How do you determine if an action is manifestation of disability?

Question

A special ed student should not be punished if his actions are a manifestation of his disabillity. Staying on task and not taking appropriate materials to class as well as not treating his peers and teachers with respect are all manifestations of deression and adhd, right? If so then why he he constantly punished for this at school and what do I do about it? He is in special education mainstream for emotional dissturbance.

Answer 1

adhd is a myth its an excuse used to explain away bad behaviour

Answer 2

I have a son in special ed and he use to  act that way  but the school he goes to really worked with him. I suggest sitting down with his teachers,  school Counciler and Principal and talking about alternative punishments that might work. they may not know how to deal with them after all you are his parent you know him better then anyone else.

Answer 3

Not correct.  Disrespecting peers and teachers is NOT a manifestation of Attention Deficits, Hyperactivity Deficits, or Depression.  Furthermore, should your child continue to be disciplined for the same behaviors, he can be expelled from the district.  What you can do about it is discipline YOUR child at home when he gets in trouble for disrespecting his peers and teachers.  Getting angry with the school instead of your child sends a message to your child that it's OK to keep on acting the same way.

Answer 4

The reason he is being punished is because no one has set up an appropriate IEP for him. I would suggest calling an emergency IEP meeting, stating the exact incidences that are leading to punishment and ask for alternatives.

Ask the school what they can do to support him staying on task. They should develop a ladder of supports, starting with keeping him on task, reward system, and then what to do if he just absolutely cannot stay on task. Same for taking supplies to class. He needs a checklist and a reminder from teachers for taking the correct items. HE needs to be allowed to go back and get things at least once if he forgets. The teacher should keep back up supplies for him to borrow. As for not treating with respect, that's very typical of aspergers rather than adhd (which are often misdiagnosed as each other) It seems odd that he's having that problem as a manifestation, and I doubt that you'll get the school to agree that it is one for adhd. If you can, then usually kids with IEP's have statements like "Will receive social skills training weekly with a trained professional, will receive prompts from teachers for appropriate interactions, will instigate appropriate social interaction three times daily with prompt and reward"

Good luck, fighting for appropriate supports and systems is very time consuming and hard. You just have to be up there every day until it's settled.

Answer 5

There is a process dictated by the IEP for a child with an IEP who has been suspended or is facing a change of placement because of his behavior

How would our IEP team arrive at it's Manifestation determination decision?

1. Collect and consider relevant information regarding the incident.

         -interview involved parties

         -interview witnesses

         -gather other evidence (e.g., items, videotapes, police reports, etc.)

2. Review relevant information already gathered:

         -evaluation/observation results

         -data gathered by teachers/evaluators

         -other information in student's folder



The IEP team must then answer four questions: 1.2.3.4.

1. Were the services, goals, strategies, and placements identified in the IEP appropriate?

2. If so, were the components/requirements of the IEP provided and implemented as  written?

3. Did the disability impair the student's ability to comprehend the impact and consequences of his/her behavior?

or

4. Did the student's disability impair his/her ability to control his/her behavior in the situation in question?



ANALYSIS OF THE FOUR QUESTIONS

If the answer to question(s) 1 and/or 2 are "no", the blame falls on the school.  They may  however, designate a more restrictive placement for the student.

If the answers to questions 1 & 2 are "yes" and the answers to questions 3 & 4 are "no",

    there is NO manifestation of the disability (the behavior was not a result of the disability).

     The student is subject to the same discipline as used for non-disabled students.  Those

      who receive services under section 504 (of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973) or ADA

      (Americans with Disabilities Act), but NOT IDEA 97, may be expelled and denied special education services.