Dr. Forgan’s advice on ADD/ ADHD

IEPs Versus 504 Plans

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Many children have repeated a grade in school, get poor grades, can not pass tests, and struggle to remember information despite being intelligent and making an effort to learn.  These children can often qualify for extra help or accommodations in school.  The type of extra help come from having a 504 accommodation plan and/or an individualized education plan (IEP).  Both plans can allow for extra time on in class tests and the FCAT, non-graded spelling tests, frequent breaks while working, use of a word processor, spell checker, and many more. 

In order to qualify for either plan, parents must provide the school with testing documentation that shows the child has an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity which includes reading, writing, learning, and listening.  A licensed psychologist in private practice can help parents and public schools have a psychologist on staff as well.  You may be thinking, “Is one type of plan better than the other?”

The 504 accommodation plan is not considered special education.  Schools do not receive any additional money to implement 504 plans.  Schools do receive extra money if a child is in special education and has and individualized education plan (IEP).  If a child qualifies for special education, they receive extra help from a special education teacher.  Students with a 504 plan typically do not receive help from a special education teacher and parents must provide tutoring at their own expense.  School personnel do not frequently tell parents that once a child is in special education, they rarely get out.  I can help you decide which plan is best for your child.

Holding Kids Back

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It is the time of year when parents and/or school personnel consider retaining a small percentage of children to complete another year in the same grade.  The argument that parents often hear is something like, “Mark is immature and lagging academically behind his peers so another year would allow him to catch-up and boost his confidence because he’ll do much better with the curriculum a second time.”  In most cases, I disagree.  If your child is average or only has a learning disability, ask yourself the question, “What will be drastically different in the academic curriculum that makes you think Mark will need another year?”  The answer is “probably not very much.”  A second time will not solve most problems.  Major research studies indicate that retention (regardless of grade) is associated with later high school drop out, lower levels of academic achievement in the 11th grade, and decreased self-esteem.  It’s cited that children perceive retention as one of the most stressful events they could experience (see my www.wrightslaw.com for references). 

If your child is doing so poorly that the school is considering retention, have a thorough psychoeducational evaluation completed as soon as possible.  The evaluation provides answers so you don’t use a hit and miss approach for helping your child.  An evaluation should be thorough and information should be gathered from parents, teachers, the child, and others.  At minimum, a licensed school psychologist’s evaluation should include intelligence, academic, self-esteem, and information processing tests.  Parents should receive a through, in person, follow-up explanation of results with specific recommendations in a written report.  A psychoeducational evaluation is the main way to identify your child’s strengths and weaknesses to form an appropriate action plan.  The plan is used so parents and school personnel can work together to improve your child’s performance without retention.