My 13 year old son has severe ADHD and severe anxiety. He has not been treated properly until he entered into a partial inpatient program. He is now on three medications and I feel he is handling himself much better. I am not saying he will walk in to school and be the class A student, but he is in a better place than he was. He has been labeled a bad kid for so long he truly feels he is, he has a lot of hopeless feelings. He goes to therapy twice a week and has a long road ahead of him to get things turned around. He has had a very rough past with school, suspended multiple times for being disruptive and any other thing they can say he was bad for. He was definitely targeted as a bad kid and they didn’t want to deal with him. I am trying to get him into a different school to give him a positive start. He was denied from a private christian school, and it looks like he is on his way for denial into a public school. I have no idea as to what I can do for my son’s education at this point.

Dear Concerned Parent,

I am so glad to hear you feel your son is doing better since participating in the partial inpatient program. I know it can be quite a challenge to find the right educational environment to meet your child’s needs and I wish you luck in your search.

In regard to your concern about your son being ‘refused’ by schools it might be helpful to review the School of Choice Guidelines in the State School Aid Act (which outlines when and for what reasons a school district may refuse a school of choice application) if you are looking outside of your district of residence.

The school of choice guidelines can be viewed at the following link:

http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(kyuk3ajwqbcn5b32kchwp1fz))/mileg.aspx?page=GetObject&objectname=mcl-388-1705c

If you instead choose to stay in the same district or cannot find another school for him to attend you could request that they revisit his IEP (I am assuming he has one) in order to put additional supports and services (including a positive behavior support plan if necessary) in place to help him be more successful this year.

If you need additional assistance, please feel free to call our toll free phone line at 888-2264543. Another resource that may be helpful is Michigan Alliance for Families which is the Michigan’s statewide Parent Training and Information Center who helps families of students involved in special education to better understand and navigate the education system. Their phone number is 1-800-552-4821 when you call that number their system will automatically route your call to a local Parent Mentor who can assist you. Their website also has many great resources- click here to check it out.

Good luck and please feel free to call if you need additional help!