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ADHD and Section 504 Accommodations
Q: My eighth-grader, who has ADHD, is failing everything. He's also very bright and had all A's until Junior High. He has a Section 504 plan, but he's not getting enough help. I requested someone to help him in the morning to make sure all assignments are handed in and again at the end of the school day to organize his work and assignments that he needs to bring home. He's failing because of missed homework. Most test grades he's doing well on. How can I get the school to provide him with this service? I was told that he needs to be classified as learning disabled instead of under Section 504.
A: Your son should be able to receive the accommodations you are asking for under Section 504. Look at Attorney Lawrence M. Siegel's book, The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child. It has a section about 504 accommodations that you might find useful. You can find more information about special education and the law on FamilyEducation.com.
You might also consider contacting your local chapter of Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorders (CHADD) at 1-800-233-4050. Someone there should be able to help you walk through the system to get what you need for your son.
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For more than 20 years, Eileen Marzola has worked with children and adults with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders, and with their parents and teachers. She has been a regular education classroom teacher, a consultant teacher/resource teacher, an educational evaluator/diagnostician, and has also taught graduate students at the university level. Marzola is an adjunct assistant professor of education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and Hunter College of the City University of New York. She also maintains a private practice in the evaluation and teaching of children with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders.
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