The Parents Role as Advocate

To be most effective as an advocate for your ADHD/LD child within the education system it is critical that you be involved. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act provides a specific definition of parent involvement :

The participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities.

You should be a full partner in your child's education. To do so, you need to be actively involved at your child's school. Below are some important things that will help you become an active, involved parent.

• Your involvement makes a difference for your child. Regardless of income and background, students with parents who are involved in their academic careers are more likely to earn high grades and test scores, enroll in higher level programs, and be promoted.
  
• You do not have to go to school to be involved. By promoting learning at home and reinforcing what is taught in school, you can have a positive effect on your child's education.


• Informed parents are a schools best customer. Schools are a consumer based enterprise. The consumers in this instance are you and your child. Schools do better when they hear from customers (you) with questions, comments, and constructive criticism. Asking questions promotes the two way communication that is so important
  
• Working together creates a better school. In recent years, many schools have changed their views of parent involvement from "parent as helper" to "parent as partner." Look for ways to work with your child's school: volunteer opportunities, PTA, field trip chaperone, library helper, etc.


• It's about the children. Schools should always be student centered. Any differences that may exist between you and your child's teacher should be set aside. The needs of your child should be the main focus. Remember to stay flexible, maintain strong communication and make it work.

(Adapted from the Pro-Parents, Spring/Summer 2007 newsletter)

Leo the Late Bloomer... a great LD book

Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus, is a wonderful book to encourage your LD child. It's about Leo the lion cub who has difficulty writing and reading among other things. His father is worried but his mother reassures him that he will "bloom" in his own time, which indeed he does. It is filled with colorful illustrations to capture your child's eye.

Your child will find that he, like Leo, will "bloom" and learn to do what others do when he is ready. Such an encouraging book!

The five main types of learning disabilities

I recently came across a website entitled HealthLine.com. This site offers a wealth of information in a wide variety of health related issues. My interests, of course, centered on ADHD and LD. Their article entitled Learning Disorders provides a wonderfully simple explanation for each type of learning disability:

• Reading disorders (dyslexia)
• Mathematics disorders (dyscalculia)
• Disorders of written expression (dysgraphia)
• Disorders of fine motor skills (dyspraxia)
• Information processing disorders
  

The article goes on to say:

Learning disorders affect approximately two million children between the ages of six and 17 (5% of public school children)

If you are new to learning disabilities or suspect your child may have one (or more), I highly recommend you read this article.

Bullying Prevention Awareness Week

National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week is Oct. 21 – 27, 2007. It is sponsored by PACER Center’s National Center for Bullying Prevention and cosponsored by the American Federation for Teachers, National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education, National Education Association, National PTA, and School Social Work Association of America.

Statistics show that 160,000 children in the United States miss school each day as a result of being bullied.

--Paula F. Goldberg, Executive Director of PACER

In 2006 PACER also created a website entitled "Kids Against Bullying." Per their website, Kids Against Bullying "was created for elementary school children, with a unique emphasis on children with disabilities. This Web site is an informative and creative resource to educate students about bullying prevention and provide methods to respond to bullying situations. The site features an animated cast of characters, information, celebrity videos, Webisodes, interactive games, animation, contests, and other activities. Parents and professionals will find helpful tips, intervention strategies, and resources for use at home or school." This is a wonderful tool for any child. If he/she are being bullied, it provides ways for them to cope with it. It is also a wonderful resource to share with your child to prevent them from becoming a bully. There is also a "parents & professionals" section that is full of information. This section goes into more detail about Bullying Prevention Week. You can also find out how to:

• Enter their poster contest
• Download a free color poster to help spread the word about Bullying Prevention Week
• For older kids, find out how to enter PACER's video contest
• View the toolkit for elementary school age children
• View informational handouts regarding bullying prevention

While the PACER Center is located in Minnesota, they do service those in need nationwide. To find the parent center nearest you, visit TTAlliance.org.

For more information regarding bullying you may want to visit these sites as well:

• Stop Bullying Now
• Schwab Learning
• Safe Youth (bullying statistics)

And, if you're interested in books about the subject, here are a few to check out:

• Too Smart for Bullies
• How To Handle Bullies, Teasers And Other Meanies
• Stick Up for Yourself!
• Bullies Are a Pain in the Brain

Lastly, you can read two previous posts that I have written on the subject of bullying.

