ADHD friendly Spanish immersion school
My six year old son is in his second year at MLA, a Spanish immersion school in Oakland. It's clear that a traditional setting is not going to work for him, as he's very hands-on and needs lots of movement. I would like to see him in a Montessori or outdoor type school, but I don't want him to lose his Spanish immersion and I also can't afford much for private school (not while his brother is in daycare, anyway). I work in the schools and could potentially transfer to any district to get my son into schools in that district.
Nov 29, 2022
Parent Replies
I can't advise you on a the Spanish immersion piece but I would highly advise you not to put him in a Montessori program if he truly has ADHD. Montessori requires good executive functioning skills, maybe even more than a regular classroom. My kid was in a Montessori school and none of the ADHD kids did well. We moved him into a different (private) school, and all the ADHD behaviors went away. In his case, he is dyslexic and executive function requirements were just too much. Also, are you sure he doesn't have a learning difference? Kids with dyslexia do not do well with foreign languages, and in fact, they often get exemptions from that requirement as part of their IEPs. I've seen kids with unrecognized LD in dual immersion who look like they have ADHD, but are actually freaked out because they can't keep up. My godson was like that. He was bouncing off the walls in his dual immersion class and diagnosed with ADHD. His mom moved him to a different school and again, all the behaviors went away. Just putting that out there in case you haven't considered this possibility.
I hesitate to write this as I know what works for one ADHD kid might not work for all and that you said that a traditional environment will not work for your kid, but I just thought I'd share that my two kids (one with diagnosed ADHD and anxiety and one with suspected ADHD, both of who present pretty differently) are at Greenleaf, another OUSD Spanish immersion school and we've had a good experience so far there. My oldest, a second grader, has been on a 504 for a while and were just now moving to a IEP, mostly so he can get OT at school for disgraphia. The process of supporting him through zoom kindergarten and reentry into first grade was full of support, understanding and creative problem solving by the teachers. They have tried hard to help us as we've struggled to find timely outside therapy and OT too. It's not been perfect but as a parent who worries about her kids who don't fit on traditional "good" or "easy" kid boxes, I've been grateful for Greenleaf. Happy to have you message me for more info if you feel like stating in OUSD might be possible at a different school.