Sorry you are dealing with this too. She is in third but was grade accelerated in kindergarten so according to her age she should be in second right now.
When she was in kindergarten it became very clear that she wasn't going to learn anything there because she could already read well. The teacher gave her the end of the year math test and she already knew everything. The teacher didn't seem to have a clue about how to differentiate so we moved her up a grade in the end of November. I mentioned the focus issues several times but everyone kind of dismissed it (including the school psych--a different one than we have now--who evaluated her!). When she was moved to first I started going in for about an hour ever week to volunteer during reading/writing. DD was very spaced out compared to the other kids and it took her forever to write anything. Other kids would be filling up an entire page complete with nice drawing, and DD would have a sentence. This was shortly after she turned 6. She wasn't misbehaved, just very slow and out of it. So that's when we got the diagnosis and started her on meds (in the spring). She improved dramatically and caught up to the rest of the kids in terms of her ability to get stuff done, writing, etc.
I talked to the school psych last spring and she said that there is no need for a 504 since nothing is graded at that age, there aren't timed tests (other than the CogAT they use for gifted identification), etc. However, now that we are in third, the teacher seems to expect more and I'm feeling like DD is being punished for her disability.
My guess is you don't need a 504 in first grade unless you need classroom modifications in order for him to function (and the teacher is not willing to make them without a 504). For instance special seating, help organizing things, etc. I would talk to the teacher and see if you can come up with a plan before trying to pursue a 504.
