Begin with a letter to the principal of your child's school, similar to this:

Dear Principal,

I am writing to seek eligibility for special education services under "Other Health Impaired" of IDEA for my child, Jane Doe. Jane has a chronic alertness problem due to her AD/HD which was diagnosed by (doctor) in (year diagnosed). I understand you have 40 school days to convene a case conference and decide eligibility for Jane. Please let us know how to proceed. These are the days and times I am available for a case conference:

(Your list here)

Sincerely,

Mrs. and Mr. Doe

The goal of eligibility is to receive educational changes in the classroom for your student. Once you have sent the letter, the school must proceed in a manner codified by IDEA for the category "Other Health Impaired". There are six items of interest to the school system:

1. an individual, standardized, multi-factored test of learning capability (for example, ISTEP, Stanford-Benet or CTBS results)
2. an assessment of academic strengths, weaknesses, and present levels of academic functioning (generally done by teachers, psychologists, yourself)
3. a social and developmental history (provided by you to staff)
4. available medical background including a diagnostic statement by a physician with an unlimited license to practice medicine describing the other health impairment
5. an evaluation of adaptive behavior
6. assessments of fine and gross motor skills and communication skills as necessary

These must be at the case conference, convened within 40 days of your letter. You must provide some of the information to school personnel, but they are responsible for gathering it.

Be prepared to answer questions regarding the physical and mental health of your child, as well as provide documentation by doctors and psychologists of AD/HD. If your student is given eligibility, then an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for your student will be developed by you, the teachers, school psychologist, principal and others for the student's continuing education. The IEP is binding and must be carried out.

If you run into any problems with this process and need advice, the Division of Special Education has complaint officers on hand daily to help you. The number is 317-232-0570. You may wish to ask for a copy of Article 7, Indiana's version of IDEA which contains all the regulations for Other Health Impaired, as well as information about the obligations of the schools, although they have not added the new language about AD/HD!