I am really bad.....
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| Thu, 08-31-2006 - 10:25pm |
Ok, if you remember correctly we met with the school on Tuesday and they told us how wonderful our son is and he doesn't need any special services. We told him that we were only 18 days into the year and we knew he need some services.
Well Tuesday afternoon the Developmental Ped called to give us her 2nd opinion which was the same- Asperger's. Anyway, she wanted us to take him off his ADHD medicine because she isn't convinced he has it and she wants to see if it reduces his stemming and anxiety as well as she would like to see an increase in his appetite. He is very thin and isn't even on the percentile weight chart- he weighs 38 pounds and is almost 7.
Well Wednesday and today I got a note home form the teacher about having problems with Reagan. It is really hard for me to keep a straight face as all I can think of is how great everyone said my son was.
I know, he isn't on his medicine but I am finding some humor in this.

I know the feeling.
How do you think he is off the meds?
Do you think he is having any withrawals?
visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
Make sure you are keeping all of those notes from teachers. And if someone from the school calls you document the call and send them a follow up letter with your understanding of the call. Same for if you call them. Once you have enough documented proof you can call for another eval.
I think its great!
Samantha
Also, be prepared to give your argument as to why he is off medication and that his behaviors at school would have been the same regardless.
There is a funny thing in there somewhere that if a childs challenges can be effectively managed by medication then they don't need an IEP. Instead they will just blame you for taking him off medications.
When Mike was going through the IEP process in 2nd grade his teacher insisted it was just ADHD and it was my fault for not medicating. (Even though I had told her I had already tried all the ADHD meds). Finally I tried concerta again to get her off my back and in her mind he did great in school after that for a while. At home he became withdrawn, moody, irritable, anxious, etc. Finally at school he had started to have these problems too on the meds but she didn't want to see it. When I took him off I got alot of that flack and I had to prove that the meds were detremental by keeping notes on his behavior, getting notes from the docs, etc.
Renee
This is what the IDEA says about medication:
RE: IDEA 2004: 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(25)(A)-(B) Prohibition on Mandatory Medication
This memorandum provides information regarding one provision of the newly reauthorized
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004. On August 1, 2005,
the information was disseminated by the NMPED to Special Education Directors, Charter School
Directors, Regional Educational Cooperatives, and school principals as part of the nonregulatory
guidance on the IDEA 2004.
IDEA 2004 explicitly states that the State Educational Agency (SEA) shall prohibit state agency
and Local Educational Agency (LEA) personnel from requiring a child with a disability or
suspected of having a disability to obtain a prescription for a substance covered by the
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. Secs. 801 et seq.) as a condition of attending school,
receiving an evaluation for special education or related services, or receiving special education
and related services.
The NMPED emphasizes its expectation that LEAs already follow the requirements above, and
also notes the following:
Prohibition on Mandatory Medication
5/18/2006
Page 2 of 2
1. At no time, and in no way, may LEA personnel state or suggest that a student with
a disability or a suspected disability must obtain a prescribed medication that is
covered by the Controlled Substances Act before that student may attend school,
return to school, receive an evaluation for a suspected disability or receive special
education and related services.
2. IDEA 2004 explicitly allows LEA personnel to consult with parents or guardians
about school-based observations involving a student’s academic, functional, and
behavioral performance in the classroom or school, or regarding the need for an
evaluation for special education and related services under the agency’s child find
obligations. Observations should be concrete and fact-based, and should not
include opinions about how a particular medication may or could affect a student.
3. Nothing in the IDEA 2004 prohibits an LEA from administering medications at
school to a student with a disability or a suspected disability, upon parental
consent, provided the medication is maintained and dispensed according to
applicable federal and state laws, rules, and guidelines for the administration of
medication of the schools.
As noted in the NMPED’s above mentioned non-regulatory guidance document, the NMPED
recommends that LEA administrators immediately issue a written directive to personnel to
explain the above requirements. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
We are also going for the no meds route this year ourselves. For the past 2 years Josh had been on Concerta, a low dose, because the initial dx was ADHD. To me, there was no real difference other than him being slightly more quiet. But the rest of the behaviors, the reptativeness, the obsessing, needing to say what he wanted when he wanted to etc. Continueed to be there.
So now that we have the Apserger's dx we are going to see if there truly is a difference between meds and no meds. To me not much. We will see when school begins. after a month then teachers will fill out the Conners scale and we will see what direction we wan tto go in.
Josh is also small for his age at 11. 62 pounds and about 51 inches tall. DH are not big and Josh has aways been small but followed his growth pattern and hasn't stalled.
We will see what happens.
Rina