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My sister inlaw's son is ADHD. She doesnt beleive in medicating so she watches his diet and so forth; however, the school is telling her if she doesnt get him back on his meds they will kick him out of school, He isint a bad kid that gets in alot of trouble. They also threatened her with CPS and she is a great mom. Is this ethical and can a school force a parent to put ther child on meds? Are there laws or state stautes that apply to this? If so can a link be incleded in your answer. Thank you

weeping....Are you kidding me? Bipolar is caused by ADHD? Thats a new one I thought kids generaly grow out of it? Thats what my sons doctor told me.

Answer 1

have her get him into a different school or home school him if at all possible. The school isn't supposed to have the authority, but usually when they say it has to be done or else, the parents usually give in.
She is doing an awsome thing by doing proper nutrition. Have her try to get meat and milk without the hormones and antibiotics, I did that with my daughter and after a few weeks she calmed down significantly.
www.mercola.com

Answer 2

Weeping's a little off. Sometimes children who are bipolar are diagnosed as ADHD. The medicines don't "turn you into" anything.

As for your question, if this is indeed what the school is saying, then they are completely out of line ethically and legally. In fact, we (teachers) are taught that we are to never "diagnose" a child or tell a parent they must medicate ADHD as it poses a legal issue in which we could foot any medical bills. We CAN say we have observed symptoms common to ADHD and suggest testing (but we cannot force testing).

Perhaps the school is saying that his behavior is unacceptable and that if his behavior doesn't change, he will be kicked out. That's certainly okay to do, especially if the school knows what the issue is and knows that it's not being resolved at home. I find it interesting that parents "don't believe" in medicating when they themselves are not doctors. Don't get me wrong, I certainly understand the issue. I've just seen some of the medicines sincerely work on some children (but not all- Weepie would be an example of misdiagnosis, hence the medicine not truly working). Since the diet his mother has him on is NOT working, I would find it difficult as a mother to completely rule out a viable possibility to help my son excel in school. If it doesn't work, she can always take him off.

I think there might also be another reason surrounding the threat to CPS that she's possibly not telling you. We don't want all of our students walking around the school like well-behaved zombies, but we also don't want our students to be mistreated in any way. Making calls to CPS is a serious thing, and it's not to be taken lightly. If there has been an actual "threat" to call made to the mom, then there is a good reason behind it. She may be a great mom, but what they see at school might suggest otherwise.

My suggestion would be to have your sis-in-law contact the Central Office of the school district and explain her case to someone there. Have her ask them to explain her rights and her son's rights. If she's not satisfied with what she learns, she can always contact a lawyer. Best wishes!

Answer 3

no the school has no right to say the child has to be medicated to be in school and there is nothing cps can do about it either

she can call cps and report the school

it is state law your child must attend school until 18 y/o age no matter what there condition is the school can only refuse children that are a danger to themselves or others

i have been down this road its all empty threats to scare her into medicating this child

tell her to contact a lawyer and have the lawyer call the school and say that if they continue this harassment of this child she will sue the district for discrimination it worked for me my son was told he had adhd at 5 and he is now 16 and never taken meds for it ever

Answer 4

The school can do what is in the best interest the the child and the other kids and the teachers, and they have the power to expel him indefinitely until he gets back on his meds. They can also call CPS on her for child abuse for not providing her son with the proper meds. If shes not careful, CPS can take him away from her. She needs to wake up, wise up, and get her head out of her butt and do something before its too late.

Answer 5

They can contact CPS. I have seen this done in Oklahoma several times. School cannot force the meds and I don't know that CPS can either. She does need to htink about how meds effect the child. If it helps him then maybe she should do it before it hurts him not only academically but also socially. If he had asthma she would give him asthma medications. If he were diabetic, she would give him insulin

Answer 6

I half agree half dont. If he is really that out of control then maybe meds are needed because he is disrupting class and maybe not learning. I do think kids are over medicated. If she is not getting counseling for him then yes she should have him on meds. I think intervention and behavioral techniques should be tried and yes the change in diet before meds. If those things are still not working then obviously meds are needed. I know in my area we call it DHS does not take kids that need to be taken. A parent has a right to choose if there child is on meds or not. I do think they can maybe force the issue of finding a new school or force counseling. They have alot of kids to deal with and from what I see from volunteering at my kids school alot of bad disrespectful kids. I don't have a link but I think you sister needs to realize that her son has now been "labeled" by this school and will likely wear it forever. I hate it when they do that.

If the school threatens to maybe expel this child then say fine because I know in my state if a child is expelled from school then the school legally has to provide this child with a daily tutor at home. Alot of parents don't know this and it may be the same in your state. Children in the US have to be provided with an education by your school district one way or another till they are 18. Let them kick him out and then he will have his very own teacher and get one on and one and a great education at that.

Answer 7

To my knowledge the school cannot mandate medication for a child. When my daughter was in 2nd grade the teacher blamed her "issues" on everything from ADHD to the divorce at home to liberal parenting. I took her to be assessed and she was deemed to *not* have ADHD!! A great deal of her behavioral issues back then had to do with allergies and enlarged adenoids causing sleep apnea. We learned in 4th grade she also has a right-hemisphere Learning Disability which made her all the more different. Oh yes, she's also gifted-she was bored to death. We chose not to medicate (aside from the allergies)and she is a very well-behaved 6th grader who makes a 4.0 and whose teachers adore her!

Answer 8

My son has ADHD, too. What I've read and what I've been told by doctors and what we have seen in family members is that many kids out grow ADHD during puberty. ADHD is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. There is an area of the brain that is under-stimulated. As a child grows (and especially during puberty) their chemical make-up changes, too. We have 2 cousins that are about 18 or 19 now and both had rather severe ADHD as younger children. One of them no longer takes medication and is doing wonderfully. The other is also doing wonderfully, but remains on medication.

I have not read that ADHD can turn into bi-polar disorder. Sometimes bi-polar disorder is misdiagnosed as ADHD in young children and therein may lie the confusion. However, there is a certain percentage of kids with ADHD that may during adolescence develop ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder). Now, I know all kids can be oppositional and defiant. But the level of these things is what separates normal kids from kids with the disorder. I don't remember the exact percentage (I want to say around 20%). There are some good books that can give you this information.

I understand that your sister-in-law doesn't believe in medicating her son, but studies have shown that diet doesn't affect ADHD. I hope that she is in consult, at least, with a doctor about his condition. It is very difficult for kids in general to deal with social/peer pressure and it is compounded when the child has a mental illness/medical condition. It can be very damaging to his emotional well being. He can suffer from low self-esteem and/or he may act out in inappropriate ways. He may not be accepted by others because they see him as immature or because he may make inappropriate comments (they talk off the cuff instead of stopping to think first) or because he invades other people's personal space. I see this with my son who IS on medication and it breaks my heart. I can't imagine how it would be for him if he WASN'T taking medicine (I know what he's like when he's missed a dose or when it wears off).

As for the legal aspect of your question, I think that there must be something happening at school for them to be taking this stance. If he wasn't getting in any trouble or causing any disruption in the classroom they wouldn't even be discussing it. I hope your sister-in-law has opened a dialog with them about what is happening and isn't in denial if it isn't good news. If she is really concerned about it, she should consult a lawyer to advise her.

Answer 9

Yes the school has the power to make the child be madicated, And your sister in law is doing more damage by not getting him medicated because the older he gets it can turn into bipolar and it way worse than adhd. My parents didnt medicate and mine turned into bipolar. So yes cps can be called its called neglect

Answer 10

speak to his doctor they may be able to come up with some ideas or a compromise