spoke too soon

[2pearl]

My son has been on 36mg concerta for two weeks. My husband and I have noticed signifigant improvements.
His teachers have noticed none at all, in fact he seems to be in as much trouble as ever at school.
Here's my dilemna; his teacher is a first year teacher. She can't handle my son at all. She uses humiliation and shame as a form of discipline. She means well, she's really trying but there's really no hope for the rest of this year and no, the only other 4th grade teacher would be an even worse fit. We do have the social worker involved with trying to support and educate the teacher but again, I hold out little hope that things will improve much. I'm conflicted about whether or not we should increase the dosage. I don't want to turn my son into a zombie because of the imcompetence of one teacher. On the other hand, having a bad year at school doesn't do much for him either. Opinions anyone?

[ilovemyboys]

Its possible the dose is too low or Concerta is not the med for him. It has a different delivery system than some others, and may not be as effective as it should be. I would either increase the dose or try a different ritalin based med such as Ritalin LA or Metadate.

A very similar thing is happening to my son. He is on 36 mgs concerta but it was losing its effectiveness. We decided to try a short acting dose of focalin along with the concerta for an added boost. (My doc felt the 54mg of concerta would be too much). The first report today from his teacher said he was "perfect" in class. So I know that the dose of concerta needed a boost.

good luck.

[d]

The meds and classroom environment are two different issues.

Do you feel ds' ability to attend, focus and perform school like tasks are good? Have you observed them firsthand on a weekend day? If so, it's not the meds. Never medicate for your son to survive something - medicate b/c it is the RIGHT decision for HIM, no one else. The zombie thing is more of an urban legend - I guess it could happen maybe on too high a dose? - but I can't see that happening under good medical supervision and I can't see you letting something like that happen.

I will go into a RANT on negative ignorant first year teachers since my (non-ADHD) dd had one last year. Great teachers and a positive classroom environment are extremely important for ADHDers. My non-ADHDer had a new horrendous teacher from hell last year. The ENTIRE class had behavior problems by the end of the year including the three who had an ADHD dx - all of them had a miserable year. Kids who didn't have behavior problems developed them. Kids who had behavior probs got significantly worse. And the one girl who had ADHD but no external behavior probs developed anxiety and depression during her time in that classroom. Get your son out of that class if possible. If you can't get something formalized by the school admin. to protect him as much as possible from harm. Try the nice but firm and assertive route first and turn into the loud royal PIA mother from hell if the situation is not permanently changed for the better in a short period of time.

[JV]

I have been in the exact same place, my child developed depression, severe cofidence issues, overload, anxiety and the list goes on and on..........until the end of 4th grade. I had no choices either as far as other teachers go, what I look back and see now, is that I should have followed my instincts, and got him the he#$! out of there. I could have put him in another local school and come back, I should have made the pricipal get way more involved and knowledgable about every thing that happened. What I will never do again, is allow a teacher (and it doesnt matter if they are new at it or not) wreck my kid, my family, my instincts as a mom, and create a literal mess of my life here at home................ooooooh touched a nerve. JV

[d]

JV said:

What I will never do again, is allow a teacher (and it doesnt matter if they are new at it or not) wreck my kid, my family, my instincts as a mom, and create a literal mess of my life here at home................ooooooh touched a nerve. JV

I hit my nerve when my younger dd used the expression "resource room kids" at home for the first time. She learned it from the teacher from heck. The 3 in that class that went to RR also had ADHD. My younger dd and her whole class got *lots* of punitive homework with much of it due to the mishandled behavior of the 2 incredibly charming but a major handful and out of control ADHD boys. The "RR kids" were excused from the punitive homework causing the other kids to resent them. I was *so angry* when I heard her describe what went on in that classroom. I couldn't help but think about the kids with "issues" because the teacher wreaked so much havoc for my neurotypical child.

For reference, my older ADHDer went to resource room at the same school. NEVER once did she hear the term "RR kids" before her little sis came home with it. She was always in positive classrooms where privacy about grades and respect for others was modeled every moment of every day. It was in classrooms like that that her self esteem was rebuilt and she thrived.

The teacher from heck was fired but not soon enough for me.

[dmom32002]

First year teachers can go either way. I would
suggest you talk to teh principal. ALso discuss
if you know a good teacher in the building for
ADHD kids a mentor program. maybe this
teacher and another can be teamed to help.

DOnna

[d]

dmom32002 said:

First year teachers can go either way.

Very true. My younger dd has *another* first year teacher this year. She inherited a lot of kids from last year's teacher from heck. This teacher has gone above and beyond the call of duty to reverse last year's damage. She has a tightly run good classroom - kids are well behaved, she manages this without yelling & screaming, encourages respect and teamwork for one another. I haven't heard a peep from dd about kids who are misbehaving and she is coming off the bus smiling.

Our school also instituted a teacher mentoring program (although I think new state law has something to do with it). I don't think it would have helped last year's teacher from heck become a better teacher - it might have managed the damage down though.

[2pearl]

Thanks guys I agree that just being a first year teacher doesn't mean that things are going to go badly. I really should count us lucky that this is the first year we've had a teacher like this. I did in fact suggest to the social worker that his teacher from last year who is absolutely phenomonenal (and also truly likes my son) serve as a mentor to the teacher and help her learn how to deal w/T on her own.
Now I'm gonna vent! I am very actively involved at the school. I serve on the exec pta board, I'm the teacher from hecks head room rep, I'm always there photocopying, doing bulletin boards, you get the picture. I feel like this teacher is constantly grabbing me in the hall and complaining about every little thing my son has done that day. She's even gone so far as to ask me to come up to the classroom and speak to him about some of the things. Part of me feels like just telling her to do her job and deal with it herself. Every time I'm in the school now I get a stomach ache. I am so stressed out over this whole situation.
My other sons amazing teacher passed a copy of this poem out to all the parents at open house. I think I'm going to copy it and stick in the teacher from hecks box. I'll share it with you guys, maybe you have a teacher who would benefit from this.


"I've come to a frightening
conclusion that I am the
decisive element in the classroom.
It's my personal approach that creates the climate.
It's my daily mood that makes the weather.
As a teacher, I posess a tremendous
power to make a child's life miserable or
joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an
instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or
heal. In all situations, it is my response
that decides whether a crisis will be
escalated or de-escalated and a child
humanized or dehumanized.

-Haim Ginott

[d]

*Awesome* poem 2pearl.

[ilovemyboys]

I'm not quite sure all of this issue is due to the teacher. Meds take a while to get the correct dosage, and I know from my experience that when the meds are correct the behavior in school will improve dramatically.
Obviously the teacher does play a big role in this, and she is obviously overwhelmed, but if the decision was made to medicate I think you owe it to yourself and your child to make sure it is a proper dosage.