Migraine

I am wondering if anyone would share their experiences with me when it comes to school. My son came home with his progress report yesterday and he has missed 17 days this quarter. I do think a few of those are mistakes because I sign him in late sometimes due to waking up with a migraine and I think he is already marked as absent and nobody goes back and changes it to just tardy. He is getting failing grades in a couple of subjects because he is so far behind and of course he misses things when he is not there. I spoke to his guidance counselor recently and she simply suggested that he try to make up the work he misses. It isn't just work he misses, it's the instruction he isn't getting. I am afraid of some sort of legal action although I know I have all the proof I need to show that he does suffer and sometimes can't function enough to get to school. Has anyone had any legal trouble with the same problem? Does anyone know what the school can do?

Welcome.

I don't know what the school can do. I can ask you if you have an IEP or a 504 plan in place for your son? Those can go a long way in allowing your son some breathing room when he misses school or misses instruction important to the work he's trying to make up.

I'll let you answer before I go futher.

We do have an IEP in place due to a learning disability. I asked the guidance counselor about a 504 plan which she said is the same thing or serves the same purpose as an IEP. Alex is in 4th grade and has been on the IEP since kindergarten.

504s are not the same. I'm not quite versed in the differences, but you can use 504s for things like extendind when missed homework has to be turned in, taking longer times on tests, etc. It mostly covers disabilities, not learning disorders.

Here is a link to 504s that may help:


504

Hi Alison

In my school district I believe you are allowed only 10 excused absences. After that, you have to have a doctor's note for every missed day. I don't know the legal ramifications of that.

A 504 plan can give your son the extra time he needs to make up schoolwork. I would think the IEP would allow for the school to give him the extra instruction that he needs.

My son has a 504 plan, but it does not mention that they will provide any extra help. We just took him out of school and put him on homebound instruction.

You may want to ask for a meeting with the guidance counselor and maybe even the principal to talk about your concerns and find out what is available to you.

Jean Ann

Here's the scoop on IEPs and 504 plans. They are not the same thing. There are some similarities.

An IEP is and Individualized Education Plan, and is for students who meet qualifications for special education status. This is determined by specialized testing and the like. If a student goes through the pre-referral and testing process and performs above set qualification standards, then he or she would not qualify for special education services, and would not be eligible to have an IEP planned and put in place. As far as accommodations go, there are about 35 standard accommodations to chose from, as well as places to record "other" accommodations. Extra time is definitely included on all of our forms as a standard choice of services, as is shortened assignments.

A 504 plan is not a special ed plan. Usually a student will qualify for services under a 504 plan under the designation "other health impaired". This can include epilepsy, migraine, ADD and ADHD, physical disablities, etc. What a 504 plan does is list agreed upon accommodations for a student that does not qualify for special education status. It's a bit more limited than an IEP, but can allow for pretty much the same accommodations that an IEP might include.

I would think that if you have an IEP, there would be absolutely no need to have a 504 plan as well. In fact, I'm pretty sure you cannot have both. It's one or the other, based on qualification status. If any unusual/unstandard accommodations needed to be added that aren't included in the original IEP, then a meeting can be convened to amend the IEP to include it, usually by listing it in the "other" category.

I'm pretty sure I've seen a couple of accommodation plans over the years that have stated that as an accommodation, a student will not be penalized for health-related absences. I wouldn't see any these days because we don't have a X-day rule for middle school. High school has a 10-day rule, but K-8 doesn't have restrictions here. We wish there was one, though, just to break them in (say 15-day). But I do know that they are pretty good about honoring doctor's notes at the high school level in our district for absences past ten days.

Thanks so much for clearing up the differences for me. I got the feeling from the guidance counselor that they really don't want to be bothered. Some mornings I cry when I realize he will not be able to go to school AGAIN! I am a migraine sufferer myself and there's no way I will send him to school in pain but the school nurse told me that the goal should be to keep him there. She was refering to the fact that I pick him up when he develops one at school and bring him home to bed. They do have meds. there for him and offered to give him an ice pack, let him lay down, turn off the lights, etc. but twice I have picked him up and none of those things have been provided for him. As a mom, I just want him to be comfortable. How do other moms handle that?

This is my first time on and I am thrilled to find this site! My daughter, Age 15, has been suffering from a chronic headache since September 07. She even had sinus surgery. She has missed a great deal of school but has still maintained a high average. It shocks me that she is able to function. We keep receiving the 'mutiple absents' letters from the school and I know how to handle them because of the wonderful information on this site. I am so grateful for all of you!
My daughter had a nerve block today to see if it helps. I live in Upstate NY and,if the block doesn't