12Yo Having Problems in English and Latley Math

E., who told you that your son is not qualified for special education services? The school, who doesn't want to be bothered with the effort? If your son has a recognized disability that is interfering with his education AT ALL, he is qualified. The schools tell you what ever they want to keep from giving services. And if he somehow does not qualify under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), then he probably qualifies through the ADA (American with Disabilities Act.) Either way, if he is not succeeding at school because of his disability, then he is due some help from the school. It's a federal law, it's his right. Please check out this web site,

http://www.wrightslaw.com/

Best source of information about this topic.

If you want more help, do not hesitate to email me. I advocated for my son through his years in the school system, and I won many battles. I learned that except for a very few in the schools (AA county also), your child will not get help from anyone without you advocating firmly for him.

Martha's right: the school's likely not to tell you if your son qualifies for special services. From their point of view, it's volunteering for more work. You have to walk a fine line here, between being a forceful advocate for your son while not aggravating the school system so much that they regard you as a "problem parent." My solution, which has worked fairly well, is to just never stop asking. I have e-mails for all my kids' teachers (they both have ADD) and when things get really bad (they do about once a year) I will cc the principal. (Don't do that too often--save it for when you really need it; if the principal isn't responsive, don't be afraid to take it up the line.) Assume, though, that the teachers are your partners until you get proof to the contrary (and some teachers still believe ADD does not exist).

Check to see if your son's school has an AVID program; it's not designed for ADD kids, but it can really help them.

Your son may need to be re-tested (diagnostic tests need to be done once every five years or so); check to see if his medications are the correct dosage (their bodies change a lot, obviously).

I've never had to fight to get my kids tested through the school system, because our insurance covered testing. But if your son needs testing, this is something they are required to offer you by federal law. The problem parents sometimes run into if their kids are really bright (and it sounds like your son is) is that the schools will say, "Hey, he's got a C average, he's not failing, what's the problem?" Doesn't matter. The law doesn't say "Kids must be flunking to qualify." It says "Kids with disabilities are entitled." Obviously there is some gray area there--there's no bright line between "normal" and "ADD"--but keep that in mind.

As for tutors: $30 to $40 an hour, and finding tutors who know how to teach ADD kids is a challenge. You can find tutors who know their subject but have no idea of how to deal with ADD kids. I am looking into a group in Severna Park called Learning Rx. If anybody out there knows about them, I'd be interested in hearing what they have to say.

Good luck.

This only addresses one of the issues, but for note taking, will his teachers let him use a recorder? That's what I used for college in addition to taking notes. Some professors just talk to fast. It was just considered the norm, and they're not very expensive. Then he can take notes at his leisure.

Maybe this is a little off the subject, but, where is his father? He is at that age where he needs a man's influence in his life to teach him how to accomplish some of these things that he is struggling with, whether he has a disability or not. I think some of his aforementioned 'self esteem' problems could have something to do with this as well.
Don't want to condemn or criticize, just thought it should be something to be considered.

My son's best friend is also mildly autistic with ADD. He has PDD nos or asperger's. This all sounds like part of the disability. As part of his 504 plan, the teachers are to provide a copy of the notes for the class on a daily basis. He also doesn't write very fast, gets distracted easily, etc. Time management skills are challenging at any age, but teachers should be working with him on this. If there are projects due, perhaps a group of kids with some of the same procrastination issues could work together and do some of it---with the teacher being involved.

As far as tutors, check out craigslist. But I think most are about $40 per hour or more.

Good luck