Oh my goodness, we have the same child! I considered a school for dyslexic children for my DS10 (4th grade), but ultimately decided against it because of exactly what you are experiencing. He is in public school with an Orton-Gillingham tutor that works with him after school 3 days a week. The first semester of school was a struggle. We were trying to find the "just right dose" of medication for his ADHD and he was bored to tears in school. Since Christmas, we have found the right dose (hint: a little goes a long way in these highly sensitive kids) AND they have started curriculum compacting at school. He is truly a new child!
I am lucky to have a very understanding teacher who sees past his dyslexia and dysgraphia and all of the fidgeting that comes from the SPD. She helps remediate where needed, but she was also the one that suggested curriculum compacting for the 2nd semester. He is no longer bored and he feels smart because he gets to work ahead of the other students in class. It is so nice for him to be recognized for something other than all of his disabilities.
There is hope, but it is a long journey...one in which you never reach the end. I highly doubt that we won't have to continue to tweak things as time goes on, but it feels so good to finally have it right.
Just in case you want the details. We tried just about every ADHD medication there is. The last one was Daytrana (the patch). On every med, he had stomach aches and nausea or was a complete zombie. It turns out that even the starting dose was too high for him. He is on one-fourth of a 20mg patch now. He has no side effects and his personality is completely unaffected. I had a consult with Dr. Ed Amend the other day and he said it is quite common for kids like him to be highly sensitive to stimulants and it is not unusual that the starting dose is too high.
Hope this helps!
