Tearing my hair out!!!
- Thread starter gcvmom
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flutterbee
Guest
Well, hell, Gcvmom, I'm an adult and I have forgotten my morning medications - even after I read this thread today, it didn't ring a bell. 
I think expecting an 11 year old - especially with EFD - to remember to take his medications at a certain time is expecting too much. In our SD the teachers would remind the kids they needed to go to the office to get their medications.
I think expecting an 11 year old - especially with EFD - to remember to take his medications at a certain time is expecting too much. In our SD the teachers would remind the kids they needed to go to the office to get their medications.
Talk to your pharmacist. They give me 2 bottles with his label on it. One for school and one for home. I only sent a weeks worth at a time also. I would grab the empty bottle and hand the full bottle...and refill the empty one at home to send again the next week.
My sons teacher (when he was on Concerta) would tell him as they were leaving the lunchroom to go get his medications. It was either she remind him or put up with his attitude if he missed it. Trust me, after a week or two of his attitude, she started remembering.
My sons teacher (when he was on Concerta) would tell him as they were leaving the lunchroom to go get his medications. It was either she remind him or put up with his attitude if he missed it. Trust me, after a week or two of his attitude, she started remembering.
gcvmom
Here we go again!
Klmno, I KNOW the school is spoiled because I'm a stay at home mom 
They'd HAVE to step up to the plate if I worked full-time, that's for sure. Anyway, I'm going to hang out there for one more week, and will get him a watch with an alarm, and then the rest is up to them. Maybe that will solve the problem.
Witz -- Great idea! Your name will go first on the patent
Heather, I forget my medications too sometimes. husband is way worse than me but he has more deficits
I think it's pretty asinine to tell an 11yo he has to remind you to remind him to do something, which is essentially what his math teacher told me.
BL, I'll definitely get the second bottle on our next refill. There's a chance, though, that the dosage is going to change before I can even refill this. That's been the tricky part for the last two years. Just when I think we've got the medication combo and dosage figured out, it changes!
They'd HAVE to step up to the plate if I worked full-time, that's for sure. Anyway, I'm going to hang out there for one more week, and will get him a watch with an alarm, and then the rest is up to them. Maybe that will solve the problem.Witz -- Great idea! Your name will go first on the patent
Heather, I forget my medications too sometimes. husband is way worse than me but he has more deficits
I think it's pretty asinine to tell an 11yo he has to remind you to remind him to do something, which is essentially what his math teacher told me.
BL, I'll definitely get the second bottle on our next refill. There's a chance, though, that the dosage is going to change before I can even refill this. That's been the tricky part for the last two years. Just when I think we've got the medication combo and dosage figured out, it changes!
Piping in late but the school part is really bothering me. No way should your difficult child be responsible for remembering his medications at school. If it was a physical problem like diabetes they would make sure they gave the medications to that child.
I teach 4/5th grade. Almost all of my kids with IEPs have their assignment notebooks checked by me daily. If they are the type that then forgets books I also start checking to make sure they have everything.
by the way, other than the medications at lunch-you could have been describing my high school easy child. Today husband had to go back to school to get a book she had forgotten. She also takes forever to do work-not that she can't do it but cannot focus! I feel your pain!
I teach 4/5th grade. Almost all of my kids with IEPs have their assignment notebooks checked by me daily. If they are the type that then forgets books I also start checking to make sure they have everything.
by the way, other than the medications at lunch-you could have been describing my high school easy child. Today husband had to go back to school to get a book she had forgotten. She also takes forever to do work-not that she can't do it but cannot focus! I feel your pain!
gcvmom
Here we go again!
WO, I'm starting to think the teachers did not ready any of his IEP or the handouts I gave them. If that's the case, they'll have to learn this the hard way, through my incessant e-mails and notes in his planner, as well as the natural consequences of his forgetfulness and their lack of support.
I'm thinking we'll need another IEP meeting at the end of the month if things don't shape up soon.
I'm thinking we'll need another IEP meeting at the end of the month if things don't shape up soon.
Marguerite
Active Member
Witz, you said, "It seems like someone could make a fortune making a five day or 25 day dispenser with an rx label on it for schools that would make it easy to ensure kids took their medications on any given day. I want a share of the profits if any of you figure it out!"
We actually have a system like this in Australia - not that it's used much for kids, but certainly for older people who live alone and need help to manage their medications. It's organised through the pharmacist, the patient collects their month's (or week's) medications in a large clear plastic sleeve, with each day clearly marked and all the pills clearly visible. They just pop out the pills marked for that day and that time.
I'll see if I can find out the name of it for you.
