GETTING BACK TO SCHOOL 


The following is provided by Janie Bowman and is uploaded with her permission.
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                 GETTING BACK TO SCHOOL
                            
 1. The planning for returning to school this fall should have been started
    this past spring, by visiting and observing in the classroom options
    available, talking with teachers, asking questions, passing around infor-
    mation about ADD, getting a feel for the room, the distractions, where the
    bookcases and the walls are, the discipline techniques, the expectations...

 2. Pick your teacher/teachers/classes, with the more difficult classes in the
    A.M. when the student is more rested.  It's been my experience that a
    hands-on curriculum in a democratic classroom can make the year
    challenging.


 3. Prepare the child for the beginning of school by visiting the school a
    week before school starts. Talk to each teacher, remind them who you/the
    child are. Be friendly. Offer to volunteer in your child's classroom. If
    your child is too independent for that, volunteer in the classroom next
    door. If your child is still too independent for that, volunteer in the
    office. But make your presence known in the school in some official and
    safe capacity.

 4. For older students, color-code books and notebooks: (ie science is blue,
    math is yellow, history is green.) Or purchase a large, heavy-duty hiking
    backpack so that the student can live out of it.  In that way, everything
    he needs is on his back, and he doesn't need to wander over to his locker
    every other minute. The added benefits of schooling out of a backpack is
    that it's easier to train your wandering mind that everything goes in
    there and everything comes out of there.  I never complained about
    crumpled papers as long as they made it home.

 5. Find out the school policy about reminding students to take their meds.
    Make sure it is not humiliating to the student. Suggest ways to the office
    and teacher on how to gently remind your child without singling him out
    for teasing by his peers. It may not be obvious to the educators how
    important the medication may be to your child... until he misses a dose.
    But if he were a diabetic, they would scramble to assure a timed insulin
    injection. Your child should receive the same consideration.

 6. Call a meeting between all the child's teachers, the counselors, the
    special education coordinator, the vice-principal, and the principal, etc.
    Go in with a written agenda as to what your child needs and the expec-
    tations you have of the school staff.  Explain how your child is affected
    by his ADD. Offer to work with them and let them know how much you
    appreciate their support in return.

 7. You are responsible for your child's education.  The school is accountable.
    Know your rights.  Be an advocate for your child.  If you aren't, no one
    else will be.

 8. Provide the student with an assignment book and enlist the help of the
    teacher in filling it out.  With some children, even filling out the
    assignment book is extremely difficult.  When an adult attends a class in
    college, in most cases he is given an outline of what is expected and when.
    The assignment book can be used to communicate back and forth between
    parents, teacher, and student. Some schools have become progressive and
    have a computerized telephone system that is available for parents who
    want to know what the homework is.

 9. Realize that it is difficult for some educators to understand what ADD
    is. Unless you live in an ADD family, it is extremely easy to misunder-
    stand.  In this respect, the parent must educate the educator.

10. Try to understand your child's feelings.  Walk in his shoes. Appreciate
    his struggle.

11. The greatest education you can give your child is to help him understand
    what his unique gifts and natural limits are. Help him to see himself as
    the special person that he is. Encourage him to explore the meaning, the
    quirks, the capacity of his ADD.

12. Help him to see his ADD as a strength to build upon.  We are the mirrors
    that reflect how our children see themselves.  Don't cloud it with anger
    or frustration.

13. Attend school meetings, school board meetings, and volunteer for your
    support group.  There is strength in numbers. We're not alone, although
    it sometimes feels that way.

14. Talk to other parents in your child's class and in your school. Often,
    they have the same concerns, ADD or no ADD.

15. If you are doing your best and things still fall apart, you'll have no
    regrets.  And you will have earned the respect and understanding of the
    most important human being on this planet... your child.
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