Jo Turner On (18 Oct 96) was overheard to say to Bob Moylan
 JT> HI BOB  I HAVE 3 CHILDREN WITH ADD, 2 WITH HYPER AND 1 INATENTIVE. MY
 JT> PROBLEMS ARE WITH THE SCHOOL AND THE ED DEPT. THEY HAVE REFUSED FOR 4
 JT> YEARS TO GIVE MY DAUGHTER ASSISTANCE BECAUSE THEY SAY MY SPECIALIST IS
 JT> WRONG IN HIS ASSESSMENTS.I AM NOT THE ONLY PARENT WITH THIS PROBLEM AS
 JT> YOU CAN IMAGINE.I AM THE SEC OF THE LOCAL ADD SUPPORT GROUP AND THE
 JT> NUMBER OF UNHAPPY PARENTS IS GROWING. I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR OF YOU
 JT> EXPERIANCES WITH THIS. THANKS. JO.Z
 Hi again Jo:
 What you are describing is a familiar tale to many here in the US and
 Canada.  I was pretty much primed to give you all sorts of pointers
 regarding the law and such until I noticed your origin line shows you
 are in Oz..  What I would have said is therefore not applicable in
 your case.  What I do suggest is that you research Australian
 education law to find out just what exactly the schools there are
 required to do for children with disabilities, specifically ADD/ADHD.
 I'm more than reasonably sure tho that NO school official has the
 authority to over rule a physician's diagnosis.  While you are fighting
 with the "system" it might not be a bad idea to provide as much
 information about ADD/ADHD to the teachers of your children as you can
 lay your hands on.  I don't mean overwhelm them but feed it to them in
 bits and pieces.  I'd start with those simple things that individual
 teachers can do in their classrooms to make learning a bit easier for
 these kids.  Are you familiar with the writings of Hallowell, Ratay,
 Ingersol and others?  I seem to recall that Halowell/Ratay were on a
 speaking tour in Oz within the last couple of years.  These folks
 have some very sound and easy to implement suggestions for teachers.
 Of course if those teachers don't accept that ADD/ADHD is a
 disability that directly impacts on learning then that would be less
 then beneficial.  It would tend to indicate though that you have
 tried to inform them should it come down to a legal confrontation.
 I'm sorry that I can't offer more but I am totally ignorant of
 Australian law regarding disabilities.
 If you don't mind I will cross post your plea into another net that
 has a number of Australian participants to see if they have anything
 to offer.
 Best Regards...Bob
 P.S.  Using all CAPS is considered to be shouting ... altho I'd agree
 you have a lot to SHOUT about.
... Nifty quote should go here...
--- PPoint 2.02
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