Is it required to disclose medication usage to public school?

[Anonymous]

I'm a teacher and we are supposed to be a team with the parents and the child. If you came in like this it would make it clear that you were a "difficult case". The question you raise makes it seem like you are ashamed of your child's condition which will translate in teachers who will be less than forthcoming with you. If they feel that you don't disclose information they might regard it to be in the child's best interest to not reach out to communicate with you. Amenable, helpful parents who are real team players make a world of difference in outcome.
I can't phrase this any more gently, but is your shame so great that you can't do what is best for your child so that the whole team can have all of the information?

[Anonymous]

OP, I totally see your point. Why woud a school, of all places, need to know about medication your son takes to address "just learning challenges?" I mean, it's not like they're trying to educate him or anything like that.

Wait . . .

[Anonymous]

NP here. OP, I think PPs have been far too unnecessarily harsh. I am also a teacher and if you did not ask the question in a combative manner but merely in an innocent information-gathering-way, I would not think you were being difficult. As a personal matter, I am strong believer in privacy and can completely understand why one would hesitate to answer--to PPs, I don't see it being ashamed, I see it as being private.

[Anonymous]

PP again (17:27). Forgot to mention: when I have participated in IEP meetings for my students, I cannot remember this question coming up often as a matter of course. As a teacher, it makes no difference to me whether or not I know about medication. I work with the student's behavior as it is on any given day--honestly, I do not care at all if I know what medicine he/she might be taking at home.

[Anonymous]

I have to say that I am siding with OP also. We are starting the IEP process this year and I have been advised by our consultant not to share all of our medical findings for fear that our kid would be labeled. Granted, I don't think it was a really out of the ballpark question for the team since it's a disorder that is often medicated. In her shoes I probably would have said that he was not getting meds for ADHD and left it at that. OP is smart to realize that the IEP team members are not her friends and that they have their own agendas. Information should be on a need to know basis. If the med does not have a direct relation to the education it's really none of their business. I stopped providing non-essential details to our various therapists and school people long ago--they will use it to second guess you and weigh in where they haven't been asked to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to say that I am siding with OP also. We are starting the IEP process this year and I have been advised by our consultant not to share all of our medical findings for fear that our kid would be labeled. Granted, I don't think it was a really out of the ballpark question for the team since it's a disorder that is often medicated. In her shoes I probably would have said that he was not getting meds for ADHD and left it at that. OP is smart to realize that the IEP team members are not her friends and that they have their own agendas. Information should be on a need to know basis. If the med does not have a direct relation to the education it's really none of their business. I stopped providing non-essential details to our various therapists and school people long ago--they will use it to second guess you and weigh in where they haven't been asked to.

Yeah, you're right. This doesn't sound like it has "a direct relation to the education" at all:

"DS's ADHD does not cause behavioral problems at all, just learning challenges[.]"

[Anonymous]

"Yeah, you're right. This doesn't sound like it has "a direct relation to the education" at all:

"DS's ADHD does not cause behavioral problems at all, just learning challenges[.]"


Actually, the above sarcasm is kind of slily to me: the fact that the ADHD creates learning challenges has no bearing on whether or not the parents should disclose medication with the IEP team. The IEP team is there to figure out a plan for the student based on what is happening at school: that plan has nothing to do with medication that the child is taking at home. Simple example: let's say the child is inattentive and so daydreams instead of reading the text. The IEP might include a reminder system. Whether or not the child has taken medication at home in the morning has no bearing on this reminder system. If the medication helps with the focus, great. In that case the teacher will notice it, say that goal is being met, and then the IEP plan can address other items--daily empirical observable items that are happening in the classroom. If the child's behavior does not change, the IEP will remain the same--again, based on what is happening during the school day, regardless of medication at home. The fact that medicine may or may not help with certain challenges does not show up in an IEP. It is interesting information to the team to be sure, but it not in fact relevant to the IEP.

[Anonymous]

New poster here.

Why would it be relevant to the discussion of the IEP whether the child was taking medication or not?

I see the question as idle curiosity.

