Reply To: Dealing with the School System

[blackdog]

@sdwa– I only wish I was joking. 😐

I can’t imagine the nightmare dealing with all of this must be, especially when you have ADHD yourself. I would be screaming and banging my head against the table in your situation. All those details, having to figure out who is who and what’s been happening when and where…ugh!

It sounds like a good place to start might be with the IEP. Getting to the bottom of what happened to it and why they are only just now asking your permission to release it to the counsellor and finding out just who his counsellor is and what they have been doing all this time. It is really easy for kids   with special needs to fall through the cracks, especially when they are labeled as having a bad attitude. Teachers will just write them off as lost causes. (Believe me, I know. I was told more than once that I should just drop out. And I had good grades!)

And your son should certainly be involved in the decision making as much as possible. If he doesn’t want to participate fine. As dithl said, it is a lot of pressure for someone who is already under strain. But if it is possible to get him to communicate his needs and what he feels would   work best for him then that could help a lot with those “attitude” issues. And getting someone to go with you to any meetings, like dithl suggested, is a great idea. Not only to provide a buffer between you and the school staff and show extra support for your son, but also for an extra set of eyes and ears to help catch   things you might miss.

 

@dithl – great advice. I don’t have any experience with either, but I think I would prefer childbirth to dealing with teenage issues as well. If I had children, I would give them up for adoption at the age of 12. 😉

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