sushideluxe
New Member
Hi! I found this board after a therapist suggested my son might have a conduct disorder.
My son R is 12 years old and just finished 6th grade. He was diagnosed with a vision processing disorder in 3rd grade and just had a new neuropsychologist update in February. His diagnosis is now dyslexia. He has a 504 plan at our public school but does not take advantage of his accommodations. He is completely checked out academically at school. He doesn't do his homework (lies and tells us that he has no homework) and he is a class clown at school, probably to detract attention from his academic shortcomings. He is bright enough that he got away with not working hard until this year. I requested the school give him an IEP but they kept it at a 504 plan. He receives Tier 2 reading support but it is not a Wilson-based program. His grades are in the toilet (Ds and Cs with a few Bs) and on his standardized testing, he usually scores in the 30th to 60th percentiles, but this spring he scored in the 1st percentile.
R has always been an annoyingly loud and talkative kid, has always had a problem being a good sport about doing activities that don't interest him (like going to a museum, for example), and has lied to us on occasion over the years--mostly about little things--but he has been acting out more and more over at least the past 9 months. Recent and worrisome behaviors include dealing vapes at school, purchasing a BB gun from a friend and bringing it to school, sneaking online and setting up a fraudulent ebay and paypal account and making fraudulent sales online, sneaking online watching pornography online, stealing money from our wallets, and pulling the fire alarm at school. We think the behaviors at school are designed to curry favor with the older kids. Not sure how much of the behavior is compulsive, how much is impulsive, etc. His neuropsychologist thinks that he does not have ADHD although he does exhibit some traits. He has been seeing a therapist since December, but as his negative behaviors have escalated, we are just now switching him to someone else. When I put together the list of his recent activities, that therapist said that maybe he has a conduct disorder, although he would have to meet with and get to know R before making an assessment.
So...at the end of the school year, we decided that the district isn't meeting his needs. I applied to two private schools in the area that serve kids with dyslexia. The first one would be a perfect fit academically and a good fit socially, but there are no openings at his grade level, and the school is not equipped to deal with behavioral problems. He was accepted at the second school. Academically it would be a great fit. Classes are taught multisensory and there is tons of adaptive technology. I feel like he would be very successful there academically and that could be good for his self-esteem. But, it is not a perfect fit socially. Probably only about 30 percent of the student population would be considered his social and intellectual peers. The other 70 percent have more severe learning disabilities. But they are set up to deal with behavior problems.
So we are trying to figure out what to do. Tomorrow he is going to start an intensive dyslexia remediation program at Lindamood Bell, but I have no idea how that will go. We are touring the private school next week, and then he will tour it the following week. Part of me likes the idea of removing him from his current school because he has a bit of a bad reputation and his behavior hasn't been great. But I worry that being in school with kids who aren't his peers would make him act out in other ways. Maybe it would be better for him to stay in his current district, with a tutor who specializes in dyslexia, and I should fight for additional services there.
Of course, all of this is predicated on whether he can stop the vape dealing, stealing, internet fraud, etc.
Your thoughts are appreciated!
My son R is 12 years old and just finished 6th grade. He was diagnosed with a vision processing disorder in 3rd grade and just had a new neuropsychologist update in February. His diagnosis is now dyslexia. He has a 504 plan at our public school but does not take advantage of his accommodations. He is completely checked out academically at school. He doesn't do his homework (lies and tells us that he has no homework) and he is a class clown at school, probably to detract attention from his academic shortcomings. He is bright enough that he got away with not working hard until this year. I requested the school give him an IEP but they kept it at a 504 plan. He receives Tier 2 reading support but it is not a Wilson-based program. His grades are in the toilet (Ds and Cs with a few Bs) and on his standardized testing, he usually scores in the 30th to 60th percentiles, but this spring he scored in the 1st percentile.
R has always been an annoyingly loud and talkative kid, has always had a problem being a good sport about doing activities that don't interest him (like going to a museum, for example), and has lied to us on occasion over the years--mostly about little things--but he has been acting out more and more over at least the past 9 months. Recent and worrisome behaviors include dealing vapes at school, purchasing a BB gun from a friend and bringing it to school, sneaking online and setting up a fraudulent ebay and paypal account and making fraudulent sales online, sneaking online watching pornography online, stealing money from our wallets, and pulling the fire alarm at school. We think the behaviors at school are designed to curry favor with the older kids. Not sure how much of the behavior is compulsive, how much is impulsive, etc. His neuropsychologist thinks that he does not have ADHD although he does exhibit some traits. He has been seeing a therapist since December, but as his negative behaviors have escalated, we are just now switching him to someone else. When I put together the list of his recent activities, that therapist said that maybe he has a conduct disorder, although he would have to meet with and get to know R before making an assessment.
So...at the end of the school year, we decided that the district isn't meeting his needs. I applied to two private schools in the area that serve kids with dyslexia. The first one would be a perfect fit academically and a good fit socially, but there are no openings at his grade level, and the school is not equipped to deal with behavioral problems. He was accepted at the second school. Academically it would be a great fit. Classes are taught multisensory and there is tons of adaptive technology. I feel like he would be very successful there academically and that could be good for his self-esteem. But, it is not a perfect fit socially. Probably only about 30 percent of the student population would be considered his social and intellectual peers. The other 70 percent have more severe learning disabilities. But they are set up to deal with behavior problems.
So we are trying to figure out what to do. Tomorrow he is going to start an intensive dyslexia remediation program at Lindamood Bell, but I have no idea how that will go. We are touring the private school next week, and then he will tour it the following week. Part of me likes the idea of removing him from his current school because he has a bit of a bad reputation and his behavior hasn't been great. But I worry that being in school with kids who aren't his peers would make him act out in other ways. Maybe it would be better for him to stay in his current district, with a tutor who specializes in dyslexia, and I should fight for additional services there.
Of course, all of this is predicated on whether he can stop the vape dealing, stealing, internet fraud, etc.
Your thoughts are appreciated!