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Hi,
My six year old son has Separation Anxiety Disorder and ADHD and we are thinking about starting the process of getting him and IEP for Sept. He is currently being home-schooled after a bad experience for a few months in public Kindergarten.
Does anyone have any pointers or experience with these issues and/or IEP's for these conditions?
His separation anxiety is severe and we are not sure if an IEP would actually help and PACE West is not an option unless I hear otherwise that it could be a good choice, but from what I hear it does not seem like a good fit.
Also thinking of a Montessori school?
Help!!
Thank you.
Has the anxiety disorder and ADHD been diagnosed by a Dr.? If so, make a parent referral to your school's screening committee and they can review it after he is enrolled.
Hi,
My six year old son has Separation Anxiety Disorder and ADHD and we are thinking about starting the process of getting him and IEP for Sept. He is currently being home-schooled after a bad experience for a few months in public Kindergarten.
Does anyone have any pointers or experience with these issues and/or IEP's for these conditions?
His separation anxiety is severe and we are not sure if an IEP would actually help and PACE West is not an option unless I hear otherwise that it could be a good choice, but from what I hear it does not seem like a good fit.
Also thinking of a Montessori school?
Help!!
Thank you.
I feel there's a lot not said here so please forgive me for asking a few questions along with some suggestions. Also, I am not familiar with PWCS but am with the IEP process in general. First thought, given what you said, is your child and family involved in a mental health program, seeing a counselor for his anxiety, plus as parents getting ideas, coaching, on how to deal with it? That is crucial now as the best intervention starts at home. If you want to explore the possibility of an IEP you need to contact either his base school or the special Ed office. He would need an assessment to see if he is eligible for special education. Then, after that, you would sit down and do an IEP stating the specific goals to be addressed.
Obviously, I don't know your situation so can't say if this fits under the special education umbrella. Another avenue is looking at a 504 which is not special education but falls under the ADA laws. This is written to provide accommodations to " level the playing field" in the classroom, not provide intervention as an IEP does. Truthfully, most 540 plans seem to be documenting good teaching practices of how the classroom teacher will differentiate to meet the needs of a student. Again, not knowing your situation, this may or may not fit.
You are right to be looking at what will be the best fit for him for next year now, but it will take time and conversations with the school. An IEP is not a quick process anywhere. What I hope has been happening this past year while you have been homeschooling is some counseling intervention to address the anxiety and separation issues along with the ADHD. I haven't mentioned medication up to now, but of you are working with a good therapist they may as sometimes that is needed hand in hand, not stand alone, to help. If you have been addressing the anxiety, then also talk with that professional about how they see your child reintegrating into a school setting. Sorry for the ramble, but best of luck.
Thank you both and yes, we had several intervention meetings with the school and he did 7 months of "play therapy" and then was sent to a pysychiatrist who prescribed Zoloft. We felt he was too young for that and preferred to continue with the therapy, organic diet and other lifestyle changes.
We also had a whole battery of blood work done to rule out any medical conditions and even went to Children's in DC. By the time the school suggested an evaluation everyone was at their breaking point - the teacher was out of patience due to his constant crying, throwing up in class, panic attacks, nightmares etc. and he was looking more and more sick due to the anxiety. His therapist came to the school in December to observe his behavior and said home schooling would be the best option for now. We finally just got results from our own pscychogist who did the whole psycho-educational testing. I thought we would get an anxiety/aspergers diagnosis so we were a bit surprised by ADHD.
We are now looking into Instep Counseling center in Fairfax as they have small groups for Child Anxiety and parent counseling at the same time. Does anyone know about this place by any chance?
We are also looking into ADHD meds? He obviously needs something as the two conditions together are overwhelming for him and us. The schooling is another important factor as we don't want to make it worse!
We welcome any advice on schools, meds, counseling centers, etc. This is an ongoing learning process for us. Thanks.
We are now looking into Instep Counseling center in Fairfax as they have small groups for Child Anxiety and parent counseling at the same time. Does anyone know about this place by any chance?
We are also looking into ADHD meds? He obviously needs something as the two conditions together are overwhelming for him and us. The schooling is another important factor as we don't want to make it worse!
We welcome any advice on schools, meds, counseling centers, etc. This is an ongoing learning process for us. Thanks.
I am familiar with Instepp and feel they do an excellent job with their groups for children, especially since they have the parent component with them. Cathi Cohen, their director, has several good books out on social skills and is well known for her groups for children. While there are many excellent programs in the area, this one sounds like a very good fit for you. The other good part of this will be the group counseling, as it will give him the safe opportunity to learn skills with other children. Glad to hear all the work you have done already. My only other comment about meds is work closely with someone on this and go carefully. I have seen young children this age on a "cocktail" of meds and it always concerns me. I am not saying it may be needed, just start slowly.
Thanks again. We feel the same about the meds and would rather exhaust all other means before that, however it may be necessary in the future. One step at at time though and that is a last resort.
I am very glad to hear good things about Instep. I called yesterday so I look forward to speaking with them this week. My son does ok in his comfort zone like the neighborhood where there a lot of kids but a new group like at Instep will be a challenge to get him separate possibly with a full blown meltdown/tantrum/panic. That said, I'm sure they have seen it all before and can cope with it.
