Any good public schools with kids for adhd/add in the dallas area??

Question

Are theyre any good PUBLIC schools (in the dallas area, not necasarily in dallas) for kids with adhd/add? Where are they? Their names? Wich are the best?

Answer 1

I reside in the NW Dallas area, and despite the fact that many of the districts here have good general education reputations, every district has its issues concerning serving special needs students.  I am most familiar with a few districts in my immediate area...one being Lewisville.  I have heard good things about it generally, and from a review of their district website, you will see information about their special ed programs which appears to be comprehensive,  supporting parents through free educational programs all year long and supporting kids through Circle of Friends and other innovative options.  They also have a very active Special Education PTA.   You might check out the websites of the various districts you are thinking of moving to just to see what they have about special ed on their sites.  Ones that have a well-developed program (like Lewisville) probably wouldn't try to hide it....ones that don't have much going probably won't have a lot on their site, either.

I am a certified teacher and a parent of a special needs child with ADHD and other issues.  Through the past few years dealing with his issues in the public school districts where we have lived, I have learned a few basics about the process: (1) so much depends upon the individuals at the campus your child attends; I believe that educators and administrators went into education to help kids, so I try to give them the benefit of the doubt concerning what to do for my child, while tempering that with my own knowledge of my son, his disabilities and the law (2) as a parent, it is my job to learn as much as I can about my son's disabilities and then to educate others in his sphere of influence, including school personnel, about what he needs - doing this in a positive way can be effective in building relationships with school personnel as partners to help my son (3) knowledge is power - if you don't know what to ask for, you are at the mercy of people who are often too overworked to do the research themselves and who will not be as motivated as you to help your child succeed - learn about your child's disabilities and learn about the special education laws that might help your child receive services and which may be used to protect him/her when needed.  No one will know your child better than you, so you have to be the advocate.  It is important to remember to be respectful and polite when dealing with the school personnel, even when you disagree.

I also try to remember that public schools have a really difficult job educating 'the masses' - they have limited funds, teachers are burdened with meeting TAKS testing requirements, and there are many kids who come to school today who may or may not be special needs kids who don't have the love and supervision at home that they need in order to succeed in school...school personnel are asked to make up for that on a daily basis (how exhausting is that!).  My son's teacher this year had about a half to two-thirds of her class identified as either special needs kids (ADHD, Autistic, dyslexic, etc) or ESL (English as a Second Language).  Further, many school personnel do things out of ignorance about the disability or ignorance of the law.  So, as a parent, I always expect to do my part to help when I can (providing information, providing treats for teachers, volunteering to help with reading groups, etc), and to advocate for my son as required.  

There are a huge amount of special ed resources you might tap (if not already); a few good ones to start with are:  Greatschools.net (has school info), the Lewisville special ed PTA blog http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lisd-septs... and www.wrightslaw.com.  The ARC of NE Tarrant County (and other organizations like this) provide short, free trainings for parents about all kinds of relevant topics related to children with disabilities and how to navigate the school process.  There are also ADHD-specific resources like CHADD, but I have found that many kids with ADD/ADHD have coexisting conditions that may or may not be diagnosed with the ADHD, and many of the special needs support issues cut across diagnosis boundaries (eg, how to get the school to provide services is an issue for most kids with a disability).  Issues like sensoriprocessing disorder, dyslexia, seizure disorder, and central auditory processing disorder can mimic behaviors of ADHD.  It is important to have your child go through a neurological evaluation along with a comprehensive pediatric child psychology assessment to make sure that there aren't other issues impacting your child.

There are also a few ways to approach your child's needs legally within the public school system including via a 504 plan or via the full special education process (going to an ARD meeting and creating an IEP - individualized education plan).  You can find out more about these options on the www.wrightslaw.com website.

Good luck!