Many parents of disabled children receive daunting stacks of prescriptions for their child. It is very difficult for parents to learn enough to be comfortable with all the medications and their possible side effects or drug interactions. Some become almost experts on certain medications, but without an understanding of the science of medicine as a whole, this can become a hindrance to doctors who are trying to change or add prescriptions to their child’s regimen. Parents think they have enough knowledge to be medical experts, but they may lack a full understanding of how the condition and prescription medication work together in their child’s body.
Educators need to understand how difficult these drug issues are for parents and how it effects their students. If a teacher expects the child to be on a prescription drug for behavior modification and is not informed when the parent stops giving the child the drugs, the teacher is not prepared for the consequences in the classroom. Stopping some medications can also raise the risks of seizures. Teachers need to be fully informed of any change in a students’ medication in order to be prepared for possible consequences.
Parents may also forget to inform teachers of changes in medication that is to be administered during school hours. If this regimen is part of an overall treatment plan, it can mislead the doctor if a different drug or dose is being given that the doctor is unaware of. For teachers who have students on prescription drugs, it may be necessary to send home weekly update forms for parents to sign. This will assure that the school, home and doctors are all working together on any prescription regimen for the student.
Sometimes prescription names are very similar in spelling, but are radically different in effects. Do not assume that the prescription drugs are the same if the first few letters or beginning and ending letters are the same. It is important to cross check the full prescription name to make sure it is the correct medicine and dose.