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Experience with 504 denial?
socaldad2002
1733 replies33 threads Senior Member
in Parent Cafe
My 13yo son who is diagnosed with ADHD, executive function issues, and moderate anxiety was recently denied a 504 plan by his middle school as we couldn't prove he is "substantially" impaired even though we conducted a battery of tests and have verification of his conditions from a psychiatrist and therapist. We believe that one of the reasons for the denial is that he has always been a "A" and "B" student with "exceed standards" scores on State tests.
Currently, some of his teachers have informally given him accommodations such as extra time to take in class tests and an extra day to turn in homework. He frequently is the last one in the class to complete his assignments and tests and needs additional time after class or at lunch hour to complete. He is a smart and bright kid but it takes him forever to get some things completed on time because of his condition. For example, on Monday he had 20 math problems that took him several hours to complete (he gets distracted easily and has a hard time concentrating on task). He is seeing a weekly educational therapist to help with executive function and organizational skills but its a process that will take months and years to see any meaningful results. We do not want to medicate him with stimulants because of the possible side effects.
The school psychologist and 504 coordinator were not helpful and they intimated that unless his grades slip to "C's" & "D's" he wouldn't be eligible. They also suggested we "dumb down" his curriculum, for example instead of taking Spanish 1B, he should use his elective for "study hall" to use for completing his homework assignments, make-up tests, etc.
We feel that he is a smart kid that wants to challenge himself and we are only asking for some formal accommodations to put him on a level playing field with his peers.
Any advice on what you would or have done would be helpful.
65 replies Currently, some of his teachers have informally given him accommodations such as extra time to take in class tests and an extra day to turn in homework. He frequently is the last one in the class to complete his assignments and tests and needs additional time after class or at lunch hour to complete. He is a smart and bright kid but it takes him forever to get some things completed on time because of his condition. For example, on Monday he had 20 math problems that took him several hours to complete (he gets distracted easily and has a hard time concentrating on task). He is seeing a weekly educational therapist to help with executive function and organizational skills but its a process that will take months and years to see any meaningful results. We do not want to medicate him with stimulants because of the possible side effects.
The school psychologist and 504 coordinator were not helpful and they intimated that unless his grades slip to "C's" & "D's" he wouldn't be eligible. They also suggested we "dumb down" his curriculum, for example instead of taking Spanish 1B, he should use his elective for "study hall" to use for completing his homework assignments, make-up tests, etc.
We feel that he is a smart kid that wants to challenge himself and we are only asking for some formal accommodations to put him on a level playing field with his peers.
Any advice on what you would or have done would be helpful.
Replies to: Experience with 504 denial?
I have some questions for you to see if I can help.
Did your son get diagnosed recently? When you initially went for help, did you have to provide feedback from teachers about what was going on in class, or have you do questionnaires on how he does in various environments? Those may be helpful in demonstrating a need for accommodation. If you have any notes from teachers, report cards, etc., that back you up, use those. We had a ton of notes from teachers, coaches, etc., that mentioned my son's issues. Even though he wasn't failing (far from it), his ADHD impacted his daily life.
Some examples from my son:
He is an inattentive type ADHD, so he is easily distracted. Teachers noticed this and often commented on it. We asked for accommodations for him to sit close to the front of the room to reduce distractions.
He frequently left materials he needed at school (or left books at home) and that made assignments late. His accommodation was always having an extra copy of books for home, or having access to online versions.
His executive functioning took a long while to mature, so it was hard for him to manage longer term projects. His accommodation there was extra time to turn in assignments, and an extra checkpoint with the teacher to be sure he was on track.
I would challenge the school on their assertion that he has to already be failing to get accommodations. He has the documented disability - they should have to provide appropriate accommodations for him to be successful.
Over the years he has gotten better and better at managing - he is doing fine now.
One more thing - I was like you and did not want my son to take medication and I resisted the doctor for a long while. Eventually, we decided to try it, and it made an enormous improvement for him.
Thanks for the response!
Yes, he was diagnosed recently (Summer, 2019) for his ADHD, anxiety, executive function issues.
Yes, we asked his 8th grade teachers to complete the questionnaires about my son's performance, behavior in his classes. Some of the teacher's survey results showed mixed descriptions but I think he was able to "fake it" up through 7th grade but 8th grade is a little more challenging with a couple of honors classes and foreign language. Having enough time for math quizzes/tests is a challenge as he seems to never be able to complete them within the class time period and frequently has to complete them at lunch break or the next day.
This week he took the PSAT8/9 and while he completed all of the math questions, he only completed 50% of the English/Reading section, and left the rest blank. We won't know the scores for awhile but it doesn't look like he will "exceed standards" like previous standardized tests.
We have come to the conclusion that we will appeal the denial of a 504 plan and will likely have to get an expert/attorney involved if we have any chance to get a plan in place. We also have scheduled meetings with some of his teachers to give them an update and to request "informal" accommodations until if/when we get him his 504.
It seems that to get anything done, you have to play hard ball with the school district. We also have not ruled about private high school which might be more equipped to handle his special requests/needs?
I'm glad the medicine is working for your son, we are going to try to exhaust every avenue before going down that road...
