ADHD School Placement: 3 Key Questions You Need to Ask

Beth Skaret
Dec 20, 2018
7 min read

Updated: Jul 7

Choosing the right school placement for your child with ADHD is not as simple as you might think.

How do you know which option to choose? Should you do public school? Private school? Homeschool? Some combination of them?

As a special education and elementary teacher, I have worked with students with ADHD in all of these settings.

There are benefits and drawbacks to all of them.

It really depends on what exactly YOUR child needs.

Let me give you a little background from my own experience:

My oldest daughter with ADHD (now 24) started in private preschool & kindergarten. We homeschooled for two years, did a few years in public school and finally landed in a private junior high and high school.

Let me tell you….it was a LOOOOOOONG and exhausting experience trying to figure out what was going to work.

First of all, she did not have a formal diagnosis until third grade...that held things up because we didn’t know what we needed to ask for.

After getting the formal diagnosis, she didn’t qualify for an IEP (Individual Education Plan).

NO. Having an ADHD diagnosis DOES NOT necessarily qualify you for an IEP.

The next several years involved A LOT of me trying to explain my child’s various needs and how to best teach HER as we shifted from teacher to teacher ...year after year…..over and over….

We finally were able to get her a 504 plan in 9th grade.

Yep. It took THAT long and THAT much perseverance to FINALLY get my kid what she needed without having to start from scratch every single year.

On the bright side… I learned SO MUCH about how to advocate for students in the different settings as well as what exactly I could expect in the way of services in those different settings.

Which….leads to the point of this blog post:

When you are trying to determine the best school placement for your child with ADHD, you need to consider 3 key questions.

ADHD School Placement: Question #1

What EXACTLY are your child’s needs?

If you have an IEP or 504 Plan (USA) in place, these should be outlined already by your IEP team with your input included.

If you do NOT have and IEP or 504 plan, it is going to be up to YOU to document what your child needs with evidence of the benefits.

For example, if you know that your child performs better in math when he / she can use manipulatives or draw, AND you have work samples that show this difference, you can use that to get accommodations for your child.

Knowing what your child needs to be successful is essential in this process.

Not every school is going to be able to provide what you need, nor do they necessarily HAVE to.

However, if you don’t have any idea WHAT your kid needs to be successful, you can’t know where to go look for it.

Here are some of the more common needs that I have encountered with ADHD students in various settings:

Organizational supports (planners, graphic organizers, backpack and desk checks, daily check in with special ed teacher or para for assignment completion and time management).
Frequent redirection (both oral and written direction with repetition, proximity to adult to keep on task, pre / reteaching).
Preferential seating (near adult, away from distractions).
Increased school - home communication (via email, planner, daily behavior chart).
Behavior modification systems (for impulse control, time on task, task completion, anger management, etc).
Social Skills training (small group intensives for developing appropriate skills related to making friends, understanding social cues, recognizing social boundaries, coping skills for stress, anger & anxiety).
Extended time (assignments and / or testing).
Modified grading (grades based on work completed versus work assigned).
Curricular accommodations (fewer questions, questions read aloud, responses given aloud versus written, reduced writing assignments, use of technology,etc.)
Para support for on task behavior / behavioral support in the mainstream classroom.

These are just a few of the more common needs. Your child may have more or fewer….just depends on the kid.

Now that you know WHAT your child needs, you can ask the next question.

ADHD School Placement: Question #2

Does the school meet my child’s needs?

This can be a tricky question depending on your situation.

ADHD Public School Placement:

A public school (USA) is required to meet the terms agreed upon in the IEP.

It is a legal document and they must uphold it according to federal law.

(caveat - that does not guarantee that you get whatever you want in the IEP. Legally, it is a free APPROPRIATE public education in the LEAST Restrictive environment. That is all they are legally REQUIRED to do).

However, a public school does not HAVE to provide specific accommodations or modifications beyond that of the general curriculum and basic interventions if you do not have an IEP or 504.

For example, when my daughter was in the public school (grades 3-6), she had a diagnosis of ADHD inattentive type, and the school had the resources and ability to meet her needs, but the school was NOT meeting her needs because she did not qualify for an IEP.

ADHD Private School Placement:

A private school is not bound by these same terms unless they are receiving federal funding.

A private school is not required to uphold the terms of an IEP or 504 plan - however, many will if they are able to do so.

(caveat - most private schools do not keep a full time special education teacher on staff and most private school teachers are not trained extensively in teaching students with special needs).

ADHD Homeschool Placement:

Homeschool rules vary by state in the USA and I mean they REALLY vary.

Some states require that you submit lesson plans and progress reports showing progress toward state standards.
Others require that you hold the equivalent of a Bachelor’s degree in order to teach your child at home.
Still some do not require anything other than a declaration to your local school district that you will be homeschooling and possibly standardized test scores at various intervals.

For the laws governing your particular area, please refer to your state’s department of education website.

As far as being able to meet your child’s needs in a homeschool setting...that depends entirely upon you.

Homeschooling is not for everyone. I have done it myself (and I am a licensed elementary and special education teacher).

My experience with homeschooling my ADHD daughter was for first and second grades.

Ultimately, I determined that I would rather be just mom than her teacher and mom.

It was just too hard to draw the line between the two.

That doesn’t mean it cannot be done.

I know many parents who have successfully homeschooled their children with and without special needs.

Like I said, it depends on you.

You know what you can handle and what your child can handle.

This leads us to the last key question you need to ask.

ADHD SCHOOL Placement Question #3:

If the school is not meeting your child’s needs, which option will?

If you are in a public school setting WITH an IEP and the needs of your child are not being met according to that document, you can choose to pursue mediation with the school to get things back on track.

If you are in a public school setting WITHOUT an IEP and the needs of your child are not being met, you can:

Advocate for your child’s needs directly to the teacher(s).
Pursue a 504 or IEP. - If your child has significant needs that specifically require additional teacher supports / trainings, this is worth pursuing. Check out THIS POST for more info.
Consider an alternative placement. If your child will not qualify for a 504 or IEP and the teachers will not provide simple accommodations / modifications, you might consider either a private setting or homeschool.

If you are in a private setting WITH or WITHOUT an IEP and the needs of your child are not being met, you can:

Advocate for your child’s needs to the school administrator. This person can tell you (and hopefully has) whether or not the school will be able to provide what your child needs with their available resources.
Request an evaluation for IEP /504. Keep in mind that if the needs determined are beyond the scope of what the private school can provide, your next recourse would be the public school where they are required to meet the terms of the IEP / 504.
Consider homeschool. Again, you know what you can handle, but remember you are the parent first. That is your FIRST calling.

If you are homeschooling and find that your child has needs beyond what you think you can provide:

Contact the public school and request an evaluation. Your child may qualify for services you didn’t know they needed.

This doesn’t mean you HAVE to accept the services, but it will give you a better picture of what you may need to do.

Also, the public school may be able to offer you some part time options so that you can get some of the supports you need and still provide the homeschool environment that you prefer.

Whichever school placement you choose, you are still the expert in YOUR child and are their first and number one advocate.

Be diligent in understanding their needs.

Offer to help the teacher / school to understand your child by being an active and involved member of your child’s school and classroom.

Keep your interactions with teachers and schools positive.

There is so much more I can tell you about ADHD in these various settings, but this is a good place to start.

Please reach out to me with any specific questions you have.

I’d love to be able to support you in prayer and through sharing my experience and expertise.

You can contact me via our private

Facebook group : Jesus Me & ADHD Moms Fellowship