Doctors Deviate From Guidelines When Treating ADHD in Preschoolers

By Christina Samuels from On Special Education

In 2011, the American Academy of Pediatrics released guidelines on how doctors should treat preschoolers with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The first step should be parent and/or teacher-administered behavioral therapy. If symptoms continue, the next step is medication with methylphenidate, better known under the brand names Ritalin or Concerta.

But only about 10 percent of medical specialists responding to a survey on their treatment methods said that they followed those guidelines exactly. Many chose medication as a first-line treatment; others chose to prescribe different types of medication, or refused to prescribe drugs even when behavioral therapy was not showing success.

The findings were released at a recent meeting devoted to research in child development, the Pediatric Academic Societies.

Read more HERE.

When There Is No IEP: How To Help Your Child Succeed In School

Guest Post by Suzanne Burchill from The Friendship Circle

My son was diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) about 4 years ago. Today he is in 5th grade and still struggles with the classic symptoms of ADHD: lack of focus and attention, easily distracted, difficulty staying on task, lack of organization, blurting/ shouting out in class, difficulty sitting still/staying seated, and lack of impulse control.
Can we have an IEP?…. Pretty Please

These symptoms have caused a lot of problems for him both socially and academically. Last year, my husband and I started to notice that my son’s grades were beginning so suffer, so we requested an evaluation from the school for an Individual Education Plan (IEP).

At the end of the evaluation, the school professionals decided that my son wasn’t performing poorly enough to qualify for an IEP. So my husband and I were left to ask ourselves “What do we do now?”

Without the requirements of an IEP, how could we make sure that the school was doing everything that they could to help our son succeed?

Read more HERE.

Will make eye contact - How to write social skills IEP goals that work.

By Valle Dwight from greatschools.org

Ben Greene, 9, was at recess when a classmate asked him to play. “I would, but you smell really bad,” he replied. The girl walked away hurt. Ben, who has Asperger’s syndrome, had no idea why his remark bothered the little girl (“It’s a fact,” he said with a shrug). The next day, at the insistence of his aide, he apologized to her. “I’m sorry I made a personal remark, but you really do smell bad,” he said.

Anyone with a child on the autism spectrum probably recognizes that scenario and, in part, it’s just such situations that led Massachusetts to pass a law requiring that IEP teams consider and address the social skills needs of children on the spectrum. Advocates hailed the law, which recognizes that social skills are a critical part of a child’s education and development.

Read more HERE.