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Post by mskris on Nov 18, 2003 15:39:03 GMT -5
Well, I had ds' parent-teacher conference last week. She thinks he's doing really well. He's doing okay by their standards - but I know he's capable of better. For example, math is the subject in which he really shines, very intuitive, yet he only has an 83% in math (our district goes: Excellent 93-100, S+ 84-93, S 76-83 NS 75 and below). That's only satisfactory. The thing is that he can ace the pretests at home with no help at all. I'm thinking maybe he has test anxiety and just doesn't test well in the classroom? He is being accomodated according to his 504. I'm not going to push him right now because emotionally, he's doing much better than last year and seems happy. THe teacher is compassionate and demonstrative, which is just what he needs. We haven't yet been in this district a year, so I don't want to pressure him. BUT, I don't want the school to get complacent and figure if he's passing he's doing well, KWIM? I want him to reach his potential, not just get by. BTW, this is third grade. Lately we've noticed that ds seems to be less focused after school than usual and we're having more evening meltdowns than we've had since last January. He's taking 40 mg strattera daily in the a.m. and up until now it's been great. He also seems much more tired in the evenings, even though he's going to bed at the usual time and waking up on his own...hmmmm....could it just be a growth spurt?? I'm not sure how to proceed. Last night he lost it while trying to put his spelling words in ABC order (something that's generally pretty easy for him). He got very discouraged and had a meltdown. Switching to another task (studying for a science test) helped a lot. We put the spelling away for this morning. Any ideas? He does have a peds neurologist appt in Dec. but I'm not sure if I should call sooner? We can't up the strattera dose based on his weight - he's at the max dose for his current size. We really didn't like the stimulants at all, so I'm not sure what the alternatives are... Any advice appreciated. Kris  |
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Post by LitlBaa on Nov 18, 2003 21:27:30 GMT -5
Katie is also on 40 mg Strattera, and I notice that she gets worn out if she's been sneaking excessive amounts of junk food and not eating real food (like dinner!), or if she's hungry. When we get a meltdown I start thinking about what she's eaten that day, if she stopped at the 7-11 on the way home, if she had money and bought fries for lunch and didn't eat what I packed for her, and her food choices seem to play a really big part in her focus and her ability to keep it all together.
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Post by mskris on Nov 19, 2003 14:58:34 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies. I have noticed that hunger does exacerbate the problem.
As a pharmaceutical professional, I really hesitate to use herbals or other so-called "natural" alternatives that are not regualted by the FDA. They have no testing requirements, no purity requirements, and you really don't know the dose/strength/purity of them. That's my opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own.
I will try regular children's vitamins, though, and see if there's any difference. They may not help, but probably can't hurt.
Thanks again.
Kris
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Post by dansmommy on Nov 19, 2003 17:05:48 GMT -5
It is frustrating when your child is just sliding through. We just got a 504 for ds (I think he's siimilar to yours from what I remember -- third grade, very bright, TS and ADHD). He has a diagnosed math learning disability though, and because he's working at grade level, they don't want to do anything about it. We had a tutor, but she moved away, and I'm actually seeing another tutor Friday. I wish the school would actually work with him though. Christie
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Post by mskris on Nov 20, 2003 13:20:51 GMT -5
I'm so mad!  Ds brought home a science test with 71% (basically failing in our school district), which I had to sign and return. I'm not mad at the grade. I'm mad because the night before the test, we discovered ds did not have the study guide in his backpack. This is DESPITE the fact that a teacher (not his main teacher) checks and initials his agenda - which, I THOUGHT, included a check of the items in his backpack, according to the 504 plan we have. Luckily, we had gone over some of the material 2 nights before the test, so we were able to remember a lot of it, but not enough for him to "pass" the test. Poor kid, he really felt like a failure, even though I assured him it wasn't his fault and I wasn't upset about the grade. Prior to this, he had an 87% in Science. He'll catch up; I'm not concerned about that. It just ticks me off that the teacher initialed the agenda, but didn't really do her job to ensure that he had all materials necessary to take home. So, we've learned a lesson. From now on, we make copies of all study materials possible to keep at home. When I signed the test, I added a note about the missing study guide, pointing out that his takehome items were to be checked, according to his 504 plan. It doesn't change the grade, but at least it doesn't look like ds blew off the studying, KWIM? Grrrrrrr! Kris |
