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    #173837 11/06/13 05:19 AM
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    I am running into an interesting dilemma and I am curious to know what others think…my EG 7year old continues to struggle in school that basically manifests itself in underachievement. Full testing work up at 6 says no 2e. We have followed through with all recommendations of the report which have proved to be very helpful except enrolling him in the G&T program in school. I would like him in the program, but school won't admit him due to the fact that although he is EG, he isn't demonstrating it in class and isn't scoring high enough on the standardized tests. Many (parents who have gone through the same thing and some teachers and educational consultants) have suggested that I doctor shop and get him a ADHD diagnosis so he can get into G&T and get additional pull out services to help under 2e. While I know the accommodations he would get with the diagnosis would help him now, I am obviously concerned with the long run ramifications of such a diagnosis.

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    Do you believe your child has ADHD?

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    22B…no I do not believe he had ADHD.


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    What tests is he not scoring high enough on in order to get into the program? Are his scores much lower than you would expect given what you know from his earlier testing? If so what do you suspect to be the reason for the difference? Was his earlier testing high across the board or did they vary a lot? Did his previous tester have experience with 2e?

    Sorry, that is a lot of questions.

    Last edited by chay; 11/06/13 06:51 AM.
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    I would not want to label my child as ADHD unless he actually had it. Have you talked to your son about the importance of doing well on the standardized tests and his regular work? In your situation, I would focus on improving his testing ability. Get practice tests, and make sure he understands that he has to "show what he knows" if he wants to get more challenging (i.e. - less boring) work at school.

    I had to have a heart to heart with my kindergartener last year about paying attention in school even when it was mind-numbingly boring, and trying his best every time, because he was vastly underachieving at school. It was creating issues for him as it was prohibiting him from moving into different reading levels, and being stuck in the same level was starting to cause anxiety issues at school.

    It had never occurred to him that if he answered the questions incorrectly that it would actually matter in any way. He really thought it didn't matter, and didn't want to take the time to do it correctly as it was "so easy." He was just trying to finish as quickly as possible. Once I told him that those tests were being used to determine the level of work he would receive, it made a big difference.

    Last edited by momoftwins; 11/06/13 07:11 AM.
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    I guess I'm confused by "pull out" services. What does this mean? I can see accommodations, but what would that help if there are no ADHD symptoms to accommodate? Which accommodations are you looking for and what would they help if there is no disability involved? Unless he is failing, I don't think he would be eligible for an IEP or any pull-out services. 504's provide accommodations, but no actual special ed services.

    My DD has ADHD and it seems to be pretty severe--even medicated she is incredibly slow in school with processing speed issues. We have a medical diagnosis but the school is resisting even giving her a 504. They say that since she is not "failing" there is no need to do anything. I think if I get pushy I could probably get a 504 but any accommodations would be very limited, like giving her more time on spelling tests, not having to take the timed CogAT again, etc. Even if her IQ ends up being above the cut-off, she still needs achievement test scores in reading and math and teacher recommendations in order to be eligible for the highly gifted magnet school (unless her composite is over 139, in which case achievement testing can be below the 98th percentile). An ADHD diagnosis and 504 or IEP doesn't remove these qualifying criteria, they just may be more flexible in terms of how they test a child--like substituting timed tests with a different test.
    I would not get a bogus ADHD diagnosis. For one thing it makes things more difficult for kids who actually do have ADHD (it's like crying "wolf"--pretty soon no one believes anyone has ADHD anymore), and also, I think it may hurt more then help. I am being very cautious even with a child who DOES actually have it because I fear there will be some bias against her--i.e., them not wanting 2e kids in the program, thinking it will be too difficult for both themselves and the child.

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    Originally Posted by mykids
    I am running into an interesting dilemma and I am curious to know what others think…my EG 7year old continues to struggle in school that basically manifests itself in underachievement. Full testing work up at 6 says no 2e.

    Instead of looking for a fake diagnosis,I would look for help in understanding why he's underachieving. This could include further testing by someone who's expert in this particular issue; and looking for LDs that were missed the first time.

