can request a meeting whenever you think one is needed.
- You may need to call an IEP meeting to edit your child’s IEP goals or services based on:
- Your child’s progress during the summer
- The demands of the new grade
- New or changing difficulties in behavior, emotion, or learning
- 504 Plan:The school is not required to hold an annual review or to involve parents in meetings.
- You may still request a meeting at any time, and many schools invite parents to participate in the process.
7. Create a Paper Trail
- Put all requests, concerns, and thank-you's in writing and keep copies.
- For example, a note asking the teacher for your child's test scores can be valuable if you later have to document that the request went unmet.
- After each IEP meeting and conference with school staff, summarize the main points in a letter to participants.
- This establishes a written record of what was said.
- In the event of a due-process hearing, the legal burden of proving that a plan fails to meet a child's needs falls on the parents.
- Therefore, it's important to document your child's difficulties, to be assertive about receiving progress reports, and to advocate for changes to the IEP as the need arises.
8. Seek Support
- Individuals who may be useful to bring to an IEP meeting as an advocate:
- Psychologist who performed the initial evaluation
- Therapist, especially if that professional is working with the family on managing the child’s behavior and has insight on what works with the child
- Occupational therapist, speech pathologist, or physical therapist, if the child is receiving those services privately
- Other professionals (doctor, nurse practitioner, social worker) if the child has additional medical or emotional needs that need to be communicated to the school
- If at any point you reach an impasse with school authorities, or if you just want an expert to accompany you to meetings, contact an educational advocate or attorney.
- Many offer free or low-cost consultation.
- In Alabama: http://www.adap.net/
Additional Resources:
- Chadd.org
- Ldanatl.org
- Copaa.org
- Wrightslaw.com
- ADAP’s Publication, Special Education in Alabama, A Right Not A Favor
- http://adap.ua.edu/uploads/5/7/8/9/57892141/rnfcomplete_book.pdf
Federal Guidelines for Writing an IEP
- Includes legal requirements and best practices for writing an IEP as well as examples
Modifications Vs. Accommodations
Modifications: Change or alter what is being measured
· Substantial changes in the general education curriculum
· When goals or expectations of the general education curriculum are beyond the student’s level of ability
· Addresses what the student will learn
· Examples: materials at a lower grade level, alternate assignments, revising assignments or assessments to make them easier (e.g., crossing out half of the response choices on a multiple-choice test so that a student only has to pick from two options instead of four), focus on life skills or functional academics
Accommodations: Do not change or alter what is being measured
· Teaching services/supports that a student needs to meet expectations of the general education curriculum
· Allows a student to complete the same assignment or test as other students, but with a change in the timing, formatting, setting, scheduling, response and/or presentation.
· Addresses how a student learns
· Examples: (Remember—one size does NOT fit all when choosing accommodations!)
o Restlessness/hyperactivity: provide frequent breaks (regularly scheduled and/or on request), allow movement, allow use of a “fidget” object or gum
o Distraction: preferential seating, minimize environmental distractions, extended time on assignments or exams, designate a quiet work space for use upon request, use an alternate location for testing, review assignment directions, provide prompts to stay on task, give directions in small steps, have student repeat directions for the task, daily report cards
o Organization: teach organization or study skills, use a visual timer, give verbal reminders for transitions (e.g., “five minutes left to work”), mark texts with a highlighter, have a separate set of textbooks for school and home, provide visual aids (e.g., daily schedules, assignment checklists), use a structured notebook system (e.g., dividers, zipper pouch, “things to bring home” folder, “things to turn in” folder), have “check in” times to review assignments and materials, use a planner or agenda
o Other: type written work, listen to audio recordings instead of reading text, audio record a lesson instead of taking notes, use both oral and printed directions, be given an outline of the lesson ahead of time, have a “note-taker,” work with fewer items per page or materials in a larger print size, dictate answers to a scribe[CO1]
o Behavior:[CO2]individualized behavior intervention plan, increase the frequency and immediacy of reinforcement (rewards and feedback), daily report cards, clear expectations
**IEPs can include specific accommodations for standardized testing
Individual Education Program (IEP) Goals
IEP goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound
Good Example: By the end of the academic year, Janice will read and analyze a short story to identify main literary elements of main idea, point of view, plot, setting, and characterization, at a proficient level as determined by 6th grade performance standards.
- Vs. Bad Example: Janice will use a graphic organizer to analyze a short story.
Good Example: With homeroom teacher assistance, student will establish and maintain a system for organizing his work and other responsibilities so that he completes required work and assignments and turns them in on time 80% of the time.
- Vs. Bad Example: Student will organize his work so that he can pass all classes.
More examples:
Area Targeted: On-Task/Work Completion
- “________ will attend (eyes on teacher, hands to self, quiet voice) to a task during large group instruction for a 10 minute period with no more then 1 teacher prompt in 4 out of 5 trials as measured by teacher charted data.”
- “When given a non-preferred task paired with the use of rewards systems, ______ will begin the task within 1 minute, and complete the appropriately modified version of the task within a pre-designated appropriate amount of time (with use of timer) on 3 out of 5 opportunities, as measured by teacher charted data.”
Area Targeted: Class Participation
- “_______ will demonstrate raising her hand to participate in whole class or small group instruction 75% of the time, in 5 out of 5 observations, as measured by teacher charted data.”
Area Targeted: Coping Skills
- “In the classroom environment, ______ will utilize positive self-talk and deep breathing strategies to handle stressful situations or work demands in which she currently manifests anxious or withdrawn behavior (i.e. putting head down, saying she can't do something), demonstrated by engaging in a 15 minute activity or situation in a calm and positive manner with one prompt on 2 out of 3 occasions.”
- “When _____ becomes upset, frustrated, or angry, he will choose a coping strategy (movement break, deep breathing, or quiet space break) to avoid engaging in an unexpected behavior, with one reminder, on 4 out of 5 opportunities, as measured by observations and documentation.”
Area Targeted: Following Directions
- “Given a three step functional direction from an adult, _____ will complete all three steps with a maximum of 1 additional prompt in 4 out of 5 trials as measured by teacher observation and data.”
Area Targeted: Organization of Materials
- “ _______ will organize his materials in his binder following the rules of his binder system with 70% accuracy, as measured by binder/agenda checks and teacher records.”
- “_______ will perform the task of writing his homework legibly in his planner and compile needed assignments in his binder with 80% accuracy in 5 out of 5 consecutive trials as measured by teacher-charted observations/ planner checks.”
Resources
Interactive PDF with a variety of long-term goals and intermediate objectives to get kids there:
A bank of goals by target area:
Goal examples courtesy of:
Transition Planning
- IEPs must include transition services starting at age 16.
- Transition planning can begin before age 16 if your child’s IEP team thinks it is appropriate.
- A “transition” IEP should include post-school goals related to:
- education/training
- employment/career
- community/independent living