ODD and IEP

Good afternoon fellow parents!

This is a pretty interesting post and a little informational and I hope it helps some parents out there dealing with children who have been diagnosed specifically with ODD, oppositional defiance disorder. A friend of mine has always been really helpful regarding Leigha and her behavior and actually pin pointed her diagnoses about a year before she was formally diagnosed by a neurologist. Leigha is currently in Kindergarten and I mean not to toot my own horn but I raised a pretty smart kid haha. She's brilliant. You can tell her focus is elsewhere because she used to be really anal about coloring in the lines, now she's so far ahead of the other kids she's legit just bored constantly. So at the last parent teacher conference we brought up the idea of maybe pushing her up a grade because she's all over the place because she's bored. It was kind of shot down and we genuinely felt like we were being shoved aside and so was our child. So upon suggestion from my friend we took into consideration writing the school a letter requesting a meeting regarding a child study team and an IEP. We haven't made any moves on this yet because we always seem to be backed against the wall when we bring up concerns for her. This same meeting we were lied right to our faces about her behavior so you can see why were a little anxious about everything. In leighas best interest she should be having a child study team put together an IEP and if she can test out of this grade and be challenged a little bit. To be clear IEP stands for individualized education program that really focuses on Leigha and her needs which ultimately is what's best for her. Children diagnosed with ODD can also become violent and anyone who knows Leigha knows the history of her self harm. If this type of behavior comes out in school this could cause a suspension, if an IEP is performed and put together by a team then it prevents suspensions from happening because she's covered by this IEP. again, what's best for Leigha. There was a lot of things we tried to monitor at OUR home as well. We kept a very strict schedule which is CRITICAL for children with ODD. We were very structured with her and she heavily relied on that. If we threw a wrench into her schedule it set her off, she wasn't always aware of why things set her off, she just couldn't help it. It may have looked like I was being crazy but again, the best interest of Leigha even if that required more effort from me. It was more about routines than rules. We played in the morning before school, ate breakfast, went to school, went home, ate dinner, bath time and bed time. When she got home from school she did her workbook pages and played in her room or with her leap frog learner. She really relied on that sort of schedule. When she didn't have that she went INSANE. So basically the point is, if you're a parent and you have a child diagnosed with this disorder you have the right to have a meeting with your childs school about a child study team and IEP. Unfortunately Leigha's school has been less than accommodating to myself and her father regardless of our genuine concern for her and her education. But at the end of the day you have to fight for your child and really do what's best for them. Eventually there will be a day when our energy is realized and hopefully this child is taken care of in all aspects of life. Brianna also has ADD but her mother is phenomenal is always on top of every possible thing to make her life easier. There's never really any reason to get involved with briannas school, her mother sends screen shots of her grades, invites us to parent teacher conferences, lets us know every move she makes. But I guess that's what happens when you're a good mom ;) I hope some of this helps with anyone dealing with early education and an IEP and hopefully you can get the help you guys need! Any questions feel free to email mail or +1 my post and we can chat, I have loads of resources! Have a great Thursday!


Kristen