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    It might help to spell out the specific nature of the underachievement for us.

    The good news is that you have a group of parents who have probably seen just about every variant of it which can exist in a 5-10 yo HG+ child.


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    Thank you all for your feedback. I have tried explaining the nature of the testing and he truly is trying, but just can't integrate the knowledge and stay focused not he task at hand b/c he is too busy thinking about Ancient Egypt, space and other such things. Basically his testing shows a marked discrepancy between his IQ and in class ability which classifies him as "underachieving". He tested at EG but ceiling a bunch of tests so the tester told me he is most likely PG. Either way, his in class ability is about 1 1/2 years above grade level. This would be fine if he was attached to the class, motivated to succeed etc. which he is not.

    The G&T program is a pull out program that you have to take a variety of standardized tests and score 2-3 years above grade level (depending on the test) to get into. The G&T program would be a good fit b/c it is all small group group and focused attention on diving deeper in a subject but also does a good job "calling kids out" when they only put in 50% effort. The ADHD diagnosis would give him the same small group pull out and some 1:1 "calling out" that he desperately needs. The short version is he needs a smaller class setting that is more focused on his learning needs. Right now we don't have a school choice so I am trying to make the best of what I have. Since the G&T program won't let him in, others have said that the ADHD diagnosis will get me the same small group and individual attention that he needs.

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    Originally Posted by DeeDee
    Originally Posted by mykids
    I am running into an interesting dilemma and I am curious to know what others think…my EG 7year old continues to struggle in school that basically manifests itself in underachievement. Full testing work up at 6 says no 2e.

    Instead of looking for a fake diagnosis,I would look for help in understanding why he's underachieving. This could include further testing by someone who's expert in this particular issue; and looking for LDs that were missed the first time.

    ITA.

    I realize he's been through a psyched eval, but I'm curious about a few things - did the eval include visuo-motor integration testing or any executive function etc testing? Were your ds' IQ subtest scores consistent across different subtests or were there peaks and valleys? He's underachieving in school - was that also reflected in his psych ed eval achievement testing, or were all of those subtest scores in a similar range to his ability scores?

    You asked about stealth dyslexia in a previous post and noted that there had been some questions about vision... do you feel those questions have been entirely ruled out?

    polarbear

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    Polarbear…we did rule out vision since that previous post. Testing was pretty consistent with small ups and downs, but nothing of statistical significance. No visuo-motor integration testing, but some executive functioning was done (as best it can for a 6year old) and came out within normal limits with no remarkable findings. Stealth dyslexia is not ruled out yet, but I had a friend who is a psychologist and does a lot of testing give me an off the record opinion and she said for him, if its there it will likely not show up until at least 5th grade. She was actually one of the people who suggested the ADHD diagnosis. I do not think we have solved the underachievement problem, but we are continuing to work on it. I suspect from everyone I have spoken to, at some point over the next few years he will either magically figure it all out, or he will end up with a 2e diagnosis. I am ok (ish) with the waiting at this point because I feel like I have exhausted all thought processes and we are doing everything we can to support and help him through this process. That said, I have found it interesting the number of people who have suggested getting him the ADHD diagnosis recently which is why I posted this thread.

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    So if he can't focus on his work because he's too busy in his own dreamworld why don't you think he has ADHD? How clear is your understanding of what ADHD actually is? The inability to control his attention and choose what he focuses on is pretty integral to ADHD.

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    Originally Posted by MumOfThree
    So if he can't focus on his work because he's too busy in his own dreamworld why don't you think he has ADHD? How clear is your understanding of what ADHD actually is? The inability to control his attention and choose what he focuses on is pretty integral to ADHD.

    I'm wondering this as well. Some kids have a "space cadet" version of ADHD that is just inattentive, and they look totally different than the hyper or impulsive ones.

