What can be included in the IEP accommodations? Can we stipulate in my son’s IEP that he will not be required to keep an assignment notebook, but will have the assignments posted on the web or emailed each day? Would the school legally be required to adhere to it?
My son is 13 with PDD-NOS and is frequently missing assignments or turning them in late for 1/2 credit because he is not getting all of his assignments written in his assignment book for each class.
We would obviously love to see him be able to do the assignment book on his own, but he has extremely poor organizational skills and really struggles with the time constraints of changing classrooms. I believe he is being graded on his ability to organize rather than his ability to learn and reflect his knowledge.
What struck me about your question is that what you want - that your child’s teachers provide you, his parent, with information about his *homework* assignments - is simply good teaching. Providing a daily assignment list is a reasonable accommodation. Your request for assignments shows that you are involved with your child’s education. You know that you and the school share the responsibility for educating him. Since teachers often complain about “uninvolved parents,” they should be happy to talk with you and comply with your request.
These teachers need to recognize that children mature at very different rates. A child should not be judged harshly or penalized because he is a late bloomer. Some children have good organizational skills when they enter school. Some learn modest organizational skills along the way to adulthood. Others will always need some coaching.
My husband Pete falls into the latter category - memory and organization have never been his strong suits. His brain is not wired that way. Over his lifetime, he learned ways to compensate, at least partially. His tutor TAUGHT him ways to compensate. His “weaknesses” are balanced by strengths in other areas that enabled him to be a great trial lawyer.
I have met too many teachers who view memory and organizational problems as being under the child’s control. If they make life painful enough, by punishing and blaming, the child will step up to the plate and these issues will no longer be problems. He will “choose” to be a well-organized person with a good working memory who is aware of deadlines. This is not going to happen. His problems may improve if his teachers and parents spend time TEACHING him strategies to compensate, without being judgmental, harsh, or punitive.
Even with consistent teaching of strategies, his areas of weakness will probably never be strengths. It’s time for the school to identify and focus on his strengths, and help him find ways to compensate with the problem areas.
Have you had a psycho-educational evaluation of your son by an expert in the private sector? If not, this is a good time to have an evaluation done. I’m surprised that he is still diagnosed with PDD-NOS at age 13. A good evaluator can describe his strengths and weaknesses, what he needs in an educational program, including accommodations, and what will happen if the school won’t provide the help he needs. Be sure to find an evaluator who has a good reputation with this population.
Providing a daily assignment list is a reasonable accommodation. In fact, the school our grandchildren attend uses their website to post assignments for all students. This helps ensure that the school and parents are on the same page and enhances positive relationships. There is no reason NOT to provide information about assignments and may make it more likely that assignments are completed.
These articles should answer more questions about accommodations.
“Accommodations & Modifications” at http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/sec504.accoms.mods.pdf
Some students with disabilities need accommodations or modifications to their educational program. This short article defines these terms and provides helpful suggestions for changes in textbooks and curriculum, the classroom environment, instruction and assignments, and behavior expectations. (4 pages, pdf)
“Accommodations Manual: How to Select, Administer, and Evaluate Use of Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment of Students with Disabilities” at http://www.ccsso.org/content/pdfs/AccommodationsManual.pdf
Developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards Assessing Special Education Students.
For more information about accommodations, read articles on this page: http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/sec504.index.htm
Tags: Accommodations · homework assignments · IEPs · independent educational evalution · organizational skills · PDD23 Comments
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23 responses so far ↓
Pam is right on target with her advice. There is no reason your son shouldn’t be getting this accomodation at school. My dd also gets organizational help with her backpack — to make sure she is bring home all necessary materials to do her homework, and keeping her locker organized. She wouldn’t be able to function at school without these and other accomodations. Good luck.
My son has been diagnosed with ADHD. He has an IEP and goes to school with numerous accomodations. He is in regular classes with co-teaching and some pull out. It seems that the regular teachers don’t know how to handle kids with ADHD. They often embarrass him or wrongly accuse him of things. They ridicule him and punish him for forgetfullness and being unorganized. Most problems surface when needing to change classes or preparing to leave for the day. He is such a sweet kid. What steps can I take to prevent ridicule from teachers? How can I put these concerns in his IEP? And, what can I do if the teacher doesn’t follow the IEP?
I could cry when I read this. My son is currently 21 years old. I struggled … he struggled with this aspect all his years of education. I homeschooled him grades 6th - 8th and pulled him out to homeschool midway through his 11th year. Only one or two teachers would be willing to email or utilize the school hotlines ( which only became available in the latter years.). I never got support from IEP team / school administrators for my request. Obviously my son’s story is longer. This question hit one of his most evident issues right on target. I believe that his OCD that he later would be diagnosed with was partially due to the stress that was incured by the forementioned situatiion. I still see this as a problem for him in the college setting. Getting notes from a peer, recorders, etc just do not ‘do it ‘.