Marg
We actually have a system like this in Australia - not that it's used much for kids, but certainly for older people who live alone and need help to manage their medications. It's organised through the pharmacist, the patient collects their month's (or week's) medications in a large clear plastic sleeve, with each day clearly marked and all the pills clearly visible. They just pop out the pills marked for that day and that time.
I'll see if I can find out the name of it for you.
Marg
katya02
Solace
I'm late joining the conversation, but my difficult child 1 (the son with schizophrenia) had it in his IEP that the team teacher was responsible to go with him to the assignment board, look in his planner, and ascertain that every assignment was written in his planner. Teacher had to initial it. If something was forgotten, difficult child 1 wasn't responsible for it. difficult child 2 had in his IEP that noon medications were totally the school's responsibility, i.e. they had to get him from wherever he was and ensure that medications were taken by him. I had a second pill bottle with pharmacist label on it for the school. easy child 3, in her ADHD years, also had the teacher check her planner (teacher's responsibility) and had a set limit on homework time each night; I initialed her planner.
Things didn't go perfectly all the time but it WAS the SD's responsibility to do these things due to the kids' diagnoses and not being able to take responsibility for them themselves. I think an urgent meeting with the school and amending your difficult child's IEP is important. It really wouldn't be a great idea to tweak medications without knowing they've been taken on schedule consistently.
Things didn't go perfectly all the time but it WAS the SD's responsibility to do these things due to the kids' diagnoses and not being able to take responsibility for them themselves. I think an urgent meeting with the school and amending your difficult child's IEP is important. It really wouldn't be a great idea to tweak medications without knowing they've been taken on schedule consistently.
gcvmom
Here we go again!
Thanks Katya!
My 14yo has a planner contract at the middle school, so I don't see why they couldn't do something similar at this school. I'm going to ask that one be drawn up that all parties involved sign off on and that it be added to his IEP. And I think we can also add a line for medications on the contract. The teacher or health clerk should sign off on it each day so I have verification that he's taken the medications. There are only three days so far where he wasn't reminded, and of those, on only one did he end up not taking the medications at all (the other days he either took them late or was reminded at the last minute and then he went to take them). So I'm not too concerned about the medication effects I am seeing. I have a good perception overall of how he's doing.
My 14yo has a planner contract at the middle school, so I don't see why they couldn't do something similar at this school. I'm going to ask that one be drawn up that all parties involved sign off on and that it be added to his IEP. And I think we can also add a line for medications on the contract. The teacher or health clerk should sign off on it each day so I have verification that he's taken the medications. There are only three days so far where he wasn't reminded, and of those, on only one did he end up not taking the medications at all (the other days he either took them late or was reminded at the last minute and then he went to take them). So I'm not too concerned about the medication effects I am seeing. I have a good perception overall of how he's doing.
gcvmom
Here we go again!
Good news! I sent an email to the assistant principal today outlining my concerns with difficult child 2's organization skills, his ability to remember important things like writing down assignments, bringing home books, taking medications...
She is jumping right on it and said he could absolutely have a set of books for home. She likes the planner contract idea I proposed where his teachers must sign off on his planner each day to ensure all his assignments are there. And I also suggested that an adult signs a spot on his planner that verifies he took his medications each day. She was all for that, but just not sure about the logistics for him carrying it around with him since he takes his medications at the lunch recess and there is concern it would get lost if left out at the lunch tables or on the playground (it's elementary school). She also liked the watch idea, but was concerned about it going off in class. So she's going to talk to his two teachers and she'll get back to me on what she's able to work out.
I also emailed a bit with difficult child 2's math teacher today about the difficulty he's having with certain kinds of word problems. She offered to help him before school, so I'm going to send him in 20 minutes early twice a week to have one-on-one tutoring.
Wow, two bright spots in ONE day! Makes up for some of the other stuff that happened today.... (that's a whole 'nother thread...)
She is jumping right on it and said he could absolutely have a set of books for home. She likes the planner contract idea I proposed where his teachers must sign off on his planner each day to ensure all his assignments are there. And I also suggested that an adult signs a spot on his planner that verifies he took his medications each day. She was all for that, but just not sure about the logistics for him carrying it around with him since he takes his medications at the lunch recess and there is concern it would get lost if left out at the lunch tables or on the playground (it's elementary school). She also liked the watch idea, but was concerned about it going off in class. So she's going to talk to his two teachers and she'll get back to me on what she's able to work out.
I also emailed a bit with difficult child 2's math teacher today about the difficulty he's having with certain kinds of word problems. She offered to help him before school, so I'm going to send him in 20 minutes early twice a week to have one-on-one tutoring.
Wow, two bright spots in ONE day! Makes up for some of the other stuff that happened today.... (that's a whole 'nother thread...)