    DS's neuropsych just did computerized testing on him today to check for ADHD. It is an incredibly boring test where the kid has to click on things when needed in a timely fashion and not click when they are not supposed to. So it measures how long they can focus, how quick their reaction time is, and how impulsive they are. So it gives an idea of the type of ADHD. Luckily DS did well on this test, but I think if DD had had it she would have bombed it. I liked that it gives more objective data than observations or inventories. DS's wiggly behavior screamed out ADHD to the neuropsych but it turned out he did well on all the testing. But the opposite can happen where a child "looks" ok, but they really aren't.

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    Perhaps people are suggesting because they feel he is actually ADHD at least mildly?

    Last edited by Irena; 11/07/13 06:04 AM.
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    For a number of reasons he has been tested by two psychologist (one regular and one specializing in gifted) who both strongly believed that he did not have ADHD and cautioned me that it would be very easy for him to get misdiagnosed with an ADHD. Fast forward to now where I still do not believe he has ADHD (and the behavioral issues have decreased dramatically). The people that have been suggesting the diagnosis have been suggesting it to help him get pull out services and "work the system" not because they think he has ADHD.

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    Personally, I am pretty direct and perhaps the below will offend you and others here but either way I think that the bull needs to be grabbed by the horns here:-

    I can, to a certain extent, sympathise with your motivation but I think that it will do a disservice to those that genuinely have ADHD if you game the system like this.

    I was sorely tempted to do something similar for my DD when I discovered that she has zero backing from the govt because she has the IQ and achievement but no LD and having an LD on her 'chart' would have been the 'open sesame' for her.

    In the end, I decided that ethically it isn't something that we can do and not feel dirty inside as it would mean resources that are already stretched would be stretched further by our 'faking it'.

    Like others have said here, I would try to find out what the real issue is. Is it merely an intrinsic motivation issue, an audio processing issue ( I know all about those ) or something else?

    Maybe it is 'boring' for your kid at school but the sooner your kid learns that he is measured in life by achievements ( things have BEEN done) instead what potentially may have been achieved the better, IMO.

    YMMV


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    Having a child with learning disabilities is really hard. It affects every aspect of your life and it is exhausting. Stealing from those children is reprehensible. If you have people in your life who suggest dishonesty to promote thievery, you might want to seriously question their judgement and trustworthiness in other matters as well. Lying is not a skill I want to model for my child nor is the sense of entitlement that says if I can get something I want it's okay to do anything to get it including lying or taking resources from others. I hope you have better judgement than those who are advising you...and I actually think that you indicated you do. I think you are asking the question because your conscience is telling you that it would be wrong to pursue a fake diagnosis. Do what you know is right, take the sage advice here to address the REAL problems, and enjoy a REAL solution and a clear conscience.

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    Originally Posted by madeinuk
    ... I can, to a certain extent, sympathise with your motivation but I think that it will do a disservice to those that genuinely have ADHD if you game the system like this...
    Agreed. We may be moving from a system which declares "All children are gifted" to "All children have a disability". In each case, it is a matter of degree, and while all have relative strengths and weaknesses, for many these may not exceed the range of normal. This may evoke the philosopher's maxim, "Know Thyself".

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    Originally Posted by mykids
    For a number of reasons he has been tested by two psychologist (one regular and one specializing in gifted) who both strongly believed that he did not have ADHD and cautioned me that it would be very easy for him to get misdiagnosed with an ADHD. Fast forward to now where I still do not believe he has ADHD (and the behavioral issues have decreased dramatically). The people that have been suggesting the diagnosis have been suggesting it to help him get pull out services and "work the system" not because they think he has ADHD.

