I am the Mother of a six year old son who was recently diagnosed with ADHD. Upon entry into Junior Kindergarten my son had a very difficult time adjusting. It got to the point where almost every day there was a note coming home saying he had a time out. To make a long story short, the school refused to do any testing until Grade 1. Knowing that my son was not just " bad " I went back and forth to my family Doctor. After a year and a half he finally saw a specialist. He was diagnosed with ADHD and was put on Strattera. He has improved.
Last week he started a new school. I talked to the teacher about his disorder. She seemed to understand. As I picked up my Son at school she said she wanted to speak to me. She basically told me that she thinks he is low. My sons printing is horrible ( what little boys isn't?), but he knows words, is reading a little, knows math, knows human body parts and where they are located ie the heart, liver, kidneys etc. He also knows names of bones ie mandibles, cranium, cervical vertabrae and where they are located. There is nothing wrong with my sons intelligence. When he doesn't want to do something or is bored thats when issues occur and the teachers are telling me what he can't do. What they fail to realize or spend the time getting to know is that my son is a smart little being, but in a group setting is overwhelmed. She even had the nerve to say to me that he does something thats very "annoying". Can you believe a teacher said that? She said he makes noises a lot. I told her that was a symptom of his disorder. Just because he is medicated does not mean his symptoms dissapear.
Sorry for rambling, but I am just hoping to hear from some people who can relate and give me some coping strategies for school.
Thanks for reading.


Amoyles
I am glad that you have found us here at Health Central. We have a lot of great information and are always adding more.
I am the mother of a son with ADHD, he is 23 now, but oh, your story brings back memories that I can say I would rather forget. I spent many years of working with and fighting schools.
I have written a number of articles on working with the school system that might be a good place to start to find information:
ADHD in Education
There is also information on parenting children with ADHD
I know that you are new to this and all of this information will be overwhelming, but remember, my son is 23 so somehow we make it through this, even though there are times when you wonder how you will make it.
I know the feeling that you know your son is a good boy, but somehow it feels as if noone else can see it. It is frustrating and exhausting.
I am not sure if the school has ever done testing, but to be sure, you may want to ask if they will do an evaluation for learning disabilities. This way, you can know early if there are additional disabilities you may be dealing with in education and work to find ways to overcome them. I wish that was something I would have done. My son was never diagnosed with learning disabilities but he struggled throughout school and I think he would have done better had we had him tested for these.
You haven't said whether you have requested a 504 plan or an IEP that will set up specific accommodations in school. You may want to look into that as well. (There is information on this on the page on education in the link above.)
Please know that you can talk with others here. We are here to support you. I will always answer your posts (although sometimes it may take a few days).
Eileen