Adhd meeting with school tomorrow

[Veuvelily]

What type of things can the school help with? What support?
In desperate need of help, I can’t collate my thoughts at all.
Hoping that medication will be in place by September, but I need to get some ideas to talk about!

Sit down when your child is in bed (whenever that may be!) and write down what you are experiencing at home. The impact that it has on you and him. They may ask you about his sleep, diet, what you do when it’s all gone wrong, how they are at various points in the day. They may ask you about their early life experiences. When you’ve thought about all of that, think about what you think he needs. A diagnosis can be a helpful signpost but ultimately one persons needs are often very different to another persons needs with the same label. What do you see helps your child? Is there anything that school can support with?
Good luck. It should be a team meeting rather than you vs them.

It is all very co-operative and I have a good relationship with them so far. I just don’t really know what they can put in place in school to help him. His issues have been obvious and nothing has helped, but now he has the magic diagnosis and they can miraculously change things to help him?
I’m just looking for anything that a school has changed that helped an adhd child

Things our school does - movement breaks (and a pass to show staff), fidget toys, seating near the front, reinforcing instructions in small stages, not being told off for not listening (if they ask for help).

@Veuvelily

Op, look up the witherspoon group.
I attended a brilliant on line conference yesterday, free, range of professional and people with adhd talking about the condition and how it feels and how to help.

Yesterday was all about adhd.
It's free to join and they recorded yesterdays stuff
It had what to expect of Senco, how to apply for an ehcp, how to help children with it etc.
There was an education lawyer as well talking about the law etc.
Very useful and sounds perfect for you.

@Lemonmelonsun, can you give any more details of the Witherspoon group? I just tried to look it up and all I get are articles about Reece Witherspoon or a redirect to Wetherspoons….

it's witherslack sorry!

If anyone interested try and get link for yesterday's recorded session

I really think you need an OT to design what the child needs in any breaks. Has an OT been to see him at school?. Its just some children need totally different things to others and you could end up with generic fidget toy /let him go out the room. When he actually needs a wobble cushion followed by heavy lifting and pushing.

I dont know how his adhd is but if he shouts out answers a lot can he have a whiteboard to write the answer on to park his thoughts?

Otherwise some asd things like visuals, timers and having things broken down

Are school asking you to tell them how to handle his ADHD in class? I mean you know him best and might have some ideas but they'd be much better off getting someone in from SEND or another professional to observe him who knows about ADHD in school settings and get them to advise them. You cannot be expected to be an expert in this and as it sounds like they have already tried a lot of things they need some one with an in depth knowledge IMO. My son had a lady in from SEND but for asd who was fantastic, I assume the same sort of service is available for children with ADHD. Alternatively what about the Ed psych? This is what I'd be suggesting they need to do - get someone in to advise them properly as you are not an expert on ADHD or school settings and shouldn't be expected to be!! xxx

Say his name before instructions to the class
Movement breaks
Wobble cushion
Work facing a blank wall
Visual support (eg: tasks)
Asking him to repeat back instructions
Give him traffic light cards so he can put them on his desk to indicate if he understands

attach all his equipment to him with elastic, sewed to the back of his collar as I fantasised about dd
Laminated list of equipment in his bag/blazer/pocket/desk

An understanding teacher who's not a twat. ( Writing from teacher's point of view too)

How old is he and what are the main difficulties he has?

My DS (asd but also suspected inattentive adhd) has a weighted blanket for his lap, which he loves & helps him concentrate. Also a 'cubicle' round him when he needs to focus for a long time. Also a timer for certain tasks.

As many people have said, though, these things are specific to him & help him, as his main issue is being unable to concentrate, there is no hyperactive element (if that is the correct terminology). Your child may be completely different.

I hope you can get things in place, great that the school are willing to do this.

There should be a section in the diagnostic report of recommendations.

School should now write an IEP - Individual Educational Plan.
This should included all of the recommendations from the diagnostic report and anything else school / you think will help day to day learning and social interactions.

The IEP should include individual difficulties, current (planned) action to help and an assessment of if it did or partially or didn’t help.
This forms the basis of the future revised plans.

This should be written by the SENCO and revisited termly.
You should have a copy and should be in the meetings where it is drawn up / revised.

All teachers must be made aware of it’s contents.

The IEP should follow him throughout his education, for all stages.

Witherslack group

Our virtual conference will not only share important advice and expertise but also proudly celebrate neurodiversity.

Live bitesize webinars will be streamed throughout the day. Here is a taster of what presentations will take place:

What should parents expect from the school Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO)?
What is the best kind of school for children with SEN?
A young person’s perspective: What parents needs to know about their child’s ADHD
A young person’s approach: Helping teachers support the mental health of young people with ADHD
ADHD & Girls
Why and how can we celebrate neurodiversity?
Special Educational Needs: Transitioning from early years to primary
The Recovery Curriculum: Supporting and nurturing our children’s mental
health after the pandemic
Celebrating the talent, ability and joy of neurodiverse children and adults

There will also be a special guest appearance from Patricia Kelly, wife of Gene Kelly and ambassador for neurodiversity.

This event is FREE to attend and we hope you can join for what promises to be a fantastic day!

Thank you all so much
I had the meeting this morning and it went really well.
Ds is 13, hyperactive, impulsive, inattentive.

He has lots of suggestions on his various reports, but I can’t see that they’ve put any into place. Apparently they do now it’s official
It’s all stuff to make sure he’s understood instructions, knows what he’s supposed to be doing.

They’re not looking for me to tell them what to do, I just didn’t really have any bright ideas other than what I’ve asked them to do already.

There will be a handover to staff, they will all be made aware of his problems. Forgetting things won’t be made a big deal, I said they really need to pick their battles with him. He will be allowed to keep his bag with him, so he can’t lose things or leave them in his locker. One of his teachers was opposed to this idea? Senco said he can definitely have it. And he’ll get scribe, reader in exams. He’s dyslexic too.
The support lessons he gets are getting split so support will be more tailored, he doesn’t need extra maths lessons, he needs help with organisation.

They have gone from 2 sn staff to 5 for next year
And forms are getting split, so smaller classes.
And senco is very happy to assist with getting an EHCP.

It’s the first time I’ve seen this senco on his own and it seems he’s had a plan to shake things up a bit, make the teachers take more responsibility and not stick to their old strict methods.
So all very positive

The school has to write an IEP.

They don’t have to call it an IEP but the function of the document has to enable all modifications and accommodations to be tracked and assessed.

This is a v useful doc. Don’t be put off by it’s length. There’s a lot of repetition between chapters. The major themes stay the same.
This is a statutory doc. If it is relevant to your DC due to diagnosis and the effects of the co-morbidities, then the school are under a legal requirement to implement. Lack of finances is not a legal argument not to implement help. If they choose not to implement, they must explain why not.
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/398815/SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015.pdf

If the school refuse to write an IEP, they must by law explain why they will not. The SENCO will know this and should be writing one. Especially given the length of time of application for EHCPs and the possibility of rejection.

Not all DC meet the threshold for an EHCP. It is usually £ driven for DC with more needs than the school can meet within their budget. This is why it is very important to push for the IEP.
This is your proof that accommodations are being implemented and assessed.

Although it’s very common within schools to not offer specific help before a diagnosis - the SEND Code doc is very specific. If any difficulty is suspected, then help should be given.
The help is anticipatory, not reactionary.