So glad I listened to my gut about my MS son

What a good mom you are! So glad you got his issues diagnosed and are dealing with them.

Awww! Way to go, Mom! Its so good to see Mom's being a great advocate for their kids!

Good for you listening to your instincts! We knew DD had some sort of processing disorder because of a phenomenal K teacher but were frustrated every step of the testing until she hit third grade and she was finally diagnosed with an Auditory Processing Disorder and, to my surpise, inattentive type ADD.

Best of luck with the accommodations!

Good for you -- and I think I might be checking to see how much serious ass kicking I could do that would be effective.

Did you put your request to the school in writing? If you put it in writing they have to address it in writing rather than give you lip service about why they don't need to test him. If he got a medical diagnosis for ADD then it betters his chances of qualifying for an IEP if that's what you want rather than a 504. Also, give your request to the director of the special ed program. Don't just hand it over to any body at the school.

I would think an iep would be more appropriate.. you might contact any local/state organization that supports parents with kids with disabilities.. I also suggest you start reading up on www.wrightslaw.com to learn more about the process and your legal rights in getting him help. technology I believe is essential in helping with executive functioning.

  Good job to keep pushing.

This retired teacher is giving you a standing ovation.  I wish all parents paid that much attention to the cues their children were giving - or heck - to the outright statements the teachers give them.  So many parents have fought me when I even brought up the subject of testing their little snowflake. Oh no, there's nothing WRONG with MY child. Like it's a black mark on them. SMH.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for doing what your son needs and helping make the future easier for him. 

As the mom of a girl with high functioning Autism, I can relate to this so very much! I'm glad you were able to get it figured out. It got to the point that my daughter was beyond frustrated she did start acting out and only then did she get a 504 plan for her behavior. I've found without a doubt, in my school district it is not the diagnosis. It is who you know and who can speak up for you! With the help of a teacher and a teacher's aide she's finally on an IEP! Good luck with your son.

Don't take the ADD Inattentive diagnosis at face value. Go see an occupational therapist. There may be a spatial processing disorder of some type that educational psychologist do not test for. The symptoms manifest themselves like ADD Inattentive type and the only way to diagnosis them is via an occupational therapy evaluation. If there is a spatial processing issue of some kind there will be specific modifications that need to be made that standard 504 accommodations will not take into consideration. Most schools do not know how to handle/accommodate spatial processing disorders either so a OT can help guide the way.

Good job MOM! I'm so happy to hear you have some answers. I'm sure your son is relieved in a way to get the answers also. I know my son was!

Just to let you know, not all states recognize Dyslexia as a learning disability. Mine doesn't and caused us to only qualify for a 504 plan. The problem is that doesn't help so much with dyslexia. My DS muddled through and is now in his first semester in college. He's doing much better in college and that's without any extra help so far.

I had to pay for private dyslexia testing because the school said she wasn't failing "enough".

And even after her diagnosis, she STILL didn't qualify for accommodations because she scores too but she was literally crying every day!

So her school sped teacher has her labeled as "emotionally disabled" since her emotions are hindering the learning process. It took awhile but she's finally passing, falling into a good rhythm and doesn't hate school. She's in 5th grade, should be 7th. For us it was frustrating because no one argued that she was struggling! It's not always black and white and sometimes not even gray!

Best wishes to you and your son. I hope his journey gets easier! If you're in Facebook, Susan Barton is great to follow--she's considered an expert on dyslexia. Also learning ally--they provide an audiobook service to people with documented print disabilities. We supplement with audio books, that's helped greatly!

I don't know where you are and if the state/district follows the same process, but if your son was at my school, you should expect the following to happen. After you submit another request for accommodations a team will meet to discuss your son's behaviors in class and his performance academically. The school/district psychologist will review the testing paperwork you've submitted. I will say that in my area we have several psychologists that hand out those exact diagnoses like candy. With them, if a parent walks in and forks over $$$, there WILL be a diagnosis. If nothing substantial is found, the fall backs are ADD (or ADHD, inattentive), EFD and dyslexia. At a meeting one such psych actually told us, in defending his diagnosis that we were questioning, that if parents are suspecting a disability, that means one is there. Just as if a wife suspects her husband is cheating, he is. He said that at our meeting @@. The school does not have to accept the diagnosis nor does it have to do testing on its own. It just has to review your request and give you a reply. This does not mean they aren't trying to help your child, that they're being lazy or that they are refusing to spend money helping him out.

If our team determined there was some merit to the request, it would start gathering data. Your son's teacher would be notified and would be asked to start some accommodations that the team believes might be helpful. You'd be notified as well, but you may or may not have any say in the data collection portion. Then they'd wait about six weeks or so to see if the accommodations made a positive impact. If they did, the team would most likely implement a 504 with those accommodations. If they did not, then they'd either try something else or determine a 504 is not needed. A private doctor or psychologist does not have more 'weight' than the school's team. The team can take their findings into consideration, but they are not bound by the findings. This is often very difficult for parents to understand or accept.

If a 504 (or IEP) is awarded, it will periodically be reviewed. Changes can be made. While these are legal mandates, they are very fluid and can change as the needs of the child or even the school's resources change.