My son Michael moves to Middle school next fall and his Mom and I are a bit worried. As many with AD/HD (He also has Generalized Anxiety Disorder) he is a tough time with transitioning. The elem school he is in has been fantastic, they have worked with us in partnership for three (going on 4 actually) years now since Michale was diagnosed. The are arranging an IEP meeting witrh Middle school personal so we can all meet and decide on the best plan for Michael. The elem school is protective of him and they have worded the need for a continuing IEP so there can be no question. Michael has improved and grown so much and it is very evident this year. I mean everything is good and we are so thankful, but we are concerned about the move to middle school.

So, for all of you have experienced this transition already, I would be very appreciative if you could share your experience and offer any advice you may be able to give. Thanks much!

Phil,

Boogie had a really rough time starting Jr. High. The class to class part of it was really hard for her. She is doing better now, but at the beggining of the school year she found herself frustrated most of the time. What also made Boogie very upset is that since she is smaller than most of the other kids and her front teeth have not yet come in because there isn't enough room for them, she was teased alot. Thankfully a group of boys have taken her in as their bud. And she is doing pretty good, they stick up for her and will get in the other students faces when she is being picked on. And of course you know about boogie's suicide attempt. Well she is doing a little better. she has fluctuated all year in her grades. I hope your son has a better transition than boogie, and I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed for you.

Huggz

oh yea I was going to offer some advice too..lol almost forgot.

Keep in constant touch with the school. You might get your son a notebook to write his assignments in and have the teacher initial it then you look at it when he gets home so you know what he needs to get done also. I set boogie's up as follows:
Class:
Date:
Date due:
Assignment:
Teachers initials"
parents initials:

This has worked great for boogie who would always forget her homework assignments.
And also if you can, go to school with him the first few days and help him with his locker and things, this is tough for any kid.

Thank you so much for sharing this Spirit. What you describe is precisely the areas that I am concerned about. I will be sure to discuss these at the IEP transistion meeting we are having with the elem and middle school staff. The sign-off is a great idea as he also tends to forget homework and gets very frustrated about it. I'll keep you posted here on our progress. Thanks again!

I also was very worried about my son this past year before he went to our middle school. Fortunately for us it wasn't bad at all. He loves the freedom and variety of different classes/teachers/kids all day long and the few minutes he gets between classes to move around. His behavior has been pretty good too! The bad part is that he is failing. This has never even been an issue before and thisyear it's been ugly. Along with the freedom of movement comes the freedom he THINKS he has to not do any work out of the classroom! I don't quite know how to handle the whole "I did it in studyhall" "I don't have any" "It's already handed in" "I forgot" lies. We've been going through all kinds of different tactics trying to figure out the best way to get through his skull that it's all in his hands but at the same time I'm here to help any way I can.
All in all, his experience has been a good one, so hang tight!!!

Hope it helps Phil, it has been a life saver for Boogie, although she does like to claim she has fogotten the notebook as well. Mom doesn't play that game. ;)

Carolyn, Sounds like you need to touch base with the teachers and possible have an older student help him remember to gather all his work, also the notebook thing pretty much puts an end to all the lying. Boogie used to do the same thing, and now she has no choice but to comply. I keep in constant contact with Boogie's teachers via email. If they don't respond via emails, well they get a visit from me on their free hour. Unfortunatly teaching children with ad/hd to be responsible is a full time job, but once you get it in grained in their head, it will stay there. (That's the bright side :D)

Let me know if there are any other tips you might like. I will be glad to share as boogie is now currently not on meds due to the fact that the meds interfere (boy wearing out my dictionary again..lol) with the suspected bipolar.

Huggz to the both of you and good luck.

I wish I could offer a positive story in my case, but I cannot. My son who is now 13 has basically shut down. He has ADD and Non Verbal Learning Disorder and Anxiety Disorder. Thankfully we have moved to Connecticut and we have some fine doctors out of Yale working with us. However, the years of trying to make sense of it all fell apart two years ago as the kids started moving from classroom to classroom for certain subjects. That just did him in. I took him home to homeschool and now he is somewhat better, but still very tough. I think he has lost hope. One thing that I feel is his non verbal learning disorder was misread for so many years that it is no wonder he hates school. I have also learned that he loves to learn by doing. A local agricultural phd who owns a nursery next to us has been taking him and teaching him nursery work. My son loves it!!! I think if we could give him education like this all of the time it would be great...but that isnt reality.

Hello,
My son Patrick will be starting at the middle school this fall ( 6th grade) I have all the fears previously mentioned. I am afraid he won't get to where he needs to be with the stuff he needs when he does get there. His counselor has mentioned that I can get him on a 504 plan that will offer him assistance with organization and whatever other help he may need. He has never had "extra" help in school, but I am glad he will have this available.

hello, my daughter started middle school this year to. first grade card was horrid.....then the parent/teacher meetings telling me she doesnt take the work seriously.....etc...so i went to the counselor, had her tested. we meet in the am to discuss all this with all of my daughters teachers....i know shes ADD but could be ADHD....and i know she has major reading disabilities. she has no problems changing classes...to her its a big distraction meaning shes not having to sit down....its weird, she picks one thing and makes all A's on that...but could care less about anything else in school....im just starting to read here and need to learn what rights she has...etc.....

we had one teacher this past tues. single her out in class and i really thought bad of that....she made sure the whole class knew daughter had a lil problem and would be talking to her mother....

needless to say daughter came home very upset over her friends questioning her about this....

any advice??

thanks

GigglyBabeB

Seriously, you need to have the special education team come up with a transition plan, In the USA, this is required. (Also you need one if your child is going into High School) The Transition Plan helps the child see toward the future. What they would like to do, what they would be good at. For as you can guess, special need kids need more time to prepare for these things.