Schools for ADHD (Houston, Humble: middle school, to move, activity)

[Dopo]

Ok, sorry about the off-topic

[Meyerland]

I get kids every year who have been kicked out of private schools. It's usually related to kids who have ADHD or autism. Unless the private campus is geared towards accommodating kids with these issues, you are better off at a public school.

Middle schools are a tough to recommend. The only zoned middle schools I recommend in HISD are the old Grady (Tanglewood MS) and Lanier MS. Grady is a small campus and very supportive of students.

SPring Branch ISD is great for elementary schools in regards to ADHD and autism. I'm not sure about middle schools. I know the ones south of I10 have a better reputation. I think WestWick neighborhood north of I10 is still zoned to southern schools.

The very western edge of Houston has some neighborhoods zoned to KatyISD. They are south of I10 and east of HWy 6. It's tricky with the kids needing to be bussed into Katy, but the middle schools are very good.

[lhafer]

Thanks for the replies. Why do upper grade schools all begin to suck (the majority of them anyway)? You can have all of these amazing elementaries, and then things just go down hill starting in middle school.

I’m working with my daughter’s current (private) school (geared to special needs kids) to look for a good middle and high school for her when she’s ready to integrate back into mainstream. I love her school because they actually vet out schools by taking tours and speaking with the staff and students to make sure a school will be a good fit once a student is ready to leave Crossroads. So I have some ideas from there as well.

Hope everyone has a merry Christmas and happy new year!

[nana053]

Originally Posted by lhafer

Thanks for the replies. Why do upper grade schools all begin to suck (the majority of them anyway)? You can have all of these amazing elementaries, and then things just go down hill starting in middle school.

I’m working with my daughter’s current (private) school (geared to special needs kids) to look for a good middle and high school for her when she’s ready to integrate back into mainstream. I love her school because they actually vet out schools by taking tours and speaking with the staff and students to make sure a school will be a good fit once a student is ready to leave Crossroads. So I have some ideas from there as well.

Hope everyone has a merry Christmas and happy new year!

I think it is partly due to the age of the kids and the onset of puberty.

My grandson (classic autism) had a great elementary school, but 5th and 6th grade were awful. Thankfully, he has a great team in place for 7th and 8th grade and is doing much better now.

[DejaBlue]

Originally Posted by Dopo

I'm completely against using medications for ADHD,
all it does is teach kids to use drugs to deal with their behavioral problems, setting up them up to become drugs addicts when they are adults.

ADHD is annoying as f...., but I rather my son be annoying than a drug addict.

https://www.drugrehab.us/news/ritalin-gateway-drug/

According to the American Psychological Association, between three and five percent of school-aged children have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD. Most are prescribed Ritalin, amounting to two million prescriptions written every year. In recent years, reports have surfaced that claim the use of Ritalin is a gateway to further substance abuse. For instance, a study by psychologists at the University of California at Berkeley found a relationship between childhood use of psychostimulants like Ritalin and later dependence on tobacco and other stimulants. The conclusion from the study was that either children with behavioral issues learn to self-medicate later in life or that the use of a stimulant like Ritalin makes them susceptible to using other stimulants.
The UC Berkeley study is not the only one to make this finding, however, other professionals disagree with the findings. Other research has concluded that there is either no connection between Ritalin use and later drug abuse or that it actually decreases the odds of using later in life. Many of these professionals conclude that the condition itself, ADD or ADHD, may cause children to use drugs as adults.
A more serious concern, although one with even less evidence to support it, is that Ritalin use leads to cocaine use. Methylphenidate and cocaine have similar chemical structures, they are both stimulants, and the both act on the neurotransmitter, dopamine in the brain. There is not enough evidence to know whether Ritalin use makes a child more likely to use cocaine. However, according to the Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah, between 10 and 30 percent of cocaine addicts have ADHD.

You obviously haven't seen it in action in a classroom. I have MANY friends and aquantances who are teachers and ADHD is a b**** in the classroom when you have 21 others and that one who is close to bouncing off the walls.

504 is one thing but public schools lump them all together. When you have 3 sped, 2 ADHD, 4 GT and the rest regular ed it's a mess which you have at least 5 blurting out, literally walking around the room because they can and going in and out of the room with no help.


IMO, the best placement is a small enrollement public school with very few behavior issues. Children with ADHD that flucuate with medication can be uncontrollable in schools especially when hormones kick in. If the school is overun with fights, and difficult behaviors the SPED and 504/ADHD children get overlooked and admin don't help as much.

[SugLandDAd]

The reason it gets worse in the upper grades is often the size of the school......a 3000 student high school is no place for someone with special needs.....its too easy to get lost

[HTownNearNative]

A friend with kids at Cyfair (Willowbridge subdivision) likes Gleason Elementary School and Cook Middle schools. One child has ADHD.

[lhafer]

Originally Posted by SugLandDAd

The reason it gets worse in the upper grades is often the size of the school......a 3000 student high school is no place for someone with special needs.....its too easy to get lost

I completely agree with this. The elem. my daughter used to go to had 1100 students and it was not a great fit. Her teachers tried their best, but she was falling through the cracks. The high school we were zoned to is 3500 kids and would have never worked for her. We lived overseas for the last 2 years and had to return to the US when we couldn’t find an upper level (secondary) school that could accommodate her learning needs or had room in one of their learning support programs. It’s tough to find a special needs school that’s not geared solely toward autism or dyslexia.

My daughter has severe adhd, dyslexia, sensory issues, Tourette syndrome, and is also gifted. Finding schools for 2e kids isn’t easy. I feel very fortunate to have found a school that is meeting her needs academically, socially and emotionally for the first time in her life. I wish there were more schools like this, and that they were more affordable to those who need it.

[fnh]

We are close friends with a family with a special needs child at Cy-Fair's Cook Middle mentioned above. They were unsure of the learning issue, which turned out to be a sensory/visual tracking problem, until the middle of 6th grade. The parents were so impressed and grateful for the school's involvement and the child has subsequently flourished whereas before was struggling and acting out. Anecdotal of course, but the parents' relief and positive experience left an impression on me.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by SugLandDAd

The reason it gets worse in the upper grades is often the size of the school......a 3000 student high school is no place for someone with special needs.....its too easy to get lost

Well besides the kids going through puberty and at the age where they start rejecting authority, school districts tend to send their least experienced teachers to middle schools.