    Wow. That is really quite shocking. Who are the "people ...suggesting the diagnosis ...to help him get pull out services and work the system?" Are these professionals? School staff? I would be tempted to report them. Seriously. That is really disturbing unless they really, legitimately feel that the psychs are indeed missing true/mild/stealth ADD or an LD. I had a weird sort-of similar situation with a pre-school teacher. I had approached her to fill evals (a check list thing, I think it was a BASC) for my DS (DS was in pre-k and had just turned 5 at the time). At the time, he had just been diagnosed with hypotonia and fine motor delay privately and was getting an eval done through the school district in order to get OT/PT services through the Intermediate Unit. Teacher and I had discussed the hypotonia and my son's alarmingly delayed fine motor skills beforehand. She filled out the form and put it in a sealed envelope, gave it back to me for me to give to the IU (I suppose she thought I would not open the envelope and look at the form; but, it is my child and I wanted, and felt I had a right to, see it). I looked at the form. It was full of reports of alarming problematic behaviors that I had never notice in my son and she had never told me she was seeing at school (seriously, things like 'has potty accidents,' which I assume I would have been told of b/c he'd a change of clothes!). I contacted teacher and director of school immediately to find out what the heck was up and listed all of the alarming things she reported and requesting further information about them and asked why I had I not been told stuff like this was happening? Teacher admitted, in writing/email, that she had "lied and exaggerated on the form in order to get my son services" (not sure what type of "services" she had in mind but her lies and exaggerations went far beyond the scope of fine motor skills). The director stuck up for the teacher saying "she often exaggerates on these type of forms" b/c she is "just trying to get kids help." I, however, was very alarmed by her behavior. I reported the incident to the IU and the teacher's reports were disregarded ( And I showed them the written (email) confession). Anyway, teacher was dismissed from her job at the end of the school year by the director. I was not the only one who had had problems with her (and quite honestly she was terrible with the children).

    Last edited by Irena; 11/07/13 08:56 AM.
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    Originally Posted by madeinuk
    I discovered that she has zero backing from the govt because she has the IQ and achievement but no LD and having an LD on her 'chart' would have been the 'open sesame' for her.
    What does this mean? What would "having an LD on her chart" "open" up for her? Accomodations that she really doesn't need but would give her an edge or something? I am really confused as to what a perfectly 'normal' gifted child would really get by 'pretending to have an LD'? Seriously. My child (and I) struggles everyday with the various stigmas and untrue assumptions, etc because he has an iep and a diagnosed disability and I am really confused by how much a truly perfectly fine child would get from being labled LD? It basically gets you looked at in not a very flattering way pretty much all of the time, by everyone (parents, teachers, teacher's assistants, other students) And it certainly doesn't open the door to gifted services! The most a child would get is pulled out of regular class for remdial services that I am at a lose of how such services would help someone who has no issues other than to bore the heck out of them?

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    No offense but I think people who are "tempted to pursue a fake dx for their kid" and those suggesting that the OP do so are pretty ignorant as to what a dx "gets you."

    Last edited by Irena; 11/07/13 09:16 AM.
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    Originally Posted by Irena
    ... what a dx "gets you."...
    Unfortunately an ability to modify curriculum or have classroom accommodations may be attractive to some families whose children may "benefit" but in some eyes may not have a "need": extra time on tests, reduced homework, entry into "gifted" programs for which a child did not meet achievement requirements may be among the features sought.

    Schools may benefit by an increase in financial aid for serving a larger number of disabled pupils.

    Practitioners may benefit by increasing caseload, and in some instances increasing the files of case studies to comb for research as this is a relatively new field with constant developments.

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    Originally Posted by indigo
    Schools may benefit by an increase in financial aid for serving a larger number of disabled pupils.

    Hmmm... I like the universe you live in. Can I move there?

    Since IDEA was never fully funded (http://febp.newamerica.net/backgrou...ities-education-act-funding-distribution) most school districts (in our state -- other might be more generous in bridging the gap) are better off with the least number of identified students. Child find is a joke around here.

    Which is also why every single article in the local paper that touches on special needs children absolutely needs to include a mention of how much money they take away from general ed students mad. They are also the semi-official excuse given for the complete cancellation of the GATE program in the district last year (yes, really, those special needs kids and the English language learners).

    Last edited by SiaSL; 11/07/13 12:28 PM.
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    Thank you all….you confirmed my thoughts to keep working with him and the school on his struggles and stay away from the false labeling even if it would be beneficial.

