I don’t believe that the crowd here was remotely suggesting the OP advocate for a 504 if one wasn’t warranted.
Several posters simply stating ADD/ADHD doesn’t cure itself or go away isn’t the same thing. It was also suggested that ADHD can be misdiagnosed and I think all to some extent agree that in come cases it is over-diagnosed or too easily diagnosed.
By law, the OP can request a 504 evaluation meeting with a diagnosis. The school will have to accommodate. At this point in the year they may be unable to. Having an evaluation does not mean a child will be offered a 504, it may determined that the student doesn’t need it. A school is NOT required to give a 504, just to provide the evaluation.
That said, what I don’t hear from the OP is what the student thinks of his performance, how the student feels. Does he indicate he is struggling, etc. Which was the point of my earlier question. What specifically is causing the low grades? That is diagnostic too. Has he always been introverted, or is that increasing? Have the grades always been in this range or have they dropped? From the schools side they do need to understand where the struggle actually is, if there is struggle. That can be difficult. In the case of my youngest it really took the additional testing and deeper testing.
Yes, all of this can be perfectly normal. A 3.1 is nothing to be ashamed of and many kids and parents would be over the moon with it.
But. As a parent who felt that the ADHD diagnosis was tossed out like candy, it took my S19 as a drowning sophomore asking me to please be tested. He’d been “accused” of it all his life but had managed relatively well, until he didn’t. AP World History was his tipping point. He hates his diagnosis. Hates taking meds. They have caused their own set of issues. But they do help him and he recognizes that.
I was determined to do better then next go round and upon seeing some similar signs, and some very different, had the youngest tested. But it wasn’t the right approach (not full neuro) or diagnosis and may have done more harm than good. As with the first, in his case ASD/Aspergers had been suggested (or assumed by a few teachers) but it took a spectacular nose dive in grades and social withdrawal end of his sophomore year and most of junior year to make us go hmmm…there is more going on. In both cases, the school never ever suggested any LD testing (at least not after 1st grade with S17). S19 had plenty of IQ testing but LD? No. Both of my kids were drowning (and they’d agree) and no one saw them.
Why? Because they were solid B/B+ students who didn’t cause trouble. Ok…maybe S17 caused a bit of trouble but that just got him kicked into honors classes. I had teachers arguing with me for S19 to stay in AP World when clearly he was having similar issues because he was “capable”. But in both cases, we the parents, could see they were struggling when others could not and had to fight for help for the youngest.
I am not sure I hear struggling here, but a mom wanting to understand the variance and to have options for her son in college to be sucessful. That’s ok. Without the note of prior diagnosis I am fairly sure no one would jump to retesting. But given that there was, combined with introvert and shyness. it may be hard for this student to verbalize what is going on. Some kids are just good test takers and yes, not motivated to get more than a B. They may be capable, just not interested. And sometimes there is more to the story.
Listening to what the school says in a 504 evaluation can be very eye opening to the parent. What I will say and I think most are echoing is that if the ADD/ADHD diagnosis is from the pediatrician or family doc, going through a full neuro testing will provide much better answers and clearer diagnosis if any is to be had.
I don’t know and can’t pretend to say what the answer is here, maybe extended test time is warranted, maybe it isn’t. An educational coach, which is likely not covered by insurance and may not be an option, would probably help if performance is linked to ADHD and organizational issues. But he may also be a totally normal kid who just isn’t into it. None of us can know.
Specific to college.
If the budget is 20k, the student can take 5500 their first year and can reasonably be expected to save some over the summers, up to 3K. An ADHD student may or may not be well served by working while in school and I hesitate to recommend that at least first semester. Practically speaking that gives you a budget of $28k to work with. If the EFC is over that amount, there will be no financial aid offered.
Which unfortunately will fall short of costs at most schools. In state public will almost always be the best deal for anyone. In some states that may be at the 28k or under mark, in some it may be over. There are absolutely schools that will offer some merit monies for high test scores if he stays above a 3.0 but it may not be high merit and they may well have much higher starting price tags. Generally speaking if you look at “less” popular and desirable states (mid west, Wyoming) the incentives are higher and tuition lower. Depending on the state you are in there may be exchanges available with other states for various tuition discounts.
For example, Northern Arizona University would offer 7k annually at your son’s current stats. Their estimated COA is $41 including personal expenses so you’d get down to 34. Which is still over budget. University of Wyoming has a starting cost of 33k including personal expenses. Your son would qualify for their full Rocky Mountain award which is around 10K, bringing U of Wy down to 23. So there are options…but you need to shop around. A lot.
Run Net Price Calculators til your fingers fall off. I’m not joking. They really are your best friend and stats based scholarships are often published right on schools websites.
If you can provide more info, many on CC can help you come up with an affordable list but it will have limitations. Even if your son had a higher gpa…getting into the 20’s in anything other than your own state school, is difficult at best for the average kid.