School, Ritalin and IQ Tests

10/10/2002 | self

[hsmomx3]

Your ideas and/or suggestions would be most helpful.

A friend of mine who I will call "Anne" is married and has a nine year old son, "Paul".

Beginning last year, Anne would get notices from the school stating that Paul had a hard time listening. He does well on his schoolwork and any homework he does.

This year, the teacher/school is once again calling Anne saying that Paul has problems listening and that they recommend he see a doctor. Anne and her husband took Paul to the doctor. Within five minutes, the doctor wrote a Rx for Ritalin and that was the end of the doctor visit. They did not put their son on the medication.

The school called about 10 days ago asking if they took Paul to a doctor. The school also said that they were to have a meeting about Paul and how to deal with him. Anne assigns Paul a variety of assignments at home that he does from workbooks--math, grammar, reading comprehension, etc. According to Anne, he listens and does the work on his own. He has demonstrated that he can do the work.

The school has called again and said that they want to do an IQ test.

Does anyone know what these IQ tests consist of? Is there a "quota" the schools must have for kids who have been prescribed anti-depressants or labled as learning-disabled?

I have met this child and he is fine. My advice was to pull him out of government school and to either enroll him in private school or homeschool him.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

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[cake_crumb]

There's a Wexler for kids...it's the best intelligence test available, because it measures reasoning ability, memory and communication skills, among other things.

[Trust but Verify]

Those would be the two best options. If neither are possible, a simple "It's none of your f'ing business!" would do.

[umgud]

HUKDT ON FONIX?

[tutstar]

time to homeschool!!

Have neighbors who went through you know what trying to get their kids off ritalin. The school threatened to call social services on the parents for neglect for taking the kid off the meds.

Maybe if the teacher wasn't too boring Paul would listen better?or maybe he isn't challenged by the work.

[Cicero]

I hesitate to give advice about something like this, because it could so easily go wrong one way or another.

One possibility your friend should consider is to consult a trustworthy lawyer. If she is church-going her pastor or priest might also be able to help out.

The important thing is not to let the school or the social services people commit themselves to some sort of Gestapo-like position that they would then be reluctant to back down from. That's why I suggest a lawyer, because most schools are reluctant to put themselves in the way of a lawsuit and might just back off.

One possibility would be to counter the school by insisting that the child be given special education treatment--which would cost the school a bundle. That would depend on the laws of the state in question. Not that your friend necessarily wants special education, but that might encourage them to back down quietly.

Yet another possibility would be to seek another medical opinion. Opinions differ as to whether Ritalin is a good idea. Personally I would be against it, but I am not a doctor.

But only someone who knows the child and who has actually met with the school authorities can make a decision like this.

[Nitro]

I see you are from Arizona, presumably so is your friend, and that means your classes are probably jam-packed with "English as a second language" types.

Most likely the kid has a high IQ and is just bored out of his mind at the constant repetition that kind of environment makes mandatory.

My advice is private school.

[DWPittelli]

It sounds more likely he's too smart for public school than that he's too stupid. Of course, if he tests too smart, there's nothing special the school will do for him, but doing nothing different is likely better than giving him speed (Ritalin) because he's bored.

[MoralSense]

ADHD is real, though over-diagnosed, and anyone other than a neurologist has no business diagnosing it. Doctors get bugged by parents all the time for Ritalin scripts, which they do write, they most good docs hate to do it.

[Johnny Gage]

Hi. There are several if not, many things that can cause ADD type behavior. Personally, we are working with our 12 yr old son who's struggled since 2nd grade. At that time they told us he was ADD, but we found he was suffering from sleep deprivation/apnea due to oversized adenoids and tonsils
Please check out this thread for more information on that.
Snoring and ADD/HD Behavior

In the last month, we have also come to believe our son also has the gift of dyslexia.
Yes, it is a gift, not a disability.
Please visit this website for information on this gift, they have "self quizzes" you can answer to give you a preliminary guess if this child has this gift.
The Gift of Dyslexia

A private school or homeschool is nearly a must. The public school system will not tolerate any behavior that's not "normal" (ie drugged). This family will go round & round with the school and school may eventually say "medicate or remove".

Please hold this child and family in your prayers during this time. It can be a rough road.

May God Bless your efforts!

[toenail]

The Behavioral Science Teacher Education Project just continues to blossom, doesn't it?

[freesia2]

If Paul is not having a problem at home in addition to in the classroom, he does not have ADHD. Skipping the usual argument about whether ADHD exists, the guidelines doctors use say that the child should exhibit difficulties in more than one setting. If he is doing academic work at home and is having no difficulty concentrating, then prescribing Ritalin is inappropriate.

[Clara Lou]

What, exactly, are the behaviors that they are complaining about? Is he disturbing other students? Does he interrupt the lesson? Is he finishing his work ahead of all of the other students and winding up with nothing to do? To be able to help, we need to know exactly what he's supposed to be doing wrong. There is a reason that the teachers are complaining. As a public school teacher, my first reaction is "Whatever the problem is, ritalin isn't the answer."

[Hobsonphile]

Sounds to me like this child is a normal little boy- in other words, a child that the public schools are not currently equipped to serve. I concur with the suggestion to put him in private school or to go for the homeschool option.

[Desdemona]

I love kids to death, but not being a parent...this may not be informed.

Based on personal experience, there's a chance this boy is bored. Bright kids get bored really easily if they're not challenged. I used to get "doesn't concentrate" on school reports, but I'm telling you, I was bored.

[js1138]

I would spend a few bucks and get a private psychologist to administer a Stanford-Binet or Wechsler. You don't have to reveal the results to anyone unless the school tries to screw you over. It saved my daughter's life. The school test was going to consign her to the dumb-dumb track. Instead she earned two years college credit in high school and will finish a Master's in building construction with full scholarships next year.

[Maximum Leader]

Thanks for the post Johnny. I was just going to mention sleep deprivation.

I suffer from sleep apnea myself. From what I've read (and experienced, before I received treatment) the symptoms of sleep deprivation mimic ADHD. I understand your son has oversized adenoids, but the most common cause of apnea is obesity. If Anne's son is overweight, I would bet money that apnea is his problem.

Either way, in case like this, when the school starts to bully, its important to hire a lawyer to bully back.

[js1138]

One more thing, did you tell the doctor the school was complaining? If so, of course he would prescribe a pill. Next tim get a full physical and see if the (different) doctor sees anything without being prompted. I suppose if a kid is bouncing off the walls at the doctor's office he might in fact have a problem.