If the answer is "yes, my child is being medicated for ADHD" would that change anything in the IEP? The team is not supposed to suggest changes to medication in the IEP surely. The only member of the team qualified to state an opinion about meds might be the psychiatrist, but I doubt it was a psychiatrist at that meeting, much more likely an educational psychologist, who really should NOT be suggesting changes in medication.

If the answer is "No, my child is not being medicated for ADHD" again -- how would that change anything in school or on the IEP? Would something different be written into the IEP? Would teachers say, "This child shows such and such symptoms and we believe he should be taking medication to change those behaviors?" Again -- I don't think so.

So teachers -- tell me -- why do you need to know if a child is being medicated or not? How does it change how you teach the child? How does it impact what is written into the IEP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New poster here.

Why would it be relevant to the discussion of the IEP whether the child was taking medication or not?

I see the question as idle curiosity.

If the answer is "yes, my child is being medicated for ADHD" would that change anything in the IEP? The team is not supposed to suggest changes to medication in the IEP surely. The only member of the team qualified to state an opinion about meds might be the psychiatrist, but I doubt it was a psychiatrist at that meeting, much more likely an educational psychologist, who really should NOT be suggesting changes in medication.

If the answer is "No, my child is not being medicated for ADHD" again -- how would that change anything in school or on the IEP? Would something different be written into the IEP? Would teachers say, "This child shows such and such symptoms and we believe he should be taking medication to change those behaviors?" Again -- I don't think so.

So teachers -- tell me -- why do you need to know if a child is being medicated or not? How does it change how you teach the child? How does it impact what is written into the IEP?

18:17 again--yes, this is exactly what I was getting at! It doesn't affect the IEP at all, and therefore it is hardly harming the child to keep such information private.

[Anonymous]

The kid is there for an IEP meeting. So there are obviously issues and he is labeled whether or not he is medicated. My DC "only has learning challenges" too, no behavioral problems at all, and that's what she is medicated for. To me that always seemed like a relevant fact that was worth sharing with her team. But to be fair we were in private school rather than public school so maybe public school requires a more combative approach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here. OP, I think PPs have been far too unnecessarily harsh. I am also a teacher and if you did not ask the question in a combative manner but merely in an innocent information-gathering-way, I would not think you were being difficult. As a personal matter, I am strong believer in privacy and can completely understand why one would hesitate to answer--to PPs, I don't see it being ashamed, I see it as being private.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a teacher and we are supposed to be a team with the parents and the child. If you came in like this it would make it clear that you were a "difficult case". The question you raise makes it seem like you are ashamed of your child's condition which will translate in teachers who will be less than forthcoming with you. If they feel that you don't disclose information they might regard it to be in the child's best interest to not reach out to communicate with you. Amenable, helpful parents who are real team players make a world of difference in outcome.
I can't phrase this any more gently, but is your shame so great that you can't do what is best for your child so that the whole team can have all of the information?

NP here. Gosh, aren't you clueless. But you do sound like a typical arrogant teacher.

It's not shame. It's a mother's instinct to protect her child.

[Anonymous]

I wonder if the OP would be so reluctant and "private" if her child was suffering from a seizure disorder, Type 1 diabetes, etc. and was on medication for it. I somehow doubt it. Her reluctance comes from her DC's ADHD diagnosis

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a teacher and we are supposed to be a team with the parents and the child. If you came in like this it would make it clear that you were a "difficult case". The question you raise makes it seem like you are ashamed of your child's condition which will translate in teachers who will be less than forthcoming with you. If they feel that you don't disclose information they might regard it to be in the child's best interest to not reach out to communicate with you. Amenable, helpful parents who are real team players make a world of difference in outcome.
I can't phrase this any more gently, but is your shame so great that you can't do what is best for your child so that the whole team can have all of the information?

NP here. Gosh, aren't you clueless. But you do sound like a typical arrogant teacher.

It's not shame. It's a mother's instinct to protect her child.

But protect her child from what?

[Anonymous]

I think a lot of these responses take an overly optimistic/rosy view of the school system, and the special needs world in general. Its not unfathomable that OP would be wary.