504 and volunteering?

[mothercat]

My ds11 has a 504 that says he should have homework help three days a week afterschool, he is supposesed to type his homework ( dysgraphia) and the school has agreed (after three years of complaining to purchase a compact processer that he can type his writing assignments on and transfer the work directly in to teachers system for printing. We also have to buy one for home. This to me is great as it wil help him to get his thoughts to paper and actually be able to concentrate on learning. It seems that since he has gotten his 504 the teachers are harder on him than before as if he had won a contest and they lost a battle . Last night he had 2 spelling assignments, history assignment, english assignment, math assignment , 4paragraph essay( chart, rough and final draft ) for reading, and another three paragraph essay for activities. We muddled thru as usual although I did have to help a bit more than the norm with typing. Now they want him to volunteer to take his study hall time to help teach 1st graders to read. They got him all excited of course and just the thought of skipping study hall was kool to him but I have to wander WHY they did this to me. I went ahead and signed the paper but if he gets behind or messed up with HIS program now I have to be the bad guy and pull him out of the other thing. I mean if he really had all that free time ..why are we doing so much homework? and homework was a important concern in the 504 . ( Thus the need for afterschool help.) I guess I am just whining again but then I still feel its not really fair to him or me. (obviously he disagrees)
My older ds is tutoring at highschool so maybe it is a be like big brother thing but I just doont think it is a good idea. I hate being the bad guy all the time.

[rosyred45]

:)You could use this volunteering as the carrot to keep him up on his work. Besides, he might find a niche with helping others.

Good luck

[mothercat]

You are right. I am hoping so atleast....it is such hard work keeping him caught up and on track.. maybe helping someone else will help him to learn to help himself more. I worry for nothing sometimes maybe. thanx for the moral support.

[rosyred45]

He might even pick up on things that he might not have before and see things just a touch different that could HELP him make things click.

Hope it works, and somtimes these kids amaze us with what they do and how they do it.

[Meghynne]

As an ADD student, I can vouch that tutoring can be a pretty valuable experience for both the person tutoring and the person being tutored. Last year (my junior year in high school) I got a 504 plan, and my Latin teacher, who helped us draft the plan, offered to let me stay in her class once a week after school to study, work on assignments for her class or other subjects, etc., to add a degree of structure to my schedule.

Anyway, even though this time was technically for homework, I usually spent it tutoring other students. In order to tutor someone, you have to develop some degree of mental organization, so it's a bit like ADD practice. As an added bonus, helping other people study can help you learn how to study...I can't count how many times I used methods that I invented to tutor others for my own studying.

In short, not only will your son be socializing and helping someone else learn, he'll be improving his study skills and developing ways to cope with his ADD without even realizing it.

[rosyred45]

Welcome Meghynne, I hope I spelled it right.

Thank you for that valuable insight, and it is straight from the horses mouth...so to speak.

I hope we have some thing that you can gain info wise Meg. lOOK AROUND. I have a 7 yr old, and I am learning about as much of myself as I am about him

Dang just when I thought I had all fo the answers

[mothercat]

Well to date as far as I know he hasn't been called to volunteer unless he aint saying....they may know the difference between visiting and volunteering and not pulling his name out of the hat ot they may have changed their minds...I spoke to his science teacher the other day and she was kinda miffed about having to give up her free time to help with the first graders. Who knows? Funny tho he hasnt mentioned it as he has a really good memory.

[rosyred45]

So just out and out ask him. Wouldn't hurt, adn i tmight poen up a nice line of communication for you both.

I hoep it all goes well

[mothercat]

Yeah It seems like the minute I start thinking about things they go from quiet to stupid on me.. Jareds volunteering started this week..he volunteered to help teach the little ones how to read...that is what the permission slip I signed says. He is actually being made to teach them how to write. HE HAS DYSRAPHIA ..
he doesnt write anything legible himself, cant get the words out on paper , spelling on paper sucks when he does and his penmanship OMG. Why would they use him to teach little ones how to form letters and words??? If it is therapy for him then get a real therapist..if it is therapy for them then get a real therapist. Tuesday will be a busy one ... He reads so well and then they do this to him. He was unhappy.
I tend to think it was the teachers way of paying him back for being allowed to type all his work... see if I ever sign anything like that again.

[Linda]

OMG mothercat...I am laughing here...not at you...the whole situation

These people better get a clue....the reading is fine in my opinion but teaching the little ones how to form letters?If you signed papers for the reading part and that is all...then they need to get someone else to help the kids write. This is supposed to be good for Jared"s self esteem....I don't think so.

[rosyred45]

Have you called and asked why it is the writing and NOT the reading?

[mothercat]

I just found out Friday..so today I went in before school and asked to see the Principal. He was busy so I asked his secretary to ask him for me.There are no calls on my machine..he is usually good to call me ...I will see him tomorrow. They also moved Jared to a different homeroom...I dont know who exactly is in charge of him now in order to ask a teacher. Jared said they moved three of them because there were toomany kids....the three most adhd got moved. (his teacher and I didn't get along she had told me once that all 6 grade kids need to be the same adhd or not ..by then they should've grown out of it. and she teaches science .)(even has a college degree ;D ;D ;D
I will have to go back in there tomorrow morning I guess. The secretary who usually knows all didn't have a clue why they would do that..I told her I worried for the other children as well as mine. Atleast she was nice.

[Linda]

The same ADHD? THIS IS GETTING WORSE They outgrow it by 6th grade? ;D ;D ;D ;D Tell her to come to any one our houses...then she if she can see a difference...throw in a few co-morbids...then maybe she will get a clue

[mothercat]

I might add she is very wealthy (her family owns a local car dealership.) She had her first kid two years ago and is now prego again...but the nanny wont mind an extra child to raise.. (I'd like to slap her silly the lil snob)

[Linda]

Maybe she needs to have an ADHD child of her own....maybe just maybe she will see what real blessings our kids are