Assistive Technology for Dyslexia

If your child struggles with dyslexia, a pen scanner may be the assistive technology that you have been looking for. Sue Watson, Developmental Support Counselor from about.com, says the following. "The pen scanner is used the same way you use a marker highlighter. Simply take the pen scanner across the text. The pen scanner will let you scan, store and transfer your printed text as well as smaller images to your computer. It's ideal for taking notes or scanning text for students that use a text reader. " Your child "can benefit tremendously from the use of scanner pens for test taking, note taking, greater access to materials, auditory support and overall productivity." In deciding whether your child may benefit from a pen scanner, she also suggests that you take the following into consideration:

• fine motor control is essential
• responsibility (the student will need to keep the pen with him/her)
• auditory discretion is important as many of the pens read but the voice is synthetic which can be frustrating for many students
• confidence (these students need to be comfortable using their assistive devices around their peers)
  

Following are several types of pen scanners that are available on the market:

• Iris Pen $129.00
• WizCom QuickLink Pen from $69.99
• C-Pen 20 $139.00

Shire withdraws specific Daytrana patches

On September 4, 2007, Shire announced the "voluntary market withdrawal of a limited amount of the ADHD patch Daytrana." This only applies to packages with an expiration date of March 31, 2009 or earlier and packages with lot numbers 2563511, 2563611, and 2570411. The voluntary withdrawal is due to feedback from patients that have reported difficulty in removing the release liner on the patches. This is not a safety issue and should only be seen as a proactive step. Due to an "enhanced manufacturing process" the patches that are not part of the withdrawal will provide patients and caregivers "improved ease of use when peeling the release liner off the patches." Furthermore, "all Daytrana patches, including those that are part of the voluntary market withdrawal, can continue to be used unless the release liner cannot be removed, or the patches are damaged while being opened. Patients and their caregivers who have questions regarding Daytrana patches should call Shire customer service at 1-800-828-2088, option 1." You can read the entire article regarding this topic on Shire's website.

If you are interested in receiving a free Daytrana Information Kit, go here. Or, if your child is already taking Daytrana, you may want to sign up for STICK (Strategies To Improve Coping for Kids and families). STICK is a "free online program to help you and your child manage the everyday challenges of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)."

Ahmet Zaapa overcomes dyslexia to become an author

Ahmet Zappa, son of the legendary musician Frank Zappa, overcame his dyslexia to publish a book. The book is entitled The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless. It is about a brother and sister who set out to save their dad who is a monster hunter. He included lots of his own illustrations to help the dyslexic child better understand and follow the story line. According to Amazon, the book is intended for children in 4th - 6th grades. You can read more about Ahmet's journey with dyslexia, what helped him overcome it, and learn more about the book by visiting the Reader's Digest website. You can also visit MightyMcFearless.com and read more about the book and it's author.

Photograph by Dale Berman

Intuniv....the latest ADHD medication

In June 2007 Shire announced that it has received an approval letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Intuniv extended release tablets. Intuniv will be used for the treatment of ADHD. It is a nonstimulant and is not a controlled substance. According to ShireNews, Matthew Emmens, CEO of Shire, said "when approved, Intuniv will be the first medication indicated to treat ADHD symptoms by selectively targeting alpha-2A-receptors in the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain that is thought to manage executive functioning tasks." The medication is indicated for use in children between the ages of 6 - 17. It will be available in dosage strengths of 1 mg to 4 mg daily.

How to Overcome IEP Meeting Hurdles

Do you have an IEP meeting coming up? Are you almost certain that you will hear why your child's school can not possibly give your child the accommodations that you are seeking? Have you heard "Our teachers can't do that, they are over worked as it is" before? If you answered yes to any of these questions, there is help. The NCLID has compiled three lists full of "courteous, yet assertive" responses that parents can use when confronted with excuses from school administration. They have also provided relevant information from sections of the special education law and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to supplement your responses. I highly advise you to review the lists carefully so that you can be prepared the next time you are scheduled to sit across from the IEP team . Don't be afraid to advocate for your ADHD/LD child!

• List 1
• List 2
• List 3

You may also want to review posts that I have written in the past that pertain to IEP meetings.

New source of literacy material for your LD child

Coming soon.......

AdLit.org will be the premier source of adolescent literacy material for parents, practitioners, and anyone else with a commitment to helping students in grades 4 through 12 become better readers. We offer research-based articles, instructional material for classroom teachers, tips for parents, book recommendations, exclusive interviews with top authors, and much more!

Additional AdLit.org resources:

• Free Newsletter: Receive the latest news and highlights from our blog by subscribing to Word Up!, our free monthly e-newsletter.
• AdLit Headlines: Get a weekly email with top news articles on adolescent literacy.
• LearningStore: We've gathered the best in video, audio and software in our online store, including proven research-based products on instruction and assessment. All our products are reviewed and approved by education experts.

AdLit.org is an educational service of public television station WETA in Washington, D.C. The project is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and by the Ann B. and Thomas L. Friedman Family Foundation.

*Information taken from AdLit.org (Adolescent Literacy)

Internship and Art Opportunities for ADHD/LD students

LD Online has a list of internships that are being offered for college students who have disabilities. They are:

1. Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation-AAPD Congressional Internship Program
2. Microsoft-AAPD Federal Information Technology Internship Program
3. LD OnLine Internship

To read more about each go to LD Online. You need to hurry though.... the deadline to apply for the Mitsubishi and Microsoft internships is December 14, 2007. Good luck!


