Allysia

All of my kids have ADHD as well as anxiety (4). I would recommend a micronutrient panel be drawn if your child can tolerate it and your insurance will cover it then address any nutrients that may be deficient. Many children with ADHD can have difficulties breaking down Folic Acid (MTHFR gene variant) and will need to supplement with a methylated form of folate (our entire family has this gene). ADHDers also tend to be Magnesium deficient. It’s great to supplement in the evening before bed to help calm and relax. Other good supplements are Omega 3 and vitamin D. I also give vitamin D because we live at high altitude. It can also take several months to see any improvement as levels slowly increase. Full disclosure, we did have to add prescription medication for anxiety for 3 children because they have more extreme symptoms and 1 required the addition of a non-stimulant for ADHD when she began puberty.

I don’t have an answer for you but wanted to mention that we are in the exact same situation except my daughter is a Junior in HS and reached the point where she refuses to attend classes and continue to fail. We are now facing truancy and going through the juvenile court system because of the schools/District failure to do their job. My biggest advice would be if they refuse to provide appropriate support seek a change in educational placement. It quickly becomes toxic when educators view your child as defiant rather than in need of help.

Thank you for your response! Luckily we have provided letters to the school several times from her specialist over the last 2 years. Anytime I speak with someone new I also email the most recent letter so they have quick reference and are up to speed, including the administrator over attendance/truancy, prior to the truancy legal proceedings. I provided yet another letter to the entire panel at my daughter's district level truancy meeting. Unfortunately, her disability was not taken into consideration when 100% attendance was demanded immediately. We are planning to consult a lawyer on ways we can have the truancy case dismissed her needs are not fully being met in the classroom. We did let the school know what tests she was doing with the psychologist and I just received both reports. There are some very stark differences but some similarities as well. As expected, because the psychologist's testing was much more comprehensive he was able to diagnose Autism-Level 1 while my daughter is very good at masking this, added to her multitude of other diagnoses, he relayed that she is operating at about 25% capacity. The school did do screeners and progressed to assessments in some areas as they saw necessary. Being so new to this part of the process when I read the report I was extremely anxious that I was going to walk into that meeting to a "no." But, they said they are considering her for 3 categories of the IDEA and need the District SPED Director to approve them. I haven't been able to provide the report from the psychologist yet but he said he would have it for me in the next couple days. Our next meeting is just after Memorial Day so that should be good.

My oldest has also been diagnosed with ADHD (2nd grade), Convergence Insufficiency, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, OCD, ODD, mood disorder, executive function deficits, sensory processing disorder and auditory processing disorder, and suspected Autism Spectrum Disorder. She is now a Sophomore in high school. I have been advocating for an IEP since 2nd grade due to her extreme ADHD and my concern regarding additional challenges but have been repeatedly denied assessments. Due to my inexperience, and the schools legal violations she has suffered and is now facing truancy court and is at high risk of dropout. The school specifically stated in the court documents that they think we are lying about her anxiety. I’ve taken her doctor in with me to meetings, and they made a statement that they believe we are lying! Finally this April they agreed to screeners and said they would dig deeper when red flags appeared. I should have known. By the way, I recently learned about Endrow vs Douglas County School District. Ironically, DCSD is our school district. Why I thought they’d have learned from losing such a landmark case, I have no idea, but they are still horrible. I have an Initial meeting in 3 days, I fully expect them to “not have found anything” and to again tell me that she does not qualify. Luckily this time I will also be going in with an Independent Educational and comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation but I desperately need an advocate. My confidence is completely shot.