*UPDATE* Yet Another Mother Venting About School

[Biscuitsmom31]

I don't how to make the school follow through on what they are supposed to be doing.

I give DS11 his meds before school and the school nurse is supposed to give him a second dose at lunch. This is a child who must be made to take it. He will not seek it out.

Last week I got an email from an angry teacher about his terrible behavior in class that afternoon. It said they were going to give him in-school suspension. The only response I sent was, "Did he take his medicine?" A long time later I get a two word response. "No, sorry."

The next day the counselor called and apologized. I was fine with that and hoped the situation was resolved.

Well, today DH gets a call from the after school program, saying DS is out of control and attacking other children. He's suspended from there for two days. Guess what? I asked him if he took his medicine at lunch and he said no.

What up?

 

[Daxx]

I'm a teacher and am the dispenser of meds. since our nurse comes once a week and does basically nothing except check and update medical files on the students. I know that I've written "reminders" on my front chalk board (ie: "12 pm MEDS") if I had to give a student a dose of meds at a certain time. If your child has to take meds and is the type that has to be made to take them, I'm surprised that the teachers don't post somewhere "12 PM Nurse" or something as a reminder to send your child for the meds. Esp. if your child acts out w/o the meds ... you'd think the teachers would want to remember that!!!!

Now the note on the chalkboard doesn't have to list the child's name ... it's a reminder that the child needs to be sent down to the nurse.

I don't know the rules and regulations w/a "proper" (full time) nurse in place at a school. I've never worked in a school w/a full time nurse.

 

[Biscuitsmom31]

Esp. if your child acts out w/o the meds ... you'd think the teachers would want to remember that!!!!

No kidding. You'd think they would be checking their watches every 5 minutes.

I do like that they have a full time school nurse. She is also the health teacher.

 

[MI mom of 3]

In my school the secretary dispenses the meds. I have been there 7 years and have never seen a nurse!! Everyday I see her having to call a classroom because one or more students forgot to come get their meds. The kids are supposed to come to the office after their lunch. Usually it's the same ones who forget

The secretary has the meds container out on her desk, she has to sign off as she dispenses each kids med. She can immediately see who hasn't received theirs yet and calls for them. The kids NEVER!! miss their meds.

Someone is seriously dropping the ball!!

Have you called the nurse to find out what her schedule is? She needs to explain to you how a kid can miss out on getting his meds. If her response isn't good enough I would go to the principal. Then take it higher if you need to. Depending on the med allowing a child to miss his meds could be dangerous to their health. This is not a minor thing!!

Good luck

 

[Biscuitsmom31]

Have you called the nurse to find out what her schedule is? She needs to explain to you how a kid can miss out on getting his meds. If her response isn't good enough I would go to the principal. Then take it higher if you need to. Depending on the med allowing a child to miss his meds could be dangerous to their health. This is not a minor thing!!

Good luck

I haven't talked to the school nurse about this yet. When it happened the first time and the counselor called and apologized. I thought it was handled.

I understand that people get busy and forget things but this is important. When they don't give him his meds it sets him up to fail.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

Hate me if you will but people are human...teachers are human and believe it or not ......there are hundreds of kids at school. If you want to be SURE the child gets his meds then maybe call and remind them for a couple of weeks. \\

As far as I am concerned when I had kids in my room who were aggressive w/out meds I made sure that they got them but I DO understand how this could happen.

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Obviously the system the school has in place is not working. There is no reason why you can't call the principal and ask for a meeting to work out a new system that will work for your child. Why not involve the child in the discussion of the possibilities?

 

[disykat]

That's unfortunate.

What needs to happen is that someone who sits at their computer most of the day - probably the office staff - needs to put a reminder on their calendar. It will pop up on their screen and not leave until they've removed it - presumably after the dose has been given.

This would be so simple for someone who is at their computer regularly. As a teacher, I'm not at my computer during classtime. An office staffer could probably do this easily. The school nurse could have it on her calendar, of course, with an office person as backup.

 

[minkydog]

I am a school nurse in a middle school. My students are 11-15. For the most part, they are pretty good about remembering to go to the nurse, but I have a few who will "forget" if they can. There aren't that many kids who have daily meds at school, so i am very aware of who's come in and who needs to be tracked down. If I don't see a child within an hour of his med time, I start looking for him. If he won't come to the clinic, I take his meds & water to him. Usually, they'll take it if I just stand there and wait.

I have one student whose mother told me I need to make sure she swallows her med. This child is 14. Mom actually wanted me to force-feed it to her! I told mom that I would not force her child to take the med, but I would do what I can to get her to take it. So I called the student in and sympathized with her a bit about not wanting to take medicine in school. Then I made a deal with her--she would take the medicine without coercion and I would respect her enough not to check under her tongue, as long as she was compliant. She seemed to appreciate being treated like a responsible person and so far has not missed a single dose.