My 9 yr old son has been diagnosed with AD/HD and is Gifted and Talented. He is getting straight A’s in Science and Math which is two grade levels above his peers, but often fails his SS and Language assignments because of his lack of organization; his overall work brings the report card grade to a C. The teacher (different from the one who teaches Math and Science) keeps insisting that he be better organized and neater. She complains that he constantly gets frustrated and acts out when he has to complete an assignment. I believe if whe would approach him with a more detailed written example and ease up on the neatness/organization, he would be more successful. The school keeps denying him a 504 or IEP. HELP!
My son is 13 and has been diagnosed with ADHD and Asperger’s. I requested today that daily emails be included in my sons IEP and BIP and the special education department told me they did not think that was possible. The decision would have to be taken up with a principal.
The reason I’m requesting is because we find out only when he is failing that work is not being completed… He is not very organized ! We have tried agendas numerous times and he forgets to have them filled out or signed.
I also spoke with one of my sons teachers and who just came on board about a week ago to replace a teacher that out for maternity and she did not know that my son was ADHD or Asperger.
I have requested another ARD meeting and waiting for them to respond.
Would appreciate some advice… live in Texas
What can I do if my daughters teachers are not following the accomodations and modifications? I already had a meeting last year about this. I will be having a second IEP meeting to discuss the same problem again.
Florida
My understanding is that if your child has an IEP, if the concerns are a direct relation to their documented disability, then the school cannot require you or your child to be responsible for communication. I agree that you may need to request an evaluation, even if just to determine what information or data is needed to aid the team to determine what’s required. Brass tacks… what is a “hallmark” of your child’s disabling condition? I’ve not wanted a crutch for my own child, but I’ve looked along the way for different steps to increase independence and we’ve been pretty successful. There is a fine line between a crutch and a requirement… but we need to know what they NEED so they can be successful in LIFE too. I know I’ve been lucky, but this site and their books are an invaluable resource to me!
bj,
I suggest contacting the regional coordinator for the TX Parent Training & Information Center that works with your area. You can check the website, http://www.partnerstx.org or call 800-866-4726 to find the coordinator that works with your area.
ARD/IEP teams can & should address communication, but frequently they do not want to cross what the principal may want to do.
Thanks for the feedback ! Should be meeting with the school in a couple of weeks and will let all know how it turns out.
I agree about not creating crutches and we hold Gregg accountable for everything we can. We pay for turtuing 2x’s a week and need school to communicate what we need him to work on during this time to get the most out of it ! His short term memory and focus are big issue and I need the school to help in that area.
We are willing to work with our son at home and help the teachers by reinforcing issues he is having at school but have to be aware of what they are when they happen.. To bring it up a week or 2 later is useless and he does not recall most of it !
I wasn’t sure where to ask this, here goes. My child has ADHD/OCD/Tourette in combo. Diagnosed by board-certified psychiatrist in 3rd grade; in 8th grade now. ADHD and Tourette are both “Other Health Impaired” qualifiers for special ed. Our CA district qualified him for services (years ago), but they are reluctant to give good accommodations in high school. They say it “compromises test security.” Advocate and l will ask for additional time on tests/assignments, ability to retake failed tests with averaging, recognition tests over essays, advance test study guides, etc). My question: Would the law say my son has multiple handicapping conditions, and if so, can I ask for “best” education scenarios or should I avoid using the word “best” as I understand how it might be twisted and used against my son in a hearing.
My son has ADD & Aspergers and I hear what everyone is saying as I too have battled many years of the special ed dept and changing meds, therapists and also many an IEP meeting. My successes so far has been to seek out a great psychologist that works specifically either within the schools system or works with schools so that they can help be your advocate. Mine has done great things and pushed the boundaries of the whole IEP team. Ask for a coordinator and complain to the special ed board if you don’t like what they are doing. Read on aspergers & ADD to see what signs are and build your case around what you read up on and put them in your accomodations. Ask for preferential seating, asperger services that most schools have including social skills training.. Use this site I found that is very resourceful and google how to create an IEP
My son has only been diagnosed with ADD he is functioning better since he has been on Focolin. I believe that if I had a private evaluation of him, he would be diagnosed with a mild form of Autism, on the Asbergers side. He has always functioned well with my help. He has no issues socially.Therefore we never felt the need to go the diagnosis route. This year is 6th grade. I have conceded to trying meds. Like the letter re: organizational skills. That is the problem we have. I have made the comment to the teachers “I would be ridiculous for him to fail due to lack of organizational skills.” I believe he is more than capable of handling the information being taught.
