My son's teacher has told me that he needs to be medicated....?

Question

"or else I won't be able to teach him" My son has "ADHD"(i guess) and my husband , myself ,his grandparents, and doctor have been working with him and have seen a noticeable improvement. My son is not bad and not disrespectful but he does have problems sitting still and with paying attention. His teacher called me and when I told her that I was not interested in medicating him she became beligerent and rude. What kind of recourse do parents have when the schools are trying to force drugs into our children? has anyone else gone through this and if so what did you do???

Answer 1

no but i applaud you and your family for not rushing out and putting this child on medication that may or may not help just to make his teachers job easier!!! take your son to a doctor and tell him your concerns i do not think that all of our kids have ADHD or ADD or AUTISM! i think many doctors over medicate and group all kids into these categories because teachers,parents and day care are not looking for what the issues may be for each kid.make sure your child's vision and hearing are good have it checked.also make sure his teeth are being cared for .it is sad that so many children do not practice good dental habits and it is important to overall good health and self-esteem!! good luck.maybe the teacher needs Paxil recommend it and lets see how she feels!

Answer 2

I agree with all the other's answers. Teachers do not have a license to diagnose ADHD or to prescribe medication. Further, the long term effects of these drugs on children has not been determined. Personally, even with a diagnosis of ADHD, I won't medicate my child. This diagnosis is way over used and probably does not fit every child given it.

Go to the principal. If you don't get help there, then go on up the ladder. Contact the diagnostic department at your school or better than that, arrange to have your child tested by a psychologist of your choosing. Preferably one in private practice with a good reputation. If you have good health insurance, you should be covered. Then you can present the results to the teacher, the principal and whomever else should need to see them .

Answer 3

This 'teacher' needs to be medicated! What a stupid thing to say. My 18 year old son had a similar problem at school. We had various tests and his IQ was very high. Gifted children can be disruptful and bored as they need a challenge and the correct stimulation. They are often labelled as being disruptive and difficult to deal with. Perhaps your son is in the wrong type of school? ADHD is over and often mis-diagnosed. One thing is certain, that too many EEEE's and artificial additives in foods,colourings, flavourings affect childrens' behaviour in a very big way!!! Also. Omega 3 fish oil capsules once a day and avoiding food additives and E's, can drastically alter a child with so-called 'ADHD's behaviour after a little as 6 weeks. It may be hard to get used to but is possible and worth the challenge just to see the results. Also, speak to your education suthority about schoold for gifted children ad visit one to talk to them. I would not allow this teacher to teach my child. How crazy! BTW, I even moved to another country to find the right school for my children (I now live in Germany). My son started university at age 16 and has won a full scholarship! Disruptive indeed, they were just below his standards!

Answer 4

The teacher is not a doctor and has no right to say things like that. I would expect her to at least apologize to you. Having to get into arguments with the school is not going to help your son. Remember it is your child and you have the right to decide if you want him on meds or not. The school gets extra money for special needs and they don't use the money where they should. I had a daughter that had a Individual Education Plan in effect and one year the teacher was not even aware of this. You need to monitor the system, or your son will get lost in the shuffle. If I had to do it all over again I would really consider home schooling. I really think that they want all children to fit one mold and that is not right.

Answer 5

I would speak to the principal as soon as possible. It may be wise to see if there is another teacher better suited to work with your son. Parents ultimately make the decision whether or not to medicate their children; however, teachers don't get to choose to teach only some of the children in their class. Perhaps your son's inability to sit still and pay attention is age-appropriate behavior. The diagnosis of ADHD and subsequent decision to treat with medication is not a quickly diagnosed condition... it took years of evaluations and doctor visits to decide on a diagnosis and course of treatment for our son. Best of luck to you!

Answer 6

I'm kind of going through it right now.

However, today, after a meeting with my son's teacher and the counselor, we decided to put him on a trial run of ADHD meds. I did not realize just how bad it was at school, because he is less obviously hyper and inattentive at home.

It's quite possible the non-medicated approach is working in the relatively easygoing atmosphere of home and other places, but in school, he has to sit and focus, and it is more obvious to her because most activities he has to do are an issue.

To medicate or not is up to you, but I would suggest trying to talk to the teacher objectively, consider that she does have another 15-30 kids in the class to teach, and coming up with a plan of action. ADHD kids aren't usually "bad" or "disrespectful", but they can be very disruptive because they can't concentrate or focus or a lot of times participate in class activities because of that. The meds would help that. If your son were "bad" or "disrespectful", the meds would be uneffective in changing his behavior.

All that said, in the state of Texas, where I am, it is not legal for anyone (including teachers) to suggest, demand or prescribe medication for ADHD without an actual diagnosis and suggestion of a licensed doctor who is qualified to make that diagnosis. His teacher crossed the line.

If you want her to work with your son, you're going to have to sit down with her, keep your temper (and pray she keeps hers) and let her know what DOES work and what does not. Be detailed. In most schools, teachers will work with students within reasonable limits, until working with the one student is causing a problem with all the others.

If you want, contact this principal, tell him or her what happened, and ask that he be transferred to a more understanding, experienced teacher, since that may very well help the situation a lot. Disruptive behavior of any kind shouldn't be tolerated, but an elementary school can't have teachers who "won't be able to teach him" because of it. They get all kinds of kids, and it's their job to teach each of them.

Answer 7

Your son's teacher has absolutly NO right to tell you to medicate him. She is a teacher not a doctor and it would seem not a very good one! I am a mother and I recommend that you talk to the principal of the school and discuss options that will be best for your son, during school time. Take a note from his doctor with you. I wish you all the best.

Answer 8

If its a public school they cant force you to medicate your kid. A school social worker actually came to my home unannounced and tried to intimidate me by saying that my son would not learn anything, its best for him, he needs to be medicated etc.... If you are in a private school I believe they can pull your child out of school.(don't quote me but they have more freedom) public schools just encourage drugging the kids to make it easier on the teachers. I told the social worker that I was aware of the situation and that we are working with him in other ways and I refuse to let the school system test him. I just didn't want the AD HD to follow him to college. She really kept on and actually did a follow up call a week later. I ignored it all and just told the teachers we are working with him and they dropped it. That was 2 years ago I think he's slowly growing out of it or dealing better in 4th grade now.

Answer 9

don't put him on the medication, talk to the principle of the school and tell him that you are not going to put your son on drugs and that if that teacher cant accommodate him , you should put him in another class or another school. I wish someone would have done this for me, i was on 3 different medications and it still didn't help, but you do need to know that unless he has broken some kind of school rule or policy they cant refuse to teach him. and if all else fails move him to another school or try homeschooling, and if you chose that route, keep him in activity's such as sports or clubs so that he gains the social skills he needs

Answer 10

First off, you "kick it up a notch". This teacher is way out of bounds. You go to the principal and tell them the situation. It is your perogative to do what you feel is in the best interest of the child. they will outgrow it. If you don't get satisfaction, and I mean a resolution not just someone to agree with you, then you go up to the next level.

You have to decide how far you want to take this. You may also want to consider changing schools. It may be inconvenient, BUT, you need to think about it

ALSO, read the school handbook. that's is your best weapon. Most people just sign off on them and never read them, therefore, schools will prey on the stupidity of the parent. "Well, if the principal says it so, it must be".