why is it that when i child is havng problems in school the teacher automatically prescribes medication?

Question

I MEAN THE TEACHER REFERS THE PARENT TO A PHYSIOCOLGIST AND THE PARENT JUST AUTOMATICALLY RUNS TO A PHYCOLGIST AND THE DOCTOR SAYS OH WHOPEE YOUR CHILD HAS ADHD OR ADD OR IS BIPOLOR WE BETTER PUT THEM ON MEDICATION

Answer 1

I ,as a former elemntary school teacher, would not do this as I am very into alternative health and believe these powerful drugs are not safe for kids and I love children.

Most teachers cannot handle the most active children because the classroom is too full of students due to insufficient funds giving the teacher far too many students to give our children the individual instruction they need. Also because a disruptive child is hard too handle. I think teachers worry the other children will pick up this behavior and make her life even harder than it already is and believe me, it is hard..so much harder than it looks or than one assumes.

She rationalizes that the child will hold other students back and that the child will themselves do better if medicated both socially and educationally; however, this is self centered as it removes the responsibility from the teacher to realize that it is not normal to expect a child to sit still all day.

The teacher must structuture her classroom using a great method like whole language to reach many classifications of children in the best and most interesting way possible using a lot of cretivity and incorporating fun into the classroom and also allow a lot of time for kinestetic and hands on learning and a lot of time alternating activity with sitting still periods.

She muist try to educate the parent and not relieve them of their responsibility to do the much harder work of diet and herbal/alternative methods to calm the child down without the dangerous side effects odf drugs and with the more lasting effects of natural methods.

Remember teachers are generally overwrought, unappreciated, and given too many children in their room. Also too much to do as far as cirriculum and other demands on their time.

They have gotten in the habit of recommending medication as it has become status quo and they need to be educated, helped, sought out for support in an alternative programs (many will try to help if approached in the right way).

They also need to be stood up to if one feels medication is not in one's child's best interest and the teacher in insistent, even to the point of getting another teacher or leaving the school in my opinion..I am that against medical allopathtic drugs..

Many teachers I have seen get into the habit of thinking they are the experts and parents are inferior to them, I am sad to say. They also feel pressure from the principals to run tight ships and not be too loud as far as classroom noise. Drugs is the easier answer to a problem.

Doctors, of course, are trained to think only medically and reach for a drug and drug companies push this stuff and just care about products not quality of life and safety beyond what they are forced to do.

Drugs stifle creativity in my opinion. Some kids/people (like myself) have brainstrom syndrome which is often misdiagnosed as other psychological disorders like ADD and if one stifles the natural tendency, they will lose the genious often in the child.

Look at prodigies like Van Gough and so on..if they had been medicated the world would have been the poorer losing their artistic, musical, or scientific talents. Theschool should adjust to the child not the other way around. I do not believe in conformity and the schoools so encourage this. It's a crying shame.

But then I don't think I think like the average teacher or person.

Answer 2

Because unfortunately teachers spend more time with a lot of kids than their own parents do..and the teachers have been taught that any kind of bosterious activity is ADD or ADHD. Parents quit communicating with teachers about their children..they figure they're in school..not my problem.
More parents really need to step up and take an active role. It seems to be the trend in our community, and at our school. The school has family nights where teachers and families interact outside the classroom. They are on a more personal level..which makes it easier for the parents and teachers to really work together.
I don't understand myself why you would take someones advice with out questioning first when it came to such a serious matter as this.
Obviously there really are children that have these, and need the meds, but, when did it become that every excitable girl and boisterious boy has the afflication.
I also think part of the problem is kids don't have the same respect for education they did even a generation ago.

Answer 3

There is a show on the radio that I catch at work. Go to ScienceFriday.com and listen to the show from 2/2 at about 12:20 talking about the brain.
Combine that with the good things you need your child to believe, especially that they are capable.
Understand that it is their way of learning and medication can help some but is a last resort.
Consider that there is the chance that they move around a lot because of pain that they are unaware of that makes being still mildly hurt.
Resource to know more about muscles is - The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Davies. It may or may not be of use but is still a good pain resource for all ages.