I had started the IEP process then was discouraged to follow through by his teachers. I’m not sure where to go from here. I’m not sure what the best thing is for my son.
Kati:
Put your request for testing/IEP in writing. If he has an ADD diagnosis, he should qualify for an IEP. The teachers discourage you, sometimes, because districts need to save $$ and he may seem borderline to them. But classes just get harder as your son advances. With an IEP, your team could write a goal for organization, and the IEP will be in place should any other issues come up.
Some people/doctors think ADHD/ADD kids are on the autism “spectrum.” Some don’t.
Our psychologist did the test: Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (BRIEF) for my son w/ADHD. It showed he had problems with organization, working memory, higher ordered thinking, etc. He is disorganized and needs accommodations (not crutches). He also needs skills in self-advocating for help. A good private tutor helped us in math.
Good luck.
I met with the school last week and was successful in getting several things in place. Was pleased with the overall meeting until the end when a teacher took a hard stand on daily communication, that it was not feasible. When I told her that I spoke with an advocate and am using the Wrightslaw web site, the principal stopped her. I explained that it was well within my rights to request and would if I felt necessary. The principle did not seem interested in going down this path. In the end, we established daily communication with a planner/agenda and a point system that rewards my son for being organized and participating.
Thanks for all your feedback!! Entered the meeting with confidence!
My son is 16yrs old and may be repeating the 9th grade for a third time. He was diagnosed with ADHD in 99, a processing isue in 07, and in 08 was diagnosed with aspergers. His biggest issue is turning in assignments. He tests well and because of this was turned down for an IEP. In october he had a confrontation with another student who pushed, punched and kicked him in the head. He responded by punching her. He was sent to the hospital with a concusion. There were charges pressed against both students, and he has been targeted by others that he does not even know. He is currently seeing a psychologist, neurologist and an autism specialist. We tried to get an IEP and was turned down because he tests well. We were told that he has a medical diagnosis, but not a educational one. He just recieved the 504 after it was taken away in 07.
What are some accommodations for children who are “visual” learners?
I am forwarding this to my 14 year olds son assistant principal.
My son has this problem and 5 out of 6 teachers keep in contact with me. I have questioned the school about the use of teacher’s websites. They are set up for the teachers but are not required to use them… WHY ??? Only one of his tachers actually does.
My 15 year-old son received an IEP in December after years of fighting with his schools. He has been diagnosed with Juvenile Onset Bipolar Disorder, ADHD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. His IEP says “Remind student to submit completed homework assignments; if student does not have the assignment, create a timeline for it’s completion and submission.” Despite that, my son currently has over 30 missing assignments in four classes! I am at my wit’s end and feel like the school is trying to force him out. Suggestions?
Jill:
I know what you are going through. To the bureacrats who run the school, an IEP is nothing more than a CYA to comply with the law.
I have the same problem - my kid is a pain to teach and they don’t want the challenge. Unfortuantely, you must take a good lawyer and an education advocate with you to an IEP meeting.
My understanding of the law is that you can call a meeting any time you wish. Job one in a school is not getting sued. When there is a lawyer sitting next to you, they will shape up.
My sixth grade son has IEP for profound ADHD and is in co-taught classes in an emotional support program. One goal is to write homework in planner daily. He has had limited success. The teachers give him lunch & after school detentions if he does not have the hw. The special educator sometimes give oral hw assignments - not even written on board. If all back-up plans fail and my son has not recorded it in planner- he gets detentions and is publically humiliated in class for not having the hw. I have told school psych that I feel he is being punished for a disability identified as a goal on his IEP. I have refused to allow him to serve the detentions. The teacher has pulled his grade down on report cards for missing hw that I feel was not effectively communicated to him. The school says I am overprotective and should let him “hit bottom” and then he will learn to write his hw. They actually give ORAL hw and punish my son if he misses the direction and this is a goal on IEP. Any insight will be so appreciated.
Karen - We put a plan together in the IEP that my son would put the assignment the best he could in the planner. At the end of every day the intervention specialist or aid would check the planner to be sure he got any homework assignments correct before he went home. We as parents would read the planner and initial that we saw it so we could help our son stay organized. We also had it in the IEP that the teacher needed to be sure that any assignments that were given orally were also listed in the planner. This way our son would be learning to use the planner but someone was there to check it every day. The intent is to help make him successful not to enable him. It worked because he is 20 now and can keep himself organized.
My daughter is in process of a probable asberger’s diagnosis. Disorganization is a huge problem for her in school. she is in the fourth grade and is looking at failing because of not turning in assignments or turning them in for half credit. I needed to hear this thank you so much
One of our teachers sends a bulk e-mail to parents daily with the assignments. One thing that has helped one of my students is having an extra set of textbooks for home.