Massachusetts Special Education Law Blog

Q&A: Child with ADHD Treated Unfairly by Classroom Teacher

5/3/2010

This question was originally posted on www.avvo.com.

Question:

I feel like my child is being treated unfairly by his 2nd grade teacher what more can I do? I have made it clear to the principal and teacher that I'm not happy with the situation. I have asked for a classroom change, sat in class with my son and I am at a point where I just have to tell him to grin and bare it. He is ADHD and has had no efforts by the teacher to facilitate his needs. It is to a point where she has been embarrassing him in front of other students in the classroom and although I complained It has currently had no action taken. Frankly I'm tired of him crying everyday because of her persistent bullying. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

My Response:

If your child doesn't have a 504 or IEP plan, I would request that the school evaluate him, if you suspect his disability is interfering with his ability to learn. Children with ADHD often act impulsively because of their disability, and this can lead to school disciplinary action. It is always better to avoid this issue by proactively addressing the situation, often with a functional behavioral assessment and a positive behavior plan. Other children with ADHD are disciplined by teachers for their lack of attention in class or constant fidgeting. It is important that teachers understand that these behaviors are a result of a disability, and not simply bad behavior.

Once your child's special education needs are addressed, you could consider filing a complaint against the teacher with the Department of Education.

7 Comments

LASHUNDRA

4/20/2011 08:25:33 am

Hi there. I know what you are experiencing. My son is 13 and in the 7th grade. His teacher has done the same thing to him and nothing was done about it. They bellieve the teacher over him. He was put in alternative school and did all his days and he did very well there. Mind you that my son has never had a fight but just impulsive and says things before thinking like children with ADHD do. HE also has ADD. He had a behavoiral plan put in place but the school still isn't using it. He was written up because his teacher said that he cursed her. And he was suspended for 1day. It was just his word against her's and they didn't even investigate it. And this teacher has a very nasty attitude. She even blew up at my son in front of the class and embarassed him by exposing to the class that he take medicine for ADHA/ADD. This is ridiculous!!! I was very upset that they let her slide and get away with it and my son had to cry about!!! WHAT CAN BE DONE BOUT SCHOOLS LIKE THIS???? THIS NEEDS TO END!!!! I don't know what state you are in but I'm in Mississippi.

Child development center link

4/11/2012 05:13:59 pm

I like the helpful information you provide in your articles. I will really appreciate to your work to provide a knowledgable information.

Tiffany Wren

8/3/2011 10:01:55 am

Hi. I am a parent of an ADHD child who had been suffering at school and had been mistreated. Thank God I am a certified teacher and during my training as a teacher I learned my rights as a parent of an ADHD child. You need to know your rights. My son's diability made it where he was unable to stay on task in class and he would be punished for not being able to stay on task. After I took a few routes to exercise my rights, the school took a step and did their job of hiring a person to keep him on track. That individual was with him for two years straight. He recieved assistance from his tutors both years. The schools will only do what you allow them to do. You are welcome to contact about further questions or what have you to help. I love advocating for disabled children. I am especially helpful to parents of children who have ADHD.

Diane Staples link

2/15/2012 03:47:00 pm

@Tiffany Wren, I would love to get some advice from you. I am going thru a difficult time with my sons school, mainly his special ed teacher. He is 10 yrs old in 5th grade. He has adhd, on meds for school, receives "special eduation". ( although, our schools only special ed. service for him is a room.) I feel he is being treated unfairly. We just had a mtg 2 days ago, because he got suspended for swearing at his spec. ed teacher. I expressed my concern that I thought the right steps, such as positive behavioral interventions, were not being implemented in order to prevent these situations. ( she replied to one suggestion, of letting him go in the gym to run off some energy for about 5 minutes, as "I cannot let him go have fun when he acts like that.") And today, he was confined to the resource with her, for jumping in the hall touching the top of the doorway :'( I don't know what to do anymore! I contacted the Pacer Center that I heard about and am still waiting for a phone call. Any help/advice you can give will be much appreciated! -Diane P.S I would like to speak with you.

