My son (just 11) started secondary school two weeks ago tomorrow.
He has combined type ADHD. I don’t know if ADHD is classified in severity but his is pretty apparent. His primary school were great and put support in place prior to the official diagnosis as they based it on need. When he was diagnosed (at 7) the paediatrician said it was one of the most clear cut cases he’s seen.
He did sensory circuits, was able to take a break during lessons and sat tests and exams alone with a prompt.
Despite his ADHD his attainment is above average (albeit lower than his potential as he’s objectively very bright). He is also very witty and consequently extremely popular and well liked. This is not just me being that mother! I’m all too aware of his faults as well. He struggles a lot with concentration obviously and impulse control so is prone to shouting out. I’ve always worked with the school on managing it and am quite adept at knowing when it’s something he can’t control and when he’s just pushing it because he’s an 11 year old boy and that’s what they do! Whilst he’s medicated I also use recommended behaviour management for adhd and he’s generally well behaved and polite whilst prone to the hyperactivity etc
i chose his secondary based on positive feedback about their SEN provision. I emailed before he started asking to discuss strategies for managing his ADHD. They replied saying they get the info they need from his primary school so there’s no need to discuss it.
after being there two days he’d been sent out of lessons for talking twice. Obviously I had serious words with him about behaving well at secondary but also emailed his form tutor to let them know I’d been unable to get his medication since the summer so he may find impulse control difficult. I stated that this was not an excuse and I fully support their behaviour management but wanted to let them know. That was nearly two weeks ago and I’ve not heard back.
last Tuesday he’d been sent out another three times and been issued an after school detention. I emailed again copying in the senco saying that I fully support the detention as it’s unacceptable to shout out and be silly, however I’m concerned about him sliding into worse patterns if he’s labelled “naughty” and would really like a chance to discuss strategies to manage it better. To the best of my knowledge there has been no provision made at all for his adhd. I have had no reply to this email either. Also whilst I support the detention (in fact one of the suggestions I wanted to make was that after school detentions would be more productive as he wouldn’t cope with losing break time and his behaviour would probably get worse) I don’t want it to trigger any other policies such as isolation or detention. Also I’m fairly sure some kind of provisions could be made such as a short break in lessons over an hour.
im really at a loss over what to do next as the school don’t seem to be willing to communicate with me at all. I’m honestly not suggesting he gets away with poor behaviour, just that some kind of provisions could be made for a neurological condition that he can’t control. We’ve never had a problem with bullying, violence or rudeness. It’s just shouting out which whilst unacceptable, isn’t bad and has been successfully managed at primary. The sad thing is that he struggles more in subjects he enjoys as he gets overexcited. It’s also likely that he’s slightly worse than usual as it’s a big change and I’ve only just managed to get his medication.
am I asking for too much to expect a reply to my email or just a chance to make suggestions for strategies that have been successful? I’m fairly sure they have a legal obligation to provide some kind of support that he’s not currently getting. I don’t want to be overly pushy but equally I feel I’m his advocate and want him to do the best he can and I feel like he’s currently set up to fail and not being supported at all but continuously punished.