Answer 4

Go to a psychologist but tell him no medication. The doctor usually give the child a series of tests before concluding the child has ADHD or ADD. If the child don't have any of this, you have no problem. The child might need only attention, discipline, tender loving care from both parents. Go to a church fellowship and ask for prayer over the child.

Answer 5

I have no idea and i was a child who suffered from that. When i was in 1st grade i was the girl who was the one to make everyone laugh or be last in line or forget things so my teacher said that she thought that I had ADHD and my mom took me to the psycitrist and they put me on ritialin. Becasue i was on it i couldnt eat or sleep (side effects). Also, it made me be depressed and angrey ( more side effects). Because of this the other kids at school thought that I was wierd. I went from being the kid every one loved and wanted to play with to the wired kid. Then when i went into middle school it got even worse. Also, every time i did something wrong in school- ie. being late for a class forgetting a book or pen, or laughing in class- my psyciatrist would make my medication dose even higher. It eventually got to the point where it was so high that i couldnt sleep or eat regurally and my body would be shaky. Finally when i was in 8th grade my mom changed doctors and my dose was lowered. Eventually my mom took me off of the medication and i was fine. I felt better about my self ate and slept normally. Also, i made so many friends and i was one of the cool kids. My grades never changed - I always had high honors and my IQ is 147. Now im a senior in high school, im one of the really cool kids in my school, i get good grades and i am involved in school and my teachers tell me all the time that im a really good student. And dont get me wrong i still joke around and am the class clown but im fine. Teachers just need to stop being lazy and using meds as a way to control their class room because they are messing kids up not helping them.

Answer 6

Don't let it be your problem. It is the teacher's problem. If she is good at her job, she should know how to get him to respond to her. She has to deal with it in the classroom: it's her job. As a teacher, I never asked parents to do anything about why their child wasn't responding well to me in class. I reached into my bag of tricks and knowledge and figured out how to reach that child. Every child is different and sometimes I have to try different methods. At home, you can support the teacher by talking positively about her and going to school. Keep in touch with her about how he is doing and praise him for good days, express disappointment for bad days. Talk to him about what the teacher wants/needs him to do, why it's important, and what he should do. Maybe he really doesn't know what's appropriate or what the expectations are. In time, he will learn. Also, if you mean literally he is not responding, maybe get his hearing and vision checked if you have not done so recently.

Answer 7

I don't know exact scientific reasoning why a teacher may believe medication is the best way to help young children, but if one teacher's opinion influences a parents decision to put a child on medication, the parents have not done their job. Teachers often want to find reasons why children act a certain way, however they ignore their own teaching methods and whether they are effective.

Answer 8

That's because the doctors and pharmaceutical companies are all in it together to make money. the doctor hurrys and prescribes a medication to get you out of his office in 15 minutes so he can get on to the next patient and do the same thing. The end result is he makes a fortune by rushing through as many patients as he can, and the people who make an market the medicine get rich also ! There all in it together !

Answer 9

Because teachers don't know how to deal with abberated behavior. Often this kind of behavior can be corrected with balanced meals and plenty of sleep. No fast food, not sodas, no processed foods, no preservatives. Take any strong cleaners out of your cabinets and toss them. Don't use fabric softeners. All these things can trigger unwanted reactions in children. Is your child living in an environment of physical or emotional stress? This is a biggie.

Answer 10

1-Because parents would probably get angry if the teacher said the truth: "Your kid eats too much crap and you're a lousy parent"
2- Because parents are too busy to change their kid's diet or be a better parent.
3- Because drugging a child into submission suits the busy lifestyle of today's career-minded parents. It's so much easier for them to drug their child than to have to actually PARENT when they have a meeting to go, and a career to pursue. Working mothers don't have time.