504 Plan - What's in it? - ADD / ADHD Message Board

weez · 03-06-2004, 07:16 AM

My son has ADD and is doing very well at school but he doesn't have a 504 and isn't in spec.ed. He is 9 and I'm starting to think that I should put something in place "just in case." At this point my main concern is organizational skills and the volume of homework (it takes him longer than most to get it done). I've also heard you can pick teachers for next year if you have a 504 - which normally isn't allowed in our school district. Any input would be appreciated.

index.html · 03-07-2004, 07:38 AM

Hi Weez!

What goes into a 504 Plan and who qualifies varies a good deal with the school district. In order to qualify your son must have a disability (ADD) that is severe enough that it negatively impacts his education performance. He must have a history of that disability or be regarded as having a disability. Do you think his teachers would back you up that his ADD is severe enough to qualify?

If so, then 504 accommodations are written to prevent him from being discrimated against in the classroom; in other words, to "level the playing field" for him. You can do a web search for ADHD zccomodations and find that there are literally hundreds of possibilities that you could include. Things like an extra day to turn in assigments, reduced written assignments, the opportunity to dictate answers, whatever your child needs to help him be successful.

In our district, *nothing* gives you the right to pick your kid's teachers. Your requests may carry a little more weight if your child is special ed or 504, but not necessarily. Your district may do things differently.

Hope this helps!

weez · 03-07-2004, 08:25 AM

Thanks so much!

Yes - in our district I know for sure that if you have a 504 Plan that you can sit down with the pricipal and your child's current teacher and choose the teacher for the following year - since some teachers are better at working with those with disabilities than others.

Right now, my son is keeping up alright but I'm going to keep a 504 in mind for middle-school - I can forsee that he might need an extra day to turn in homework and things like that.

Just..Me · 03-07-2004, 05:16 PM

So with a 504 in some districts you can choose your childs teachers? how does this compare to a IEP?

My son is 15 and getting ready for the big switch to Sr High this next year and I know I am going to have to have something in place.

Which is better?

weez · 03-07-2004, 06:00 PM

The way it's been explained to me (and I'm no expert!) is that with a 504 Plan the child is doing the same work as the other kids and is evaluated to the same standards and receives no "therapy." They just need some accomodations to help them. With an IEP they are officially in special ed and need more than just accomodations to succeed. I've got two kids with ADD/ADHD so I'm looking into all this myself.