For parents, teachers, related services providers, and school administrators who have questions about whether children with ADD/ADHD qualify for special education services under IDEA, please read the Joint Policy Memorandum on ADD/ADHD published in 1991.
http://www.wrightslaw.com/law/code_regs/OSEP_Memorandum_ADD_1991.html
This Memorandum was published jointly by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, the Office for Civil Rights, and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. The Memo clarifies that children with ADD/ADHD may be eligible for special education services under three IDEA disability categories - SLD, OHI, and ED. It also describes the circumstances under which schools must provide services and supports under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
The Memorandum begins with this statement:
“There is a growing awareness in the education community that attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) can result in significant learning problems for children with those conditions … ”
You should also read the “OCR Memorandum: Evaluation of Children Who May Have ADD/ADHD” published in 1992.
http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/add.eval.ocrmemo.htm
The OCR Memorandum is “intended to clarify the responsibility of LEAs (school districts) to evaluate children suspected of having ADD, based on parental request.”
“Under Section 504, if parents believe their child has a disability, whether by ADD or any other impairment, and the LEA has reason to believe the child needs special education or related services, the LEA must evaluate the child to determine whether he or she is disabled as defined by Section 504 …”
After reading these two Memoranda, you will have a clear sense of what the laws require schools to do for children who may have ADD/ADHD.
Tags: ADD · ADHD · ED · Eligibility · IDEA · Office of Civil Rights. OCR · Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services · OHI · OSEP · Section 504 · SLD16 Comments
Find us on Facebook
16 responses so far ↓
I was wondering what are my child’s rights under the 504. I keep getting different information. When I read online, there are numerous things that we could get for him through the plan, but when we meet with the Principal, teacher, and ec coordinator we are told our resources are limited because he just has the 504 plan. Please let me know what website or where I could find this information. Thanks for your time
NO INTERVENTIONS FOR MY SON WITH ADHD & BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
My child has severe ADD/ADHD and is not receiving any type of intervention at school. VP and teacher’s are working together to get my son sent to alternative school. He just turned 7 and at home, with friends and family, he does not display himself as physically dangerous as his referrals display. What can I do?
I really apprecite this webside help me find my answer about add & adhd for my son, he is having diffulcuties academically and was affraid to ask his elementary school but under the 504 act I can have my child evaluated from school . I hope I can get proper assistance from the school.
I have been in a year long struggle with the Elementary School with my ADHD son. Because he is passing and not behavioral the school as well as my advocate feel he does not need any support. However, because of his struggles with organization and his anxiety over tests he is now refusing to go to school. He came home from the PSSAs stating that he wanted to kill himself because he felt that he did not do well on the PSSAs and his teacher said if he didn’t then he wouldn’t go to 4th grade. The school states that any problems he has come from the home, b/c my sick grandfather lives with us and I am a single parent. I have him in therapy and his therapist feels that the school is emotionally abusing him by not acknowledging he has a disability and making him feel academically unsuccessful?Not sure what to do, any suggestions?
I feel your pain!! I have a 17 year old son with ADD, and a 13 year old son with severe ADHD. I am sooo sick of the run around with the school!!!!! My son has the worst case our school has ever seen, so my son is the ginpig as they put it. We have tried many things, the 7 grade teachers at our school have NO compassion let along tolerance for kids that have ADHD. He has a 504 plan, but as of this week Apr.21 09 he had 3 F’s out of 6 classes. But this is on me and my son, NO accountabilty for the teachers and staff at the school.
My 13 year old is very weak in math skills, but not weak enough for special Ed. All I want is for my sons to get a good education. I am willing to do all I can to help. Why isn’t the school and their staff willing?????
I think that the school system should focus on helping the students that really need the help, instead of seeing how many times they can get written up or suspended. I have never seen such a backwards system. it seems that when they have issues with a student they have a great system for tracking their referrals, Saturday schools, ISS’s etc. If only they could focus on supporting the student and watching them succeed. The students that have academic ease are going to be just fine. The ones that do not, struggle. Many of them do not graduate. If only the administrators could recognize this instead of trying to expel the student we would have a much better success rate and a much brighter outlook. Put yourself in the struggling students shoes, don’t call them out in front of their peers. Help them instead.
I’m not aware of having this kind of privileged on those add-adhd children. I as a parent I want to give my child a better future. I don’t want to lose hope. If this could give my son a better future I’ll try to learn more of it.
