Attendance Rules for ADD Students

Re “Parents Charged in Son’s Absences,” May 5: John and Brenda Cocco are caught in a dilemma that my husband and I were only able to avoid by sending our attention-deficit-disorder grandson and ward out of state. The law says that all children should attend school, but there is no adequate provision for learning-disabled children in most public school systems.

ADD children are not emotionally disturbed, although they can be depressed, anxious and angry. They are often very bright kids, but they can be a pain to teach. Even the best public school teachers give up on a kid who can’t sit still, curses and fights, interrupts constantly and never seems to learn.

We had our grandson in a public middle school in L.A. County. We had meeting after meeting with the teachers and administration. Eventually we discovered he was spending most of his days either in the principal’s office or in an in-school suspension room. He was finally put into a class for special children. The teacher had no training in or understanding of the limitations of the learning disabled. Our grandson lasted two weeks. His teacher told us that “he could do the work if he wanted to. He’s a very bright boy.” He is bright. He is also kind, funny and abandoned by the system that insists he be in a school seat, but has nothing to give him once he gets there.

DIXIE McILWRAITH

Monrovia