Add/adhd

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Home : 2007 : February : 18

Add/adhd
By RAD

I teach Special Ed. When I have a student that exhibits signs of ADD or ADHD, I will bring this to the attention of the parents. I will say something along the lines of, "Mary has a lot of difficulty (staying on-task, staying
in her seat, following along as we read, or whatever the problem happens to be). Sometimes there are medical reasons for this and the next time you have her to the doctor, you may want to mention this. If the doctor would like more information from the school, I would be happy to provide that information. You would need to sign a release." Often times the parent will ask for more specifics

or even ask if I think the child has ADD. I tell them that ADD needs to medically diagnosed, so I certainly can't make that determination, but the child does exhibit some of the symptoms. I also may use diabetes as an example. I cannot say a child has diabetes because I am not a medical doctor, but I know what are some things to look for - excessive thirst, frequent urination, etc.
I also assure the parent that if the child is diagnosed ADD/ADHD, there are a number of interventions the doctor may suggest and medication is seldom the first choice.
I believe that my many years of teaching have provided me with a lot of experience in this area. It is my duty to guide parents in the right direction whether I recognize signs of ADD/ADHD, diabetes, vision difficulties, hearing problems, chicken pox, head lice or whatever. I cannot diagnose any of these, but I do have the expertise to recognize signs.