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Post by dansmommy on Nov 20, 2003 14:51:43 GMT -5
Isn't your ds in third grade? Our school doesn't have tests like that. It seems like it's an awful lot of stress for a little guy to have to do a test like that, especially when he forgot his study materials at home. Hope the teacher does what she's supposed to instead of just signing off. Does she realize she's really supposed to do something and not just make her initials? Hope the teacher realizes her mistake. Christie
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Post by Dad2Brooke on Nov 20, 2003 16:28:20 GMT -5
I'm so mad! Ds brought home a science test with 71% (basically failing in our school district), which I had to sign and return. I'm not mad at the grade. I'm mad because the night before the test, we discovered ds did not have the study guide in his backpack. This is DESPITE the fact that a teacher (not his main teacher) checks and initials his agenda - which, I THOUGHT, included a check of the items in his backpack, according to the 504 plan we have. Luckily, we had gone over some of the material 2 nights before the test, so we were able to remember a lot of it, but not enough for him to "pass" the test. Poor kid, he really felt like a failure, even though I assured him it wasn't his fault and I wasn't upset about the grade. Prior to this, he had an 87% in Science. He'll catch up; I'm not concerned about that. It just ticks me off that the teacher initialed the agenda, but didn't really do her job to ensure that he had all materials necessary to take home. So, we've learned a lesson. From now on, we make copies of all study materials possible to keep at home. When I signed the test, I added a note about the missing study guide, pointing out that his takehome items were to be checked, according to his 504 plan. It doesn't change the grade, but at least it doesn't look like ds blew off the studying, KWIM? Grrrrrrr! Kris Ouch, wouldn't it be wonderful after all the time, effort and love it took to get these plans, if the teachers actually followed them.  KWIM What is that? |
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Post by sierra on Nov 20, 2003 18:40:58 GMT -5
KWIM = know what I mean I think.
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Post by tridlette on Nov 20, 2003 22:42:56 GMT -5
Kris, maybe for his own self esteem, you can make your own scale system for home. When he brings home a test that the teacher graded an 83% and it is only satisfactory on their scale, you can have it be an extra 15 minutes of special time with Mom and no sister to bug us! A 93 might be an extra 30 minutes of Discovery Channel on Saturday evening. And of course, anything less than 70 is an extra 15 minutes of scrubbing pots and pans! Let him know that their grades are just numbers, but you value the knowledge and effort.
And as for signing a test... Michael got detention yesterday because he forgot to ask me to sign his test. He got 100% on the test, but detention. And at today's IEP meeting, it was noted that he was supposed to miss club period at school too because he was on the detention list for the day! Double punishment for getting nothing wrong and not showing me? ARGH!
Can you imagine if we lived in a state that has a LOUSY education system??? Laurie
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Post by TexasMom on Nov 21, 2003 0:19:28 GMT -5
I just hate it when they miss recess or get detention for not bringing something back signed... Especially since half the time it's because I forgot..  |
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Post by sierra on Nov 21, 2003 22:28:45 GMT -5
I just hate it when they miss recess or get detention for not bringing something back signed... Especially since half the time it's because I forgot.. You know I think at least half the policies of our district's schools are in place for the specific purpose of guilt tripping parents of kids who are slipping through the cracks. I don't take that crap. I find out what the preferred method of communication is for each teacher and I go straight to the teacher when something isn't working right. That includes expecting me to go through the backpacks and find the things they want signed. If they want something signed they better tell me about it because my sprouts won't remember and I'm too busy teaching them the stuff they didn't learn in school when the teacher supposedly taught it to empty out their backpacks every single night. My time is limited and I have to use it effectively. The teachers can help me do that or they can get out of my way. I'm in a bad mood tonight because of these very issues. I might not have such a harsh comment about the schools on another day. I have ADHD too. I don't need all these opaque school projects with final products that haven't been defined in writing. |
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