For whatever it is worth, we were denied a 504 in public elementary school even with an official diagnosis of dyslexia from the top hospital in the state. The principal claimed that a major life area is not limited because he is just a little behind in reading, not two grade levels (apparently IEP range here). I think I could have had a great appeal. There is nothing that says a kid has to be below grade level to qualify. For a 504 you just need a diagnosis. It doesn't have to be school testing. I think you would need school testing for an IEP.
I also contacted the dyslexia parent adocacy group in our state, and she said that an ADD or ADHD diagnosis is almost automatic 504 approval. I don't really get that, since both should be a reason to have one. If the child is not living up to his/her potential and has an actual learning disability, it really shouldn't matter if they score high or low on random tests.
I think the modifications/accomodations would need to be written up as specific to your child. Some of the most common ones for either ADHD or LD are.
Extended time/reduced assignments
reminders to turn in work (my friend's daughter who is ADHD needs this every day)
Notes provied (as they get older this becomes important)
Not being counted off for spelling/grammar (this is important for LD)
Keyboarding accepted
And then it becomes more specific to the child.
added breaks, etc.
I think the ADHD is probably easier to get a 504 because it typically is not convenient to the teachers. LD on the other hand, can be a kid who is completely silent.
That has been my experience with the whole process. Most schools, with the exception of our horrible elementary school which I pulled my child from, typically approved 504 because the accomodations/modifications are not that difficult to implement. Now, 504 says nothing about remediation, nothing about extra instruction. It is only modification and accomodations.