Candice

3/31/2012 02:45:29 pm

hey there,
I have a similar issue with my 5yo son. Its his first year in school. based on his knowledge and other criteria, they placed him into SK. They put into place a behavioural chart within 2 weeks of the new school year due to hands on toward other children. They then decided to place him in a seperate spot for snack time and lunch, so he sits there each and every day with his back to the children in the corner of the room by himself while the other children sit together at their tables. they have him placed in two seperate spec ed classes which I got to see myself when I went in to observe yesterday. he by far does not require this second (SPEECH THERAPY class) I could not understand why he is in this class, I sat there and watched him answer questions with flying colours while the other student clearly struggles with her speech, and shows signs of autism with the random babbling, yelling etc. My son is an active boy, always needs to be busy doing something. I can see him having a form of ADHD, but this second class he is in is clearly there for the convenience of his classroom teacher (not having to deal with him). Im so stricken by the lack of quality in this schools structure. I have my son under the Phoenix centers guidence from before school started... Phoenix center wanted to go and assess my son in class and his interaction with the other children, as they have programs available to correspond with different behavioural issues. We've made alot of progress so far and its done nothing but benefit my son as well as myself with teaching me strategies to deal with certain behaviour. Well, his school will NOT allow Phoenix Center in..... which is odd since they have gone into every other school for children in the region, this is the only school that will NOT allow outside sources in. so as a parent, I am concerned. it has me wondering about their teaching ethics. especially considering this second spec ed class they have him in with only one other child who is clearly autistic. a pediatrician we saw last week says he finds my son may have ADHD but he thinks he is as normal as any other child. My son is scrutinized every day. he is not the only one with a behaviour chart in his class, but he is the only one that holds the teachers hand in every lineup, goes to the bathroom alone before all the other children get to go-together I may add) and is put in these special ed classes. He is treated differently then the other children, and he CLEARLY knows hes labelled. he acts completely different here at home. he is compliant with our house rules and he doesnt use hands on at home or anywhere outside of school. hes also as smart as a whip and has a lot of drive to learn. he is currently reading at an age 5 level so hes caught right up..however the school seems to insist on these spec ed classes. my son NEED more social interaction which he is not receiving.

please feel free to leave a comment, I could use some advice and stories to feel like im not the only one going through this .

Jennifer I.

4/23/2012 03:46:33 am

I have had similar problems. I have a son in the 2nd grade with whom I have been struggling. Both my brothers were diagnosed with ADHD when they were kids, so I knew I was going to get at least something seeing how I have three boys. I have been fortunate enough to have a teacher who is very patient, loving, and compassionate with my son and his situation. I had him on Ritalin for a few months but decided to take him off of it when he began complaining of chest pains and headaches. Now that it is out of his system, it seems that he's making up for all the misbehavior that he didn't express while on the meds. The result is that I get a call from the office that the PE teacher sent him there because "he wasn't listening and he couldn't handle him." I am currently finishing my degree program to be an elementary teacher, and I KNOW that that is not the appropriate way to handle the situation. I have contacted the principle to talk to him about the inadequacy of how this situation was handled. I feel like his job was to be patient and deal with the situation, rather than just clean his hands of it and pass the buck onto someone else. Meanwhile, my son is treated like he doesn't belong there on top of missing out on his 30 minutes of physical activity that is required by law each day. I am livid with this situation, not to mention the fact that I have been to the doctor's and specialist's offices dozens of times, trying to do my part as the parent to work with the school and I have not heard a word about what they're doing to get him an IEP or approved for Section 504, probably because they assume that I don't know what my rights are. I am at my wit's end, and I feel like the system is going to break my son's good natured spirit the same as it did to both of my brothers who coincidentally attended this same school as children.

Maghan link

11/6/2012 02:33:43 am

My 6year old daughter have a.c.c(absent corpus coliseum) also a.d.d. Border line ADHD and for the last 2 weeks since being diagnosed has now been treated unfair and getting in trouble for what other kids did to her, the teacher said to her she deserved to get hit in the nose with her locker and told me she needs meds cause she can't deal with her anymore. Also told me she doesn't want me to pop into the classroom when I feel like it. The principal is retracting the teachers comments made and says we will work together which is a load of crap, she has a iep already and is getting extra help from resource, her twin sister is treated great and has no issues! I need help what do I do?

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the law office of lillian e. Wong

Q&A: Child with ADHD Treated Unfairly by Classroom Teacher

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