I had a meeting with my son's new teacher today to prepare for first grade. He is six.
I'll give the background below, but the basic issue is that I'm not sure what I can ask for. My son has difficulties with some things (explained below). However, they say that he isn't eligible for any 504 or IEP accommodations even if he gets a diagnosis because he works ahead of grade level and there is nothing they could offer. He is having enough difficulty that he won't be able to stay in school if we can't resolve the issues. They don't offer any sort of therapy or accommodations for executive function or attention issues if a child is working above grade level. They say he isn't eligible for speech or social skills even if diagnosed with a relevant disorder or pragmatic speech delay because there is nothing preventing him from doing grade appropriate work (evidenced by his high scores on standardized testing). This is true of both possible schools (a public school and a charter school).
Last year, his teacher let him work independently on second grade work on the computer. That helped a great deal, but he had trouble with subs because they tried to have him do the regular work and he wouldn't. He was sent to a first grade class for reading and apparently did fine there. However, he just has a great deal of difficulty staying quiet and well-behaved when he isn't interested in the work; he gets up and tries to be other kids to play with him or to be a class clown.
He has no diagnosis, but had severe developmental delays that eventually resolved. He shows an odd pattern on testing, though (missing easy questions and getting harder ones, etc.), and still struggles with certain things. He definitely finds some things harder than other kids; he has been tested extensively, but some things just may get clearer as he gets older.
Despite his teacher's efforts to give him independent work, he sometimes has to be patient and just has a lot of trouble. It may be an impulse control or executive function issue; he just has trouble doing things he isn't interested in and has some difficulty with social skills (he was bullied last year). It could also be straight boredom combined with insufficient maturity.
The new teacher asked if we wanted him skipped a grade, but I don't see how we can do that unless he can learn to follow classroom rules even when bored occasionally. It sounds to me as though he is going to be on his own to manage or not manage.
I'm not sure there is anything else I can do or ask for, besides trying to get him the same options as last year. Has anyone successfully obtained accommodations for a child working above grade level?
