Child's sick day frustration

[bballmom56]

Just a thought on the stomach issues. Could it possibly be stress related? When DS was in high school, he would get times when he would get a very sharp pain in a certain area of the stomach. It would generally last a few days and then go away. But in the fall of senior year, it started and didn't relent. I had him back to the doctor several times and they were considering ulcers.

Finally when some things resolved, it went away and he hasn't had an issue with it since (now 4 years later). He is the type to keep things bottled up and to himself. Even if I could tell there was something bothering him, I couldn't get him to tell me exactly what was going on.

Ah, just read the last part of your last post about the anxiety. I would look into that further.

 

[golfgal]

I find it interesting that the schools require a doctor's rather than a parent's note. I think it's up to the parents to disclose as little or as much as they want about their child's health, so I don't know why "please excuse Johnny from x/xx to x/xx" is acceptable if written by a doctor, but not by a parent. Requiring "Please excuse Johnny because xxxx" seems like a HIPAA violation.

At my own school, the student health center has a big sign saying they will not write notes at all. I've seen it as a requirement on syllabuses but have never had to "test the rule." (knock on wood)

Surprisingly parents lie about stuff like this. If a school has implemented this policy more often than not they have had issues with parents excusing kids under the guise of a dr's appointment to go shopping, etc. Parents have to authorize the note from the Dr so it isn't a HIPPA violation. There are provisions in that law for "need to know" too and this would be one of them.

Erin--have you looked into getting an individual policy just for your son with better coverage. It might be less expensive in the long run to do that, especially if there is an extra charge for him on your group plan. With his medical issues he might not qualify but it might be worth looking into.

 

[cassandrap83]

My little cousin (17) had major stomach issues over the past few years. She got diagnosed with Crohns & UC a year & a half ago. Symptoms usually develop in the teenage years. Just some food for though.

She now attends PA Cyber school & is doing much better.

She withdrawed from public school b/c of the same issues you are talking about.