I need help with a question. My child has several disabilities that would make her eligible under IDEA for sped. However, She has a current 504 for seizures, and fine motor delays. Now she has been diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD. Her IQ is bright average 112. I have asked that she be served under 504 with the Wilson reading program. The school says they will give it to her IF I agree to place her in sped. Can one-one tutoring be considered a related service under 504? They have put her in an early intervention program but it is not research or standards based. They do not want to give her the Wilson or private Wilson and say they ONLY do that for sped kids? Any help would be appreciated. I just don’t want the label of sped for my 7 year old daughter. Reading and spelling are her only weak areas.
I am a 7th grader and i am doing kind of bad in school because i have ADHD i have got one F so far and my dad flipped out and and grounded me for the rest of the school year which is like a month and a couple days. I am trying to tell him that it is not my fault i have ADHD and all he says is so what you must try harder. I try my hardest but all the teachers say is o your not good at this you cant do that or you did a horrible job. And also my teachers just yell at me and when other kids do bad stuff nothing happens then when i say one thing by accident because i cant help it my teacher yells at me. I am only 13 two so please write back or something so i can show my parents it is NOT MY FAULT !!!!!
7th grader - I agree that having ADHD is not your fault. I have a son that has ADHD and had similar difficulty in school like you. We had him on a 504 plan for awhile but then were able to put him on an OHI (other health impaired) IEP where he was able to get help with having more time to take tests, having a POSITIVE behavior plan that the staff had to follow. My suggestion since you are obviously smart and found out about Wrightslaw web site to post this question is to research ADHD by reading books by Wrightslaw, talking to your school counselors, talk with your parents, there may be good books at the library on the subject and if you have a Learning Disabilities Association in your area they may be able to give you some direction.
7th grader: Good for you for “self advocating” - learning how to speak up for yourself. Here is some more information about self-advocacy. It’s a lot - so don’t think about reading it all. Just bookmark this page for future reference when you have extra time. http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/self.advocacy.htm
Here’s an article your parents may be interested in. The Blame Game! Are School Problems the Kids’ Fault?
http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/ALESSI1.html Can you make a copy at the library for your parents and politely leave it for them to read? Pick a calm time when your dad is not “flipped” out.
For all of you who have ADD but are at grade level, My daughter received an IEP with an outside ADD diagnosis, the school gave her help because I brought to them a diagnosis of a learning deficit. They gave her an IEP based on “health impairment” It has still been an uphill battle because many times teachers ignore the IEP due to the “hidden” disability. I am forever trying to prove to them that they need to abide by it. As for the 7th grader, you are wise beyond your years. Sometimes we have to educate our parents and become their teachers. It is not easy when people think your motives are not genuine and they cannot understand things that they themselves don’t experience. Stay strong and keep doing what you are doing, you will make a big difference, somewhere…someday…
20 year old son has completed post secondary training but is unable to pass the exit exam (which also is the practice exam for licensure through a governmental agency) He had an IEP through high school and accommodations on the ACT however, has done fine with none of the above throughout the two year program. Until now.The school won’t make accommodations on the exit exam because it might jeopardize their status with the governmental agency since the agency controls the program. The director of testing was going to contact the agency and inquire about what if anything could be done. The accommodation that my son needs is to separate the sections of the test-due to his extremely poor working memory which is documented on a neuro psych eval from 2005. Any advice?
My Nephew is ADHD and on medication he can read like a wiz but cannot write legibly. Is this associated with ADHD and what is it called so that I can speak intelligently to the group to write his 504 plan because when I try to explain it to guidance counselor and the like they always say I never heard of such a thing. Then they try to review his writing and are amazed at the fact that he can’t write. He also would like to know what to do about a signature because he really struggles with this.
My son was diagnosed at an early age with add/adhd with a learning disorder. (age 4) he is now 14 and entering 8th grade. We are moving to Ca, and i am so afraid for him to be entering a new school with these disabilities. QUESTION: I need to get him a tutor or extra help myself . How can I find out if he is eligible for disability benefits that may help me pay for this extra help? Or where to start. He has had his evaluations, iep’s and all that through school. He is currently in spec ed for math and reading. (Example of our public school system..he informed the teacher he could not read this rather large book she gave him and when he told her this, she handed him a sponge bob grade 2 book in front of the whole class to read. This did wonders for his esteem! His math skills are worse than his reading which is 3rd grade HELP
Martha - Did you have the school do a multifactored evaluation of this child? If not that would be a good place to start to see if the child qualifies for special services and writing would probably be one of the services. If you have had the evaluation and this child does not quality for special ed services than a 504 or OHI IEP (other health impaired IEP) may be written. The school should have a policy on how to get this. We had to get a doctor to put down on paper that our son was ADHD and would benefit for additional services in school. He was on an OHI IEP for 3 years. Prior to this he was on a 504 and the school did not do as much for him as when he was on the IEP.