We had a less than stellar experience with In-Step. They were happy enough to take our money for the initial interview, recommended a group situation for our daughter, but never called back to place her in a group. Repeated calls were not responded to.
I understand your reluctance to medicate your child at such a young age. However, if he's so panicked and anxiety-ridden that he can't take in what a counselor is trying to get him to do, realize, work on, this may be a slow process. Medication doesn't have to be forever, and if it can calm his physical symptoms, that may be a quicker route to improved behavior. When he makes the new behavior his new normal, he could then be weaned off the meds.
Anyhow, good on you for being on this and seeking help for your son. Good luck.
We had a less than stellar experience with In-Step. They were happy enough to take our money for the initial interview, recommended a group situation for our daughter, but never called back to place her in a group. Repeated calls were not responded to.
I understand your reluctance to medicate your child at such a young age. However, if he's so panicked and anxiety-ridden that he can't take in what a counselor is trying to get him to do, realize, work on, this may be a slow process. Medication doesn't have to be forever, and if it can calm his physical symptoms, that may be a quicker route to improved behavior. When he makes the new behavior his new normal, he could then be weaned off the meds.
Anyhow, good on you for being on this and seeking help for your son. Good luck.
Thank you, I will keep that in mind when and if we go there. We did go to Phoenix Family Counseling in Haymarket but his therapist left to open her own place somewhere else. I think a small group setting might be more beneficial though. If you don't mind me asking have you tried meds. for your daughter or gone somewhere else you can recommend for therapy?
Thank you both and yes, we had several intervention meetings with the school and he did 7 months of "play therapy" and then was sent to a pysychiatrist who prescribed Zoloft. We felt he was too young for that and preferred to continue with the therapy, organic diet and other lifestyle changes.
We also had a whole battery of blood work done to rule out any medical conditions and even went to Children's in DC. By the time the school suggested an evaluation everyone was at their breaking point - the teacher was out of patience due to his constant crying, throwing up in class, panic attacks, nightmares etc. and he was looking more and more sick due to the anxiety. This is a signal to me that you will likely experience a lot of push back from this teacher/school about your child staying at the school His therapist came to the school in December to observe his behavior and said home schooling would be the best option for now. He did you a terrible disservice there!! I'm sure the school was thrilled to get rid of you. What would have been more appropriate was to look for other schools that may have been more appropriate for your son--teachers who are trained to help children with special needs. We finally just got results from our own pscychogist who did the whole psycho-educational testing. I thought we would get an anxiety/aspergers diagnosis so we were a bit surprised by ADHD. If I were you I would seek a second opinion. However, at 6 years old it could be premature to give an asperger's dx. Additionally, many, many children with asperger's DO have heightened levels of anxiety! Have you read enough about asperger's to believe that your son fits that dx?
We are now looking into Instep Counseling center in Fairfax as they have small groups for Child Anxiety and parent counseling at the same time. Does anyone know about this place by any chance?
We are also looking into ADHD meds? He obviously needs something as the two conditions together are overwhelming for him and us. [color="Blue"][color="Blue"] I would beg you to please hold off on medicating your son. Most/many times you'll end up having to provide additional meds to your son for the side effects the first drug will cause. Please watch this documentary on medicating children before you start down the drug path. I think it will change your mind: Medicating Kids | FRONTLINE | PBS Please read the book, "The Explosive Child" by Ross Greene" It will help you help your son at home with the difficulties he has. It is a wonderful book!
The schooling is another important factor as we don't want to make it worse! Yes, I think that you ought to consider waiting to put your son into any school until he would be able to tolerate such a dramatic change.
We welcome any advice on schools, meds, counseling centers, etc. This is an ongoing learning process for us. Thanks.
I think with only the dx of adhd your child may be labeled with a behavior problem and the school will likely push to put him in a LD (learning disabled) classroom which would likely not be the appropriate placement for your son, but the school will still push to get him out of their regular public school, imo.
Thank you for your honest advice "Skatergirl " We agree that the school was glad to be rid of us. They implied it was bad parenting because we could not get him on the bus. We asked if perhaps another teacher would help - it was not an option they said. We asked if it was possible to get half an hour once a week or something along those lines with the guidance counselor - again it didn't happen. After a special "lunch bunch" was over there wasn't much else except asking us if we considered medication! (this was before any diagnosis btw). We did have the intervention meetings - not much help to be honest. They did threaten to suspend him one day after he threw up in the class due to anxiety then refused to come out of the class bathroom because he was crying, upset, probably embarrased and anxious. That was a shock to me! I could go on and on about the school but we were hoping to get an IEP and hopefully placed in a different school or request a transfer if possible to somewhere that could handle it.
I will get that book you mentioned. We have been trying to educate ourselves which is the reason I started the post too.
About the Aspergers, we are not sure but we were leaning towards it. ADHD makes sense too though. A lot of these are so similar I wouldn't be surprised if we get a different diagnosis later. His therapist had diagnosed Generalized Anxiety Disorder which was clearly Separation Anxiety.
I can't find any private schools near Bristow area that specialize in this sort of thing, but does anyone have thoughts on Montessori? From the tour I took it looked like it could be a good fit with some hard work from now until Sept.
We may possibly end up home schooling again.
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