May I suggest that you see if there is a professional in your area that specializes in ADHD as there is a very wide range of medications and combination approaches, (meds, biofeedback, organizational skills, etc.) that may help. It is usually a multi-pronged approach that will be effective and you will feel most comfortable if your son is followed by an expert in the field. The medication will help to level the playing field and allow a child to be more receptive to feedback, organizational and behavior training. Learn as much as possible from experts in the various areas so you can make the most informed decision for your son. In our case, we found medication, therapy, and organizational skill training to be effective. I kept extensive records and notes on meds, side effectives, duration of effectiveness, etc. Our beginning interactions with school was a disaster. They did not accept the psychiatrist's evaluation or recommendations, (he was director of a major research university program for ADHD), or the neuropsych eval that I paid for out of pocket. In the end, I went the attorney route, (I did not want to do this, but they left me no choice). Very bright kids will be able to cope and get good grades until the volume of work increases.
Wishing you and your son the very best. Follow your instincts.
ETA: For example, the test results might show that while IQ is in the 98th percentile, processing speed and working memory are 10th percentile, so the student needs accommodations for those deficits (generally extra time) in order for testing to *accurately reflect his abilities.* That is what determines the right to accommodations, not whether they scan squeak by with a B or C, or get As in courses that are far below their level.
Got to HS and he started struggling with organizing and getting the work done. He had been intellectually processing things that for most kids, happened naturally. Had a meeting with the school and they said that if he was smart enough to get into the selective admit IB program, he surely wasn't learning disabled. If he started getting Cs and Ds, we could talk. A two page essay took five hours. Two months later...he had a D in math. I asked for another meeting. "Oh! It's only one class! Surely his teacher can give him extra assignments so he understands the material!"
Thankfully, the math teacher went to MIT, was very, very good at her job, and knew that understanding the material wasn't the problem so much as that he needed extra time. I did do extra work with him, mainly to work on processing speed. She cheered both of us on. He pulled his grade up to a hard-earned B.
The school refused to budge. I got tired of fighting them. We worked at it from home. He busted his tail, we provided lots of scaffolding so he could focus on schoolwork, and he earned himself some fine college acceptances. In college, the coursework and organizational demands increased exponentially, and he started flailing. He believed he didn't qualify for services or accommodations and refused to seek help. It was not pretty. My biggest failure as a parent is that his self-esteem took such a hit from all of this.
https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/treatments-approaches/educational-strategies/neuropsychological-evaluations-what-you-need-to-know
Agree with CHADD recommendation.
If teachers willing to continue informal accommodations, may be best outcome.
There are 2E learning disabled kids- talented and gifted yet having learning disability. There are groups for 2E issues.
Also may be some threads on CC learning difference subforum.
This decision is made on an individual student basis. It is not, nor should it be something that is done for every student.
See chart describing difference between IEP and 504,
https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/504-plan/the-difference-between-ieps-and-504-plans
Also this is another good resource
https://ldaamerica.org/types-of-learning-disabilities/adhd/
If ADHD and anxiety are "Other Health Impaired" conditions, not " Specific Learning Disabilities" there may be some confusion about what school must do.
My son was in private school. If he had been in public school, we were told there were waitlists for screening and services and he would not be viewed as needy since there were more kids with more severe or obvious learning problems.(located in Maryland)
If a child is having some issues with ADHD and anxiety - just knowing they have the extra time may be enough to take the pressure off and allow them to do better.
Yes, you probably need to get an educational advocate and/or an education/special needs attorney involved, and an independent evaluation paid for by the school system can be requested. Don’t believe it is an automatic guarantee. If they deny you can file a compliance complaint, but just because you ask for an independent evaluation at the school system’s expense doesn’t guarantee they will automatically do it.
We were in a similar situation years ago. If your high achieving son is getting A and Bs they think nothing is wrong. So we asked them. What scores do you think he would get if he wasn't struggling? We had neuropsych tests also. But we learned that Add and Executive Functioning are almost like catch phrases. The test showed two things when we dug deeper. Slow brain processing beyond his age group and very low reading comprehension scores. He was a slow reader at that time. Early Sat scored showed top like 99% but reading comp was like 30 %. Irk lower
Big discrepancy.
So it came apparent that he was working extremely harder just to get those scores but these two things stuck out like sore thumbs. Like off the charts.
So we learned like they have to cover slower brain processing. He was the kid that you didn't want the teacher to ask questions to since he really "needed" the time to process plus he didn't like to be wrong either.
The end accommodations were extra time when needed. Mostly reading things. He was great in math. Graphs were an issue or anything that had "a lot" of things on one page. They would just separate out the pages. It was too busy to look at everything at once.
I bet your son has brain processing issues if taking that long to complete the task . Executive functioning goes more with ADD issues if you will.
Biofeedback and Developmental Optometry works great and quick for the above. If you live in the Chicagoland area I have some recommendations. We were shocked at the results for both our kids and never medicated them. OK, my daughter tried Ritalin and didn't like it after a few days. She is extremely self aware.
I had to use it to pass my surgical boards and it was the first time in my life I could sit and read from like 9am-to 3:00 with just getting a break for lunch. School was very much a struggle for me and ADD runs rampant in my family. Didn't want that for my kids since I lived it. It's sorta like an educational hell.
In order to qualify for services, the impairment caused by the disability must be great enough to impact performance. It can be hard to make that case for a kid that is getting As and Bs. It is unfortunate that some schools (ours as well) require kids to fail or at least do poorly before they will agree there is a disability. OTOH, there are times when the LD is there, but it is not "bad enough" to impact learning. Have you tried behavior modification especially for homework?
This is not allowed per special education legislation. If a family or staff member requests a screening, or child NEEDS services, they can not be placed on a “waitlist” because there are other more needy kids.
This is a piece of misinformation that needs to be ignored...because it is not allowed....and is not true.