Post by Keith on May 24, 2007 0:29:03 GMT -8
Though I'm not a parent, I can stress the importance of medicating children for attention deficit disorder(ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD). From early '03 to the end of '04, I had worked as a substitute teacher for one of the county school boards in Florida. It's been only three years since I graduated from high school back then and things were much different when I was in school. We didn't have students who had disorders such as ADD, ADHD, etc.
Not that it really mattered to me in the beginning because I never thought I would end up taking a job for the school board as a substitute teacher. Never was one who liked following the policies in place by the school board let alone thinking I'd be one to end up enforcing those same policies. My first job happened to be a special-ed class with special needs children whom are lacking on academics. I basically had no idea what I was getting myself into. Especially since it was a special-ed class.
As a substitute teacher, you're filling in for the regular teacher who's out for some reason. Substituting is a special-ed class is difficult enough let alone having a student or two having ADHD. If the students aren't medicated regularly, those students aren't going to pay attention let alone not calming down. In the case of the student in the class during my first day, for a moment I thought he had ADD. But the teacher said it was ADHD. The kid was the most hyper student in the whole class. I was tempted to push him down into his seat but refrained myself. It was almost by reflex. The teacher had left a note on the desk explaining the student not able to pay attention.
I told him to sit down in his seat which he did. A few seconds later, the boy rose up from his seat again. That pretty much lasted from morning until the whole day. As a substitute teacher, it was mentally draining on my part dealing with one case of ADHD. It made the day go by much longer. When the day was out, I wanted to jump for joy. Especially since it was the start of the weekend. But it wouldn't be the last time that I would have to deal with someone with ADHD. At the same time I also wondered what it would be like in the shoes of their parents.
ADD and ADHD aren't limited to just special-ed cases. I've also dealt with students in regular and advanced classes that had ADHD or some other sort of mental condition that required medication.
I've seen enough in the two years I had worked as a substitute teacher of the need to keep children medicated especially if they have ADD or ADHD. It's more important in the case of ADHD though ADD cases is also important. With ADD cases, I didn't have to worry about the student making a commotion the classroom. ADD kids, it's a matter of paying attention.
ADHD cases require the utmost care due to the children not paying attention and being hyperactive as well. Not only did I have to worry about the students not paying attention, I also had to factor in and worry about the fact that they're hyperactivity is going to cause problems for the class. I had one student in one class with ADHD and he forgot to take his medication that day. That was one long class period I didn't want to re-live. When a student shatters the attention of other students, it's going to make the job harder on the teacher. It definitely made my job hard.
Children that aren't medicated for those classes are at serious risk of failing classes. Plus as a subsitute teacher, I had no choice but to send students to the office. Getting sent to the office enough times is going to put a serious damper on the children's school records. After seeing and dealing with cases of ADD and ADHD, I can stress the importance of the parents to make sure their children take their medication before going to school.
www.helium.com/tm/254156/though-parent-stress-importance
Not that it really mattered to me in the beginning because I never thought I would end up taking a job for the school board as a substitute teacher. Never was one who liked following the policies in place by the school board let alone thinking I'd be one to end up enforcing those same policies. My first job happened to be a special-ed class with special needs children whom are lacking on academics. I basically had no idea what I was getting myself into. Especially since it was a special-ed class.
As a substitute teacher, you're filling in for the regular teacher who's out for some reason. Substituting is a special-ed class is difficult enough let alone having a student or two having ADHD. If the students aren't medicated regularly, those students aren't going to pay attention let alone not calming down. In the case of the student in the class during my first day, for a moment I thought he had ADD. But the teacher said it was ADHD. The kid was the most hyper student in the whole class. I was tempted to push him down into his seat but refrained myself. It was almost by reflex. The teacher had left a note on the desk explaining the student not able to pay attention.
I told him to sit down in his seat which he did. A few seconds later, the boy rose up from his seat again. That pretty much lasted from morning until the whole day. As a substitute teacher, it was mentally draining on my part dealing with one case of ADHD. It made the day go by much longer. When the day was out, I wanted to jump for joy. Especially since it was the start of the weekend. But it wouldn't be the last time that I would have to deal with someone with ADHD. At the same time I also wondered what it would be like in the shoes of their parents.
ADD and ADHD aren't limited to just special-ed cases. I've also dealt with students in regular and advanced classes that had ADHD or some other sort of mental condition that required medication.
I've seen enough in the two years I had worked as a substitute teacher of the need to keep children medicated especially if they have ADD or ADHD. It's more important in the case of ADHD though ADD cases is also important. With ADD cases, I didn't have to worry about the student making a commotion the classroom. ADD kids, it's a matter of paying attention.
ADHD cases require the utmost care due to the children not paying attention and being hyperactive as well. Not only did I have to worry about the students not paying attention, I also had to factor in and worry about the fact that they're hyperactivity is going to cause problems for the class. I had one student in one class with ADHD and he forgot to take his medication that day. That was one long class period I didn't want to re-live. When a student shatters the attention of other students, it's going to make the job harder on the teacher. It definitely made my job hard.
Children that aren't medicated for those classes are at serious risk of failing classes. Plus as a subsitute teacher, I had no choice but to send students to the office. Getting sent to the office enough times is going to put a serious damper on the children's school records. After seeing and dealing with cases of ADD and ADHD, I can stress the importance of the parents to make sure their children take their medication before going to school.
www.helium.com/tm/254156/though-parent-stress-importance