OP, definitely check with the nurse, find out what the procedure is in your school. If kids with ADHD could remember to take their meds every day, they probably wouldn't have ADHD There is no excuse for punishing a child for something that is a result of his unmedicated disability.

 

[MI mom of 3]

I haven't talked to the school nurse about this yet. When it happened the first time and the counselor called and apologized. I thought it was handled.

I understand that people get busy and forget things but this is important. When they don't give him his meds it sets him up to fail.

I understand that people get busy...but this is her job!! And as I said it could be dangerous to that child's health to miss a dose of their meds.

I would assume that your nurse has to document all the meds she gives out. Our secretary needs to give the reason, i.e. the child was absent, if a dose is missed. I would be curious what the nurse wrote down on the days your son didn't get his meds.

I would definitely want to know why she didn't notice your son didn't get his meds??

 

[TinkerbellMama]

I haven't talked to the school nurse about this yet. When it happened the first time and the counselor called and apologized. I thought it was handled.

I understand that people get busy and forget things but this is important. When they don't give him his meds it sets him up to fail.

Not to mention that for some kids, missing a medication could have much more serious consequences than a bad afternoon!

 

[hentob]

I'm a teacher and am the dispenser of meds.

In my school the secretary dispenses the meds.

I have one student whose mother told me I need to make sure she swallows her med. This child is 14. Mom actually wanted me to force-feed it to her!

Wow. I am surprised that anyone other than a nurse would take on the responsibility of giving medication to a child


Neat how different schools work.

 

[teacups]

I don't how to make the school follow through on what they are supposed to be doing.

I give DS11 his meds before school and the school nurse is supposed to give him a second dose at lunch. This is a child who must be made to take it. He will not seek it out.

Last week I got an email from an angry teacher about his terrible behavior in class that afternoon. It said they were going to give him in-school suspension. The only response I sent was, "Did he take his medicine?" A long time later I get a two word response. "No, sorry."

The next day the counselor called and apologized. I was fine with that and hoped the situation was resolved.

Well, today DH gets a call from the after school program, saying DS is out of control and attacking other children. He's suspended from there for two days. Guess what? I asked him if he took his medicine at lunch and he said no.

What up?

I hope you do not take this the wrong way, as I agree with you on the school's failure... but this situation also takes away education time from the rest of the kids. Not only is your child put into a terrible situation, but so are the rest of his classmates and afterschool classmates, assuming the behavior happens in class. I hope this school steps up for you and your son.

 

[Talking Hands]

One thing to check is if there was a substitute teacher. In some school systems substitutes are not informed if students need to go takes meds at lunch. It means you've lost one line of communication for the day.

 

[Biscuitsmom31]

One thing to check is if there was a substitute teacher. In some school systems substitutes are not informed if students need to go takes meds at lunch. It means you've lost one line of communication for the day.

That's a possibility. I will see what I can find out tomorrow. Hopefully DH won't call them and make a scene. Last time the school made a mistake, he sent an email that wasn't very nice.

I don't want to be a pushover but I think we should approach the problem diplomatically. Funny how the school never calls him when there is a problem.

 

[Biscuitsmom31]

I hope you do not take this the wrong way, as I agree with you on the school's failure... but this situation also takes away education time from the rest of the kids. Not only is your child put into a terrible situation, but so are the rest of his classmates and afterschool classmates, assuming the behavior happens in class. I hope this school steps up for you and your son.

I agree 100%.

 

[Biscuitsmom31]

Not to mention that for some kids, missing a medication could have much more serious consequences than a bad afternoon!

No joke!

 

[MI mom of 3]

Did you talk to the school today? What did the nurse say??

 

[yasmina]

Does your son have an IEP? If so, the medication dispensal should be in there, then the school is responsible.

 

[BrerMom]

Wow. I am surprised that anyone other than a nurse would take on the responsibility of giving medication to a child


Neat how different schools work.

I don't think I would have picked the word neat.

I don't know of any districts anywhere near here that actually have a school nurse. In the elementary schools, the office secretaries get that job. In the middle and high schools, the guidance secretary has the responsibility. None of these people are trained, except by the parents who need them to help their kids. I'm talking about diabetic shots, colostomy bags, etc. (my poor friend ) If there are "too many" kids that need a lot of attention (not just a pill), the classroom teacher is "asked" to help out.

If there was a substitute, though, I agree that could be the issue. For confidentiality reasons, I'm not allowed to leave a kid's name in my sub plans unless it's in the context of "If you have questions, Mary or John would be responsible students to ask." I can say something generic like "During 4th hour, keep counting to 30 to make sure none of the students left without permission, " I just can't say who is the usual culprit.