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ADHD
What is a School's Responsibility?
By Julia Rosen
However, if your child's school responds to your requests in a way that you feel is inappropriate, then you have the right to have the case heard by a mediator, Schultz says.
Contact the special education office at your state's Department of Education. Officials there can guide you through appropriate steps that may prevent the need for your case to go to mediation. "The most important thing is to make sure the child has an appropriate education," Schultz says.
A teacher wouldn't give a test on a printed piece of paper to a child who couldn't see. A child with hearing disabilities wouldn't be expected to master a new language by listening to a tape recorder. Neither should an ADHD student be expected to succeed without the appropriate tools and environment.
"If your child has been diagnosed with ADHD, he deserves modifications in his classroom to ensure success," Schultz says. "If the teachers doubt the diagnosis, or don't understand it, then it's time to take action and advocate for your child."
If a school doesn't consider ADHD the cause of a child's academic problems, then request the school staff test for other possible issues. "Since ADHD often co-exists with a learning disability (LD), a thorough evaluation should be done to determine the presence and the impact of both ADHD and LD," Schultz says.
You should also request an individual education plan, known as an IEP. This is a written, legal document that describes the special education and related services needed by a student with disabilities.It is developed during a meeting in which all members of the IEP team discuss the educational needs of the student and write a program that identifies goals, objectives and needed related services for the year.
"Once an IEP is in place, the school must follow it," Matlen says. "If the plan is met with resistance, then the family can take legal action to make sure there is compliance from the school."