ADD and ADHD Law Rights in School .

• A schooling horror story with a happy ending you may get ideas from
• Legal rights in the USA
• Legal resources for ADHD people and their parents in the USA

"My son's last school was hell on earth, to put it mildly. The principal had stated to me "why do you fight for your kids, they're nothing but trouble makers."
    When the youngest, Jake--adhd, was trying new meds and a new school, he had behavior problems. He ended up getting away from special ed teacher and hitting/kicking principal. This caused them to call police as my husband and I were out of town shopping. The police were never told he was special needs, the school did NOT give police his meds, and they put him into temporary foster care til we got home. This happened around ten in the morning and we didnt get home til around two thirty.
    My son had charges pressed against him by the school/principal. The court appointed lawyer thought he was just a brat til I contacted him to tell of his adhd. Then I had to do all the calling and getting information to the lawyer. We ended up with Jake in a diversionary program. It still cost us hundreds of dollars.
    Due to this problem, we ended up putting Jake into a psychiatric hospital. This was the best thing for him. We found out he was also ODD. We got meds leveled and  a para for him at school. Things went well for him.
    My other son, Ben, is gifted. We recently found out he is ADD. At this same school, my gifted son was making D's and F's. He ended up in a wheelchair with conversion disorder(where the body is under too much stress that it shuts down). The principal and teachers were always putting him down saying he was faking his illness. We had him test out of school and two weeks after that he was playing baseball. All we got from the school people was "we knew he was faking it."
    My main question is what legal rights do I have to go on to sue the school and principal?
    There has to be something out there and someone willing to take the  case to help me make sure that these people never do this again. Thanks for listening. I am glad to say that we have moved from the other town and kids are doing excellent.
Geri "

---

Know your rights as an ADHD family
We therefore did some research for Geri and thought these places may also be useful to you if you need to know your rights as an ADHD person or a parent. If you are not in the USA, and have information on rights in your country, please let us know and we will add them to this ezine for future readers. Contact us at info@adhdezine.com

UNDERSTANDING LEGAL RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Recent legislation in the USA protects the rights of people with disabilities. In order to be effective selfadvocates, studentsneed to be informed about this legislation. It is especially important to know about the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
(especially Section 504), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and how they differ from theIndividuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1990. In addition the Family Educational Rights andPrivacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 protects the confidentiality of student records, which is very important for studentswith learning disabilities and their families to understand.

IDEA, Section 504, and ADA: Understanding the Differences

High school students with learning disabilities must understand their rights under Section 504 of the RehabilitationAct and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (which guarantee the civil rights of persons with disabilities) andhow these differ from the rights and services they received under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA).

Under IDEA, which is the legislation that guarantees a free appropriate public education and governs the provisionof special education services to students with disabilities in elementary and secondary schools, the school is responsible for identifying students with disabilities, for providing all necessary assessments, and for monitoringthe provision of special education services. These special education services, which are described in detail in astudent's Individualized Education Program (IEP) and Individualized Transition Plan (ITP), could significantly alterthe requirements of the "standard" high school academic program.

Requirements for high school diplomas may be changed under IDEA, as well. For example, dependent on their particulardisabilities, some students' programs of study under IDEA may not include certain language, mathematics, orscience courses that are usually required courses for a diploma.

"If you are seeking information about  our book: Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, which contains the full text of IDEA-97, the special ed regs, text of Section 504, FERPA, and landmark U. S. Supreme Court cases,  please click here. Before a consultation, the parent should have reviewed our book Wrightslaw: Special Education Law . Many questions you may have of Pete are answered  here We receive many emails from parents who said that they were in crisis, ordered ourpublications, completed the questionnaire, were organizing the file for the consultation,reading the articles, and then realized what the true issues were, that they were focusing on the wrong symptom of a greater problem, and did not need the consultation. So often the analysis of the bark on the trees causes us to overlook the needs of the forest and the forest fire on the next ridge headed toward us.

This is the most important function of our website - to provide parents with accurate information and an understanding of tactics and strategies. Often, parents who become knowledgeable, do not need to consult with an attorney, succeed in NOT shooting
themselves in the foot, and are able to get better services for their children.Every day, we also receive one to two dozen requests for help from parents who have a present legal or educational problem.

Remember, while knowledge of the facts and the law is important, they do not control outcome. More important is how information is presented. You must learn how to present your information in a way that makes your adversary WANT to give your child what he
or she needs. You avoid a battle and everyone benefits, including your child. Try not to let your situation get polarized. If necessary, let someone else act on your behalf - let that person become the lightning rod- The Wrightslaw computer"

	The Complete IEP Guide : How to Advocate for Your Special Ed. Child "This book will become the "bible" for parents of Special Education children. Thebook is written with the lay person in mind in a clear and concise manner. The whole IEP process is spelled out in easy to follow steps that gently glides one through the process. The letters and forms which can be copied or added to are invaluable, and take a giant step toward helping parents become effective advocates for their children. A copy of the law IDEA 1997 is included, giving full disclosure tothe general public. The information included in this book can save a parent thousands of dollars in attorney's fees. If you buy just one book about Special Education this year, this should be the one!"says the reviewer.
	Negotiating the Special Education Maze: A Guide for Parents & Teachers "If for any reason your child is in or entering special education, this book is beyond value. It explains the processes involved, what the schools are and are not permitted to do, what they and you must do, to achieve~ This book gives you the base you need to fight back on behalf of your child's future. No parent facing a school's 'child study team' should be without this. You'll be amazed at the rights you and your child actually have."