My grandson was held back in eight grade last year as a result of undiagnoised ADHD. We now have a diagnois in place and are trying to move forward. My point is that he is very intelligent and I would like to see him put back into ninth grade and move forward instead of held back for making a poor choice of skipping summer school. He is sick to death of the same old work and the same old teachers and as a result has got himself in plenty of trouble by not being able to keep his mouth shut at times. We are working on getting him an IEP in place and working on getting medicine to help his condition. Am I right to insist on moving him forward? I read where retaining a child in school creates the same physocological damage as losing a parent. I find no good evidence that holding him back will do any good but instead cause more damage.
Q: I need advice on grade retention. My very intelligent grandson was held back due to issues with ADH
Bonnie
Thank you for your question and welcome to Health Central's ADHD Community.
Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to give you advice as to whether your grandson should be moved back up with his class. This is a very individual decision and would be based on the child's progress. While I understand that your grandson may be bored with the work and this could cause him getting into trouble, this is a decision that would need to be made with you and the school.
It is good that you are trying to get an IEP and work with the school to find what is best for your grandson. Hopefully, this will give you an opportunity to air your concerns and have a complete evaluation done to be sure he receives services he needs to help him succeed.
If you are not happy with the school's decision, you can work with an educational advocate, who works on your grandson's behalf. Usually an advocate will meet with you and the student and then work with you to come up with a plan to present to the school. You can choose to have the advocate also attend the IEP meetings with you as well.
Sorry I could not be of more help.
Eileen
If your grandson is intelligent, why don't the teachers recognize this? I'd recommend sitting down with them and finding out specifically why they don't think he understands what they are teaching. Find out for yourself if he knows the material, and demand that the school explain how he can demonstrate that he does know. Then let him know what you found out, and what he needs to do. If the school thinks he has ADHD and treats him as such, as well as flunking him, he is probably at the point where he views the school as an adversary, so give him the ammunition to defeat them. He probably doesn't have ADHD, but rather a teacher who doesn't know how to teach.
En Pleno siglo XXI, existen pruebas para determinar si existe un problema...
Independientemente de esto, el entorno extraescolar puede ayudar a desarrollar potenciales no tenidos en cuenta por sus profesores convencionales en clase...
Como responsables directos de la educacion de nuestros hijos, nietos, etc. tenemos el derecho y la obligacion de luchar por lo mejor para ellos ante todos.
Luchar porque sea un doctor quien diagnostique y, un profesor quien les enseñe.
Si los profesores hacen de médicos y, los medicos hacen de profesor... oO(error)
En ambos casos, podemos pedir otras opiniones en funcion de los resultados de pruebas, habilidades, gustos del niño, etc. hasta obtener la certeza de lo mejor.
Animo! Estoy seguro que conseguirán desarrollar su mejor potencial 
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