Meds and School

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Hi -- this is my 1st post on this forum. My question is am I required to level with the school if they should ask me if my son is on meds? The only people who know about the meds are his case mgr and doctor. The doc said NOT to tell the school as they'll be quick to point the finger no matter how he behaves and I believe she's right. My sticky situation comes in that he has a history of being a perfect child at school and a nightmare at home and recently has been acting up in school. He's been taking anxiety med for 2 1/2 weeks. At home we're noticing his mood stay more even, which was the point. At school they're seeing more of the behaviors we've struggled with at home for years. His school world has also been disrupted with a school play, teacher out sick, school is almost over -- all could play a huge part on his behavior.

Guess I'm in a bit of a panic with a 504 mtg coming soon and don't want to be put on the spot. However, I don't know if legally they could ask me that. I don't want to lie but I also feel they already have way more information than they should and I've been beating my head against their wall for years. He's an elementary aged student w/PDD-NOS and Asp tendancies.

Thanks!

i'm in australia so not sure about the legal side of things over in the US. I just wanted to post to let you know, my son (10yrs old AS) started anxiety meds this year and his behaviour changed at school as well. He went from being anxious but perfect, to laid back and not always following directions, questioning stuff etc etc. I did talk to his docs about this and they said whats happening is because he is no where near as up tight now (less anxious) the real child is emerging, so school are now seeing my little boy- the one I knew before school started. This isnt a bad thing, what we had to do was to get the school to reconfirm his boundries and his rules. get them to write out their expectations for him and go thru them with him.

Good luck.

P.S
I dont think they need to know unless you want them to. I told my sons school because I wanted them to watch for side effects and changes. But I think its up to you.

Thanks for the reply. What you said makes sense. For a long time we've felt that he works very hard to keep himself together at school and lets loose at home. The doc has said that scenario is quite common. I hadn't thought about that facet of this puzzle until you mentioned it. My child is complex, probably like most, and its difficult to determine what is working and what isn't at times!

Our school knows about our daughter's anti-anxiety meds because meds really do cause changes in behaviour that are inexplicable to the school if they don't know where the behaviour is coming from. Your doctor is right that once they know about the meds, they'll be quick to point the finger at the meds when behaviour changes. But sometimes it IS the meds that cause changes. The only way to sort out what behaviour is from the meds and what behaviour is from some other change is to track his behaviour both at home and at school while also tracking the meds and also tracking changes in his world (like the school play). This is complex and requires that everybody be on the same page and have the same information.

My daughter has been taking anti0anxiety meds for 2 years now, with various dosage changes along the way. The thing about meds is you don't know for sure that the doctor has chosen the right med at the right dosage strength until about a month has passed. It is pretty common to have the first med or dosage strength not be the right one and then you have to change it. But the only way to properly assess this is for the school to know. If they don't know, they'll see weird, erratic behaviour and have no idea what brought it on when in reality it's a red flag that this is not the right med or dosage. We were upfront with the school from day one, both with the start of the meds and with any dosage changes that have happened over the 2 years. In this way, they could be alert to any odd behaviours that might be a red flag for a bad reaction or a sign that she was on too much, too little, or the wrong one. If the school knows to be looking out for any changes that may be med-related, they can alert you to any sign things are not working out that much sooner. As another poster said, alerting the school lets them watch for side effects and changes.

Janissy,
That's part of the problem -- the school not being on the same page. I've been preaching to them since preschool, providing evals, and still am met with closed ears. This year is really the 1st time they've perked up a bit because he's been struggling academically. Seems as though the more info I give them, the less they listen "because he's so cute and just a little quirky."

Agree, the doseage/med probaby isn't quite right. I spoke w/the doc last night and we're going to give it a few more weeks until appt time. He's self-stimulating more, which is a side effect, so something needs to be tweaked. As far as what the school is seeing, I've been dealing with that for years so maybe the meds are relaxing him just enough so we see the real child in all situations. If that is true, we need something because he's headed in the wrong direction. Thanks for the input.