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    mykids, back to your original question, I would not pursue a faux-diagnosis to get services for my child. There are several reasons that I think it's a *bad* idea:

    1) There are students who genuinely have ADHD diagnoses and who need appropriate accommodations and services for their diagnosis. When families "game the system" to get their own children who aren't ADHD a diagnosis simply for the sake of getting accommodations etc, they are creating a perception of mistrust and doubt among other parents, school staff, etc that ADHD is a diagnosis-as-a-path for kids who's parents want to push and get extra privileges for their kids, which in turn makes it just more difficult for the kids who *need* the services to get the appropriate services. This isn't saying your child doesn't need *something*, but if he does not have ADHD, he does not need services and accommodations provided for students with ADHD. And it's quite possible he needs the same *type* of service - but he doesn't need them because he has ADHD.

    2) You're essentially saying it's ok to fib the truth to get what you need. This isn't a message I'd want to send to my ds. Granted, your ds is very young and is probably not aware of what you'd be doing to get him the services, but it's *his* school record, and I feel that the information that is provided by parents to the school for the student's record should be truthful.

    3) The diagnosis is going to go into his school record. You might find it cropping back up at you in future years and wishing you'd never had it in there. This has happened to us, with a ds who actually *had* an ADHD diagnosis when he was young. We later found out it was an incorrect diagnosis, but it still keeps popping up as a point of discussion in school team meetings etc.

    4) This is what I believe to be *the* most important reason not to get the fake diagnosis - more so than my reasons 1-3 above. When you get that fake diagnosis and get him into whatever program it is you want him in, you've temporarily moved away from figuring out what's really going on. Yes, he may be happier and work better and achieve higher in a small group setting with a lot of structure and with teachers who are willing to "call him on it"... but many, if no most students with any type of challenge or without any challenges will work better in that type of environment. So you've accomplished a temporary goal but lost sight of the long-term goal of understanding what's really going on, which will in turn give you the opportunity to work toward solutions that will work for the long-term.

    I'm also still curious, and you don't have to answer these questions here, but I am going to ask them once again simply because I think the answers can be very helpful to you in thinking through whether or not there is some type of to-date undiagnosed challenge going on that's resulting in the behavior challenges you've seen: Were the psych evals you had either neuropsych evals or "psych educational" evals, and did they include testing beyond ability+achievement? Were the subtest scores even across the board for the ability testing and achievement testing? Did the achievement test scores fall as high as your ds' ability scores? Were behavioral surveys of parents *and* teachers included in the ADHD screens? If the answers to any of those questions is no, it's possible there's an undiagnosed challenge out there.

    My other question is what does your ds say about what's up? If the barrier to getting him into gifted services is underachievement or a teacher recommendation due to behavior challenges... and your ds is telling you the only issue is he's bored... jmo, it seems it would be a lot easier to help show your ds the benefit of challenging himself to behave and complete the work he's tasked with so that he can get the recognition he needs to get into the gifted program than it will be to spend the time/$/effort to get a fake ADHD diagnosis.

    I would honestly be surprised if you can just walk into a dr's office and get an ADHD diagnosis. I know there are drs here who are more likely to give a diagnosis than others, and drs who are more quick to prescribe meds than others once a child has a diagnosis... but even those drs who are more likely to give out ADHD diagnoses are looking for specific symptoms and behaviors and looking for the behaviors to happen in more than one setting (i.e., at home and at school for instance). Even if a parent walks in and gives a bunch of fake symptoms as reasons to suspect ADHD, you aren't going to be able to fake the answers a teacher gives on a behavioral survey.

    Sorry for the long reply - it sounds like you really don't want to pursue the fake diagnosis but also sounds like you are needing some type of help at school for your ds. I hope you're able to figure out a way to get him the help he needs and also get him placed appropriately for his intellectual abilities.

    Best wishes,

    polarbear

    eta - I was posting at the same time you posted your last reply my kids, sorry I didn't see it first!



    Last edited by polarbear; 11/07/13 01:15 PM.
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    Originally Posted by indigo
    Schools may benefit by an increase in financial aid for serving a larger number of disabled pupils.

    In a simple world where IDEA was fully funded and there was ample qualified staff to go around that might be the case, but it's far from the reality in my state and school district.

