Poor teachers had to barricade themselves from this little pipsqueak because if they did anything to defend themselves, they'd be the ones on the news and in the unemployment line!
However, I was a little irritated when I got a letter* from the school more or less saying our 13 year old, R, was being disruptive in class.
*It wasnt so much a letter as an evaluation straight out of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders for ADHD
Not that she's a perfect little angel, no, far from it. I was upset that they waited FIVE MONTHS before saying anything to me about it. And then basically telling me that she needs to be medicated. First off, they're not qualified therapists and had no business making an evaluation without our consent anyway. Second off, we're not drugging the kid. I'm sure there are plenty of children who legitimately need to be medicated, but having worked in a pharmacy for 6 years; more often than not parents just want a easy fix to a hard problem.
So I had a meeting with the guidance counselor (whom I've already had to set straight after she called DSS on us without calling first), R's math teacher, reading teacher and the nurse. We came to the general consensus that R is starved for attention and thats why she acted out. They were all quick to assure me that R doesnt disrupt the other students, which was my main concern. Finally I told them point blank that we were not interested in putting her on medication and were looking into alternative parenting methods to correct her behavior. I found this great book Ritalin is Not the Answer by Dr. Stein at the used bookstore, it's a little dated but I really liked some of the ideas. I told them that we had been using some of the ideas and that they seem to be helping, such as putting R in time out, which I suggested the teachers try. They were horrified. "We cant do that!" Wait. What? You cant put a kid in time out anymore? Really?
And this is why we'll be seeing a lot more news stories like the one linked above. I may consider home schooling the twins.
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