Migraine

quote:

Originally posted by Alexandra "Morpheus":
One thing parents should keep in serious consideration is what type of environment the school is if the family is selecting a "choice" school (charter or private). "Choice" schools due have some allowance to expell, retain or not provide accomodations to students with medical/neurological issues and still be within the limits of the law.

I worked in a charter school that had a part-time nurse & zero tolerance to students carrying meds. This was tricky because 2-3 days out of the week, the students had to go to the main office & bug the administrative assistant who was limited in what she was allowed to give the students and disrupted her job as well (plus chronically sick children tend to seek counseling from school nurses, so having a bunch of needy students in the main office was a bit distracting)...Not only that, there were strict attendance issues (which is somewhat understandable) which put the parents & the teachers at odds (several of our students were chronically sick...which I could totally understand because I was going through this as well) and the environment was extremely stressful & demanding (due to pressures from the state which held charter schools under the greatest scrutiny) which can inevitably make students more vulnerable to their triggers.

Then there is the factor of the physical environment...old buildings that are not updated have limited outlets & don't have the option of lighting up the large, old rooms with alternative lighting (which was horrid in the place I was) & have uneven heat in the winter (and hot during warmer months)...plus having teachers doing multiple duties so students who need to stay indoors during recess may not have many options to stay inside (I allowed some of my quieter students who had health issues have this option in the winter, but not all teachers allowed this).

And if the student has a learning disability, or is has different neurological wiring, in some charter schools & private schools, there is a requirement of taking a foreign language & algebra/advanced mathematics & unless the student has a documented language based learning disability, the student had to follow the exact curriculum (and even then, the students still eventually had to take these courses).

Parents are often surprised & befuddled that the schools are not more understanding & accommodating...it made me wish the parents did their research before sending their children to these schools...public schools by law have to provide these accommodations (even though they may whine about it to themselves), otherwise they can put themselves through legal hell...charter schools, etc. have some loopholes & don't have the same binding power...if the school is a great fit for the child, that will help, but I highly recommend talking to the teachers (if they have been there for a while) and parents of students to get a better feel of the type of support your child will need.

Teri Robert
Lead Expert, MyMigraineConnection
terimmc@helpforheadaches.com

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The generally long periods of time between my Migraines are the result of working with a Migraine specialist to refine my preventive regimen. You can see my current regimen HERE.

quote:

Originally posted by gwp:
Teri -- great article!

My son took Ritalin in grammar school, before the long-acting version was available. A volunteer parent manned the sick room and gave out the mid-day meds. My pharmacist merely gave me an empty labeled bottle for me to send to school. No additional prescription from the doctor was required.

I think that by the time he went to middle school, he was taking Adderal, which didn't require a mid-day dose, so I don't know what their arrangements were.

I don't think any of the schools in our county school district have school nurses. I've not heard about nearby districts or any of the private schools having them, either. When my son got sick at school, he merely hung around the sick room (in grammar school) or around the front door (in high school) until I came and took him home.

He's 21, so we're long past the problem of meds at school. Of course, there's zero tolerance for alcohol and illegal drugs at college. Joe stopped taking ADHD meds in high school, so that's no longer a consideration, either.

A zero tolerance for over-the-counter meds would have been very hard on me in high school, and many of the other girls. I carried Excedrin in my purse for headaches that came on during school hours. [If they were migraines at that point, I didn't know it, and triptans hadn't been invented yet.] One week a month, several of us took Midol to school for the "monthlies."

Gretchen

Teri Robert
Lead Expert, MyMigraineConnection
terimmc@helpforheadaches.com

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The generally long periods of time between my Migraines are the result of working with a Migraine specialist to refine my preventive regimen. You can see my current regimen HERE.