I agree with spaghetti and wanted to add a bit more:
When I was trying to request a 504 a year ago, I reached out to my Parent Training and Information Center. I had a contact from my county who knew a lot about my school district, student services and the law.
She encouraged me to absolutely be a squeaky wheel. And she also told me that a 504 is only as good as how much effort the family puts into it. That really encouraged me to stand up and ask for what I believe is appropriate and not let the school spin things around and gaslight me.
We had private testing & diagnosis. I requested the 504. The school asked me what we wanted for my son. I wrote a 504 plan for him based on the testing report and some specific problems we had with keeping track of work. The school approved nearly all of my requests. It was a ton of work on my part and I still have loads of meetings and emails to make sure everyone understands my son and is following the plan.
It’s working, but has required a ton of effort. It’s getting easier now that we’re past the initial requests.
This part “instead theyre admonishing him him for not trying, not finishing his work, not paying attention.” I had a similar problem with my son. I would nix this as firmly and swiftly as you can. Once I had diagnosis, I had a meeting with a bunch of school people and said that he absolutely needs to stop being punished for things related to disability. I was calm but also mad and unsure this school was going to work out for him. He hasn’t been punished for things related to disability since. I requested a ton of people to be at that meeting: school psych, principal, classroom teacher, gifted coordinator. If he has the potential to get in trouble for behaviors related to disability (like not doing his work)… whoever is in charge of discipline at the school needs to be informed. In our case it’s the principal.
Last edited by millersb02; 10/01/24 10:25 AM.
