What is the legality of someone in the school system insisting a child needs to be put on medication time after time? I thought you all told me this was a big no no? I have read a lot about Washington State being well known for this in their school systems and I even found some sites regarding this by parents that have lost their children to the medication. Really scary ...

Even though my grandson is doing so much better this year my daughter has still received 3 calls from the school insisting he should be put on medication. It really pisses me off to no end. She handles it much better than I would without doubt. I'm just Thankful for once she is listening to me instead of them.

I cannot imagine anyone who works in a school setting insisting that a child be on medication. That, IMHO, would only be done by people who are very unprofessional. I would never think of telling a parent that their child needed to be on medication. The closest anyone in my (former) school district would get to insisting on medication is suggesting that they be evaluated by a medical doctor who specializes in pediatric medicine. That suggestion would come from the nurse, guidance counselor, or school psychologist. The only role a teacher would have is to complete a checklist provided by the doctor via the parent to describe classroom behavior.

Only one time did I discuss medication w/ a parent & it was only when she, a RN, asked for my opinion & assistance in convincing her son to give medication a try. He had already been evaluated & diagnosed w/ ADD. I was tutoring him & he was not one of my own students. It was all discussed in the family home, never at school. This young man was in middle school, very disorganized (pretty typical of boys this age), likeable, personable, yet his grades did not reflect his ability. He resisted because he did not want to "be a zombie" or "change my personality". He gave it a try & was the same young man but not all over the place w/ his focus. This C/D student went to A/B in a matter of weeks.

Every teacher & school district should adapt to the needs of the child to help them learn. They need to work w/ the parent, NOT tell the parent what to do, & certainly should not insist on medical intervention. Suggest an evaluation... OK. Anything else, again IMHO, is out of line.

Is this because he is disrupting the class or just not learning.I think a parent should have to go to the school (maybe I should have said "would want" ) and witness what ever seems to be wrong.I think alot of these problems are bad diet then helped by good diet like Tammy said.I also think a kick in the arse sometimes will knock a few of these A's and D's out of the equation.Every kid in the world now seems to have a learning problem of some kind.Did the parents smoke in the house,is the father in the picture,do they eat junk food etc.I'm not saying this is the case but alot of parents are passing on unruly kids to the school system when it was caused by them.

Gosh, I think that's a really bad idea. School personnel cannot insist/require that parents place their children on medication. Now, having said that, I have been in some meetings where teachers have SUGGESTED it, sometimes strongly, and even shared their experiences with what a difference the med has made with their own children. But school personnel cannot require it.

As a school psychologist, whenever I have parents who do not wish to follow this route, I make it very clear to them that they must supplant a very strong, consistent behavior management program, to be coordinated between the school and the home, and that this MUST be followed on a daily basis. It's important to sit down with the child in developing it & have him/her engaged in creating the goals & defining the rewards. Then....stick with it!!! And, of course, every behavior management program MUST be phased-out over time, as the child has a sense of accomplishment & develops an internal desire to "do the right thing" on his/her own. A big part of this program HAS to be teaching the child EXACTLY what behaviors/skills are being expected, with modeling & adult-guided practice for those skills!!!

Yvonne, I have to say that it sounds like you are/were a wonderful teacher - one that any parent and child would be blessed to have in the classroom. I'm sure your students are well educated, well-rounded individuals, having had the good fortune to be taught by you.

And Jenny, the same goes for you in your capacity as a school psychologist - there is so much to be said for a caring soul, and you have that in spades.

Kudos to both of you and wish there were many more like you in the system!