Expert: Norm Bishop - 9/13/2005

Question
Hi My name is Beth Irvin.  I have a nine year old son named Layne. Layne was diagnosed with ADHS after being held back in the second grade.  He was put on Straterra and it has worked really well. His second year of second grade was a sucess thanks to a very patient teacher.  He has since started third grade.  I am starting to worry because his teacher has a reputation for being extremly hard-nosed and intolerant.  Several people have told me that she marks spelling words wrong if the childs cursive hand writing is not perfect.  Hand writing has always been a problem for Layne.  I think this factors in to his ADHD.  He also very sloppy and forgetful.  His teacher last year gave him a little extra push and attention.  I have a feeling that this teacher will not.  Don't get me wrong, I do not expect Layne to be "coddled" at school.  I also realize that he tries vey hard and sometimes still has alot of trouble.  I have had a teacher suggest a 504 plan for Layne.  I did not put him on one before because I did not see the need in it.  I was wondering if you could explain this plan to me and if you think this might be appropriate for my child.  I dont want Layne to think he can skate threw life with special privlages.  I also dont want him to fail third grade spelling because his e did not fully touch the bottom line.  Any suggestions you have will be appreciated.  Thanks for the time.                    Beth Irvin

Answer
A 504 Plan comes from the 1973 Law, Rehabilitation of the Handicapped and is the education section of this civil rights legislation.  It actually came from the Americans with Disabilities Act, which implied its need.  It really doesn't say much about education, other than students can't be discriminated against because of their disability and that schools need to provide "reasonable accommodations" to insure that discrimination does not occur.  I like to compare it to a tipped playfield that gives "normal" students an advantage. The accommodations do not provide special favor, they simply level a not level playing field.  

Some people's assumption is that all you have to do is have high expectations and all children can rise to those expectations...however, if those with a disability, such as ADHD or ADD, are truely disabled, why would we expect strict expectations to work like they do with "normal" students.  They don't have control over the disability.  They can't turn it off and be normal just because we ask them to.  It doesn't work that way.  504 Plans should have as thier goal to provide no accommodations, but we need to create them to move toward that goal within a reasonable amount of time.

It is good that your son didn't need accommodations last year.  I assume he had a good year!  :)  This year it sounds like he is going to be pushed, which will be good, however, it also sounds like you need the protection that a 504 Plan could include.  If this teacher requires perfect handwriting and your son cannot do that, then an accommodation needs to be included that will require him to do his best, and at the same time get better.  At any rate, I like your attitude of not coddling him.  It also sounds like you provide him an awful lot of support, which he will also need.

A 504 Plan is supposed to be non-invasive.  It provides only those accommodations that equal the factors that your son's disability brings into the classroom, as compared to those who have no disability.  They are usually written in a pretty flexible manner.  Teachers often do not understand the legal requirement of following the plan, which can be a problem, however, the courts are strong...if a plan is needed, every employee needs to do what it says.  

The ideal 504 Plan is one where all of the staff that work with Layne sit down with you and discuss what accommodations he needs.  It would be a good idea to have last year's teacher, who was so successful, participate in the meeting to create the plan.  Some of the accommodations may have methods to decrease their need as he demonstrates improvement.  When it is done this way the plan becomes a collaborative, positive script that will eventually bring your son to the point of not needing it.  (that may take years, but it is certainly possible)  To arrange for a 504 Plan meeting you have to first inform the school that Layne has a diagnosed disability, and provide them with documentation of that diagnosis.  You may have already done that, but the school does not have to respond in any way until you inform them with documentation of a diagnosis.  (Most schools will help anyway, but legally they can take that stand).  Then you ask either the teacher, Principal, or appointed 504 Officer for a meeting to create a 504 Plan.  There are two routes you could go:  1) plan to do nothing and see how he does, then call a meeting if he struggles, or 2) plan to have the meeting now so that a working document is in place to adjust as the school year goes on.  I prefer the second, but have seen it work in both cases.  

I hope this helps you.  If you need further clarification, please feel free.

Norm