They also offer an art opportunity for 5-18 year olds who have ADHD or learning disabilities. Your child can send in as many pieces of original artwork as they would like. Selected pictures will be posted in their online Art Gallery and on their homepage. For more information and to learn how to submit your child's art work, go here.

Using Color to Help Students with Learning Disabilities

Lisa Harp, a teacher and educational therapist, has written an article entitled The Use of Color to Treat Learning Problems. In it, she details how she uses color the help her "right-brained students" succeed. Many of these students have ADHD and/or learning disabilities. She explains further by saying:

"...a right-brained child, who sees the world in color and pictures, craves and needs color to succeed in an academic setting. Without it, he loses interest in the topic at hand and slowly fades away."

She offers tips on using color to help students in the areas of math, spelling, reading, and more. You can read the entire article on ADD A to Z.

Sad news from SchwabLearning

If you have read this blog long at all, you know that I often post links to articles located on SchwabLearning.com. It is such a wonderful resource for parents whose children have ADHD/LD. I absolutely love the site and have recommended it to others numerous times. Therefore, I was completely shocked and saddened when I recently received an email from it's founders, Charles and Helan Schwab. In essence, the email explained that the website will be closing by the end of this year. I highly recommend that you visit it often between now and then.

Here is the email I received in it's entirety:

Dear Shane,

Exactly twenty years ago, Helen and I established Schwab Learning to help families of children with learning disabilities (LD).

At that time, there were few resources available to help demystify learning and attention problems, and only a handful of philanthropic organizations with a focus on these issues. Since then, our Foundation has invested over $90 million to provide guidance and assistance to parents and their children who struggle with learning. Over the years, the landscape has changed significantly, resulting in greatly increased access to research-based information about navigating life with an LD.

With this history and progress in mind, Helen and I feel a responsibility to focus our attention and resources on addressing learning disabilities through selective grant-making to other organizations, rather than maintaining the operations of our two websites, SchwabLearning.org and SparkTop.org. We are taking this opportunity to consider how we might best advance our impact in the human services, education, civic, and cultural arenas.

In order to increase our focus on grant-making efforts, we have had to consider some very tough choices, and we have made the extremely difficult decision to close our websites by the end of 2007. While we understand that there was no way for you to anticipate this news, we have always felt that we are partners with the parents, educators, experts, researchers, and scientists who are working together to help kids with LD succeed. Toward that end, we and our staff feel it is important for you to be aware of our plans and this very recent and difficult decision. Please know that our team is working aggressively to facilitate the best transition path for making our resources available to you through other appropriate organizations.

We will keep you informed as our plans evolve. In the meantime, all of the features and services we provide will remain fully operational.

Sincerely,

Charles and Helen Schwab

Nominate your child for a "Yes I Can!" award

The Council for Exceptional Children recognizes children who have made "exceptional strides" by presenting them with a Yes I Can! award. The deadline to enter is quickly approaching. They must receive your nomination by October 16, 2007. (Sorry I didn't post about it sooner but I just found out about it myself) The eligibility requirements are:

• Candidates must be 2-21 years of age when they are nominated.



• Each candidate is eligible in one category.



• Each candidate must be nominated by one individual (teacher, principal, related service provider, friend, parent).



• International nominations are accepted

The winners are announced in March 2008. You can download the nomination packet in either pdf form or MS Word form (go to the bottom of the page). The rules, address to send the packet, etc. are all included in the nomination packet. If you have any question about the nomination process, you can email yesican@cec.sped.org.

ADHD & LD Printables

ADDitude magazine has organized a wonderful resource of printables on their website. They are available for free and cover such topics as:

• Just Diagnosed
• Treatment
• School & Learning Disabilities
• Parenting
• Adult ADHD/LD issues

You have got to go check it out! Be sure and bookmark it too as I'm sure you'll want to refer back to it often. Thanks, ADDitude.

Parents Guide to ADHD Medications

Today the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Psychiatric Association released a parents' guide to ADHD medication. Since it was developed by "mental health professionals and parent advocacy groups, with no drug company funding" I believe it to be a practical, unbiased guide. According to Reuters, "the guide lists some of the most common side effects of current stimulant drugs to treat ADHD including reduced appetite, weight loss, trouble sleeping, headaches, stomach pain and irritability. Rare and serious side effects include heart-related problems, hallucinations and agitation, suicidal thoughts and liver problems, it said." It also "takes on questions about the risk for addiction, and even offers some help on how parents can enlist help from their child's school." Dr. Adelaide Robb, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, stated

"We are not here to medicate children into being zombies in the classroom, we are here to help them focus and pay attention so they are able to learn, and when they are teens, to help them pay attention in traffic."

You can download the free guide here. It is available in English and in Spanish.