Reply to Found Zoloft in DD's Back-pack

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Reply to "Found Zoloft in DD's Back-pack"

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[quote=Anonymous]Absolutely get her to a doctor but be sure it's one experienced with kids her age. (I'm not clear--is she a teenager?) Take care that she does not see this intervention as, "Oh my God, they caught me, they know I'm broken, I'm so bad and wrong...." because that is typical for this age and is a reaction that could drive her to hide more, when you want her to tell you more. The first thing is finding out if she is depressed, or if she only thinks she might be, and to get her real help.

There is another serious aspect to this. I don't know if your DD is in Fairfax County public schools but in FCPS, please remember that kids get suspended for VERY long periods for having drugs -- [i]even prescription medications[/i] -- on them or in their bags or lockers. Not sure if other school systems around here are as draconian. I'm not just talking here about the recently highly publicized cases but about ones we don't hear as much about. Search in the Washington Post for the story in 2011 about Hayley, a middle schooler who took her own prescription acne medication to school and put it in her locker to be able to take it at lunch, but ended up being kept out of school for seven weeks. Yes, she absolutely should have checked the meds in at the clinic. But seven weeks out of school over a prescription [i]acne [/i]med? Think of that impact on academics.  It's near the end of the school year now, but if your child were caught with one pill in school now or next year the impact could be vast. That is sadly something you have to know about and something SHE has to know about. It may be a prescription med but she could still be nailed to the wall for having it in her possession (especially as it's not hers).

I'm not saying the schools shouldn't be tough, but the problem is that the policies are applied with zero consideration for individual situations or the type of medication or circumstances involved. Your child is lucky that your wife, not another kid or someone else at school, found that Zoloft, or there would have been consequences that could make her more depressed if that's what's going on.

It's actually good that summer is nearly here because that gets her away from school and whoever is giving her their meds (or possibly their mom or dad's meds....). Use the summer to get her help so that she is not turning to other kids, rumor, the Internet, whatever, for self-diagnosis. [/quote]

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