    Originally Posted by SiaSL
    ]Which is also why every single article in the local paper that touches on special needs children absolutely needs to include a mention of how much money they take away from general ed students mad. They are also the semi-official excuse given for the complete cancellation of the GATE program in the district last year (yes, really, those special needs kids and the English language learners).

    We need more funding and more individualized learning plans for *all* our school kids, and when we start thinking of kids from one group taking away from kids in another group, we're losing the big picture and creating barriers in our thoughts that don't need to be there. I have no doubt that there are special needs students with large needs that are getting more of a share of our school district's budget than my children and I have absolutely *NO* problem with that and I don't resent any of the $ spent for them. I trust that the administrators in my school district are making the tough decisions they have to make about program funding in times where budgets are extremely tight. Having experienced parenting children who are both gifted and have special needs, and knowing many families with gifted children and many families with special needs children.. in times of limited budgets.. I'd spend it on the special needs kids first, hands down. The problem isn't that the special needs kids are "taking away" money from the general ed fund, the problem is we aren't funding public education in the US in a sustainable way for *all* of our children.

    Sorry for the brief trip onto my soap box... stepping back off smile

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    Originally Posted by SiaSL
    Originally Posted by indigo
    Schools may benefit by an increase in financial aid for serving a larger number of disabled pupils.

    Hmmm... I like the universe you live in. Can I move there?

    Since IDEA was never fully funded (http://febp.newamerica.net/backgrou...ities-education-act-funding-distribution) most school districts (in our state -- other might be more generous in bridging the gap) are better off with the least number of identified students. Child find is a joke around here.

    Which is also why every single article in the local paper that touches on special needs children absolutely needs to include a mention of how much money they take away from general ed students mad. They are also the semi-official excuse given for the complete cancellation of the GATE program in the district last year (yes, really, those special needs kids and the English language learners).

    As far as I can tell, child-find and inclusive practices are pretty much a joke EVERYWHERE.

    Feeling particularly bitter on this subject this morning.


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    Quote
    Since IDEA was never fully funded (http://febp.newamerica.net/backgrou...ities-education-act-funding-distribution) most school districts (in our state -- other might be more generous in bridging the gap) are better off with the least number of identified students. Child find is a joke around here.

    Don't even get me started! It was almost impossible to get DS an IEP in the first place and within a year of him getting it they were talking about taking it away, and kept trying to come up with "fake" progress that seemed to be clear to everyone but me and Dh. It has also proven almost impossible to get OT services onto DS's IEP. The school wouldn't even evaluate him! I finally had to complain to the State, an advocacy group, etc. before they finally agreed to do anything. DS's IEP manager told me it would be pointless to even bother trying to get OT or a "Physically Impaired" IEP because DS would hardly get anything anyway. They don't want to "find" special needs kids OR give them any services. So that's one reason why I'm so frustrated with the concept of someone coming up with a fake disability in order to get services that are already spread so thin among kids who actually have disabilities. They told me the MOST anyone would ever get in our school for OT would be 20 minutes per week.

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    Seriously! I am really perplexed as how getting a gifted neurotypical child a fake diagnosis would get him/her anything!!! It barely gets the kids that actually HAVE a dx anything but prejudices, biases and false assumptions!

    And I'd really like to know how a dx would be a kid's ticket into a gifted program! Almost all of the parents I know don't think 2e children exist or belong in a gifted program and it seems like an AWFUL lot of educators and admins feel the same way... Perhaps OP is some other country or something and the other poster who said a dx on her daughter's chart would be an "open sesame" for her... but they sure as hell aren't in my district.


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    Originally Posted by blackcat
    Quote
    Since IDEA was never fully funded (http://febp.newamerica.net/backgrou...ities-education-act-funding-distribution) most school districts (in our state -- other might be more generous in bridging the gap) are better off with the least number of identified students. Child find is a joke around here.

