Letter Says It All

Below is the letter I wrote to Emily's teachers, her principal and guidance counselor. It's a little more personal than I tend to get normally but, I am anxious to hear your opinions and thoughts on it, so I left it all in there!

I wanted to touch base with you regarding my daughter, Emily. Emily continues to have difficulty with organization, and as you are aware, this is affecting her grades in a negative way. You may not be aware, that it is also affecting her self esteem in the same way. I would like to request a meeting to discuss these concerns with you, and perhaps come up with a plan to help Emily achieve all that I know she can.

Emily is currently on a 504 Accommodation Plan, in which her diagnosis of ADHD is clearly defined as a disability. At the time of her plans writing when she began third grade, her academic progress was not being hindered by her disability. Clearly, this is no longer the case.

From all accounts, Emily’s eagerness in the classroom, participation in class, and all around positive attitude, have shown that she has a true desire to learn and achieve. To that end, it is my opinion and hers that she needs more support, on both an emotional and academic level.

After Emily met with Mrs. School Guidance Counselor in the beginning of the year, Mrs. School Guidance Counselor indicated that she had some concerns for Emily, and offered the suggestion that Emily receive counseling services. We have since started Emily’s counseling services with her counselor, of Blah Blah Counseling Services(EDITED FOR PRIVACY). I am requesting that her counselor be allowed to see Emily during school hours.

Due in large part to Emily’s feelings around her lack of organizational skills and the results of that, Emily’s self esteem is suffering greatly. She frequently makes comments like, “Why am I so stupid?”, “Why can’t I be more organized?”, and “I try but I just can’t do it.” While Emily's counselor is working on these and other concerns, our combined schedules make it difficult for Emily to see her more than once every couple of weeks. Emily’s feelings and esteem continue to decline, and this schedule is not adequate enough to really address these issues. Emily’s feelings and esteem relate directly to her organization, an intrinsic part of her life at school, and one of the main reasons both Emily and I feel she is not achieving all she is capable of. While the option to take Emily out of school weekly exists, this would require her to be out of school for two hours, as opposed to the 45 minute session she would miss if these services were taking place at school. Missing two hours of school weekly certainly would not help Emily in her conquest to get organized and achieve a higher level of self esteem.

Emily recently explained the “check mark” program to me. It is my understanding that if a student is missing work, forgetting needed classroom materials, or having behavioral concerns, they receive check marks. If the student receives four checks from one teacher, or ten overall, they are not allowed to participate in the reward at the end of the check mark period. Emily should not participate in the check mark program based on her organizational abilities. Her disorganization is an inherent part of her ADHD, which is defined as a disability. Emily should not be punished for something that is a symptom of her disability. While I certainly believe that there is much room for improvement, and that it is in fact possible that Emily will improve, until she is on a level comparable with her typical peers in regard to organization, participation in this program is not appropriate for Emily.

I would like to request that the following accommodations be added to Emily’s existing 504 Plan:

--Allow for expedient make up of missing homework. If deduction for lateness works, keep doing it. If it does not, recognize the problem as an uncorrectable disability.


--If Emily forgets her homework or any other needed item in her locker, allow her until the end of the day to bring it to you, or if possible get it at the time it is discovered missing.

--Emily should not participate in the “check mark” program based on her organization skills.

I sincerely look forward to meeting with you and discussing this further. I am open to hearing any suggestions and thoughts you may have.