    Don't even get me started! It was almost impossible to get DS an IEP in the first place and within a year of him getting it they were talking about taking it away, and kept trying to come up with "fake" progress that seemed to be clear to everyone but me and Dh. It has also proven almost impossible to get OT services onto DS's IEP. The school wouldn't even evaluate him! I finally had to complain to the State, an advocacy group, etc. before they finally agreed to do anything. DS's IEP manager told me it would be pointless to even bother trying to get OT or a "Physically Impaired" IEP because DS would hardly get anything anyway. They don't want to "find" special needs kids OR give them any services. So that's one reason why I'm so frustrated with the concept of someone coming up with a fake disability in order to get services that are already spread so thin among kids who actually have disabilities. They told me the MOST anyone would ever get in our school for OT would be 20 minutes per week.

    Yup every time I turned around last year (as you all may remember) the school tried to 'sneak' the accommodations out of the IEP. And the kicker I had to fight tooth and nail to get those accommodation in there in the first place!

    Oh and the "therapies?" please ... 20 minutes per week if lucky.


    And I didn't even give the school my kid's diagnosis of dysgraphia! They "do not use the word" They do not recognize it and no one understands what it is anyway. And it's the same for dyslexia. Those poor kids get NOTHING. No decent remediation for their dyslexia, just remedial reading classes that do not help and, again - the school does not "recognize" dyslexia. They do not even use the word! How in the word does having a diagnosis of an LD help when the schools do not recognize the LDS in the first place?!

    I really think they is a lot of ignorance and prejudice going here, i.e., the erroneous belief that a disability is some kid of 'meal ticket.' I can assure you it is not.

    Last edited by Irena; 11/07/13 03:09 PM.
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    It's a ticket to something all right.

    But it's not a nice place here, trust me.



    Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.
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    Early 90's I knew someone whose dad was one of those weasel lawyers that trips and sues (literally won a million dollars for falling over outside a bank). This guy's dad got him flagged as dyslexic specifically to ensure that he got extra time on exams. It does happen.


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    Yes, it does-- and the statistics from College Board tell that story rather clearly.


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    Yes, but extra time on an exam is not going to get you into the Gifted program or anything like that.

    My point: if a kid is neurotypical and truly GIFTED, he/she is not even gonna need or use the extra time or remediations available to whose with legit Dxs. I get that some kids may lie to get extra time or whatever but the question posed here in this thread and some of the anecdotes here in this thread are about truly GIFTED kids who are NOT disabled or have ADHD or have any LDs needing/using a "fake LD/ADHD/label" to get into a gifted program and to open paths to them that are not open to a neurotypical gifted kid and that is simply not true in my experience. Sure, you child with a 150 IQ may get some extra time and some OT or even a shadow (trust me - most kids, especially neurotypical ones, do not want a 'shadow') that he or she really will not need or even want... it won't do anything else like get them into a gifted program or access to special high-level classes or anything like that... At least not to my knowledge and experience.

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    I agree. It didn't make much sense to me, either. smile


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    Originally Posted by Irena
    ... it won't do anything else like get them into a gifted program or access to special high-level classes or anything like that... At least not to my knowledge and experience.

    I *think* that it's possible what can happen in the OP's school district (because it happens with some of the gifted options here in our district) is that a student who is id'd as 2e can qualify for gifted services with lower ability and achievement test scores (in theory - as in, I've seen that in written memos re district policy). But as Irena and others have pointed out - advocating for a child who actually *is* 2e was a heck of a commitment that took literally years and a ton of energy and effort and (I don't want to call it this but it sure felt like it - ) fighting. And that was with documentation from multiple professionals and a heck of a lot of data evidence in work samples etc. I can't imagine that it would be possible (here) to go into a team meeting at school with documentation of an ADHD diagnosis from just one diagnosing professional and get much more than a 504 plan offering a quiet room and extended time on classroom and state testing.

    I also can't help but wonder - if there is a dr that is routinely "easier" to get an ADHD diagnosis from (as in a fake diagnosis) and word of mouth is making that recommendation to parents... isn't the school district staff going to eventually figure out that's what's up and consequently not put trust in the diagnosis?

    *OR* maybe what the OP is expecting is to get SPED services (not gifted?) as a way of accessing smaller class size? I'm not entirely clear which it is that her child would qualify for with the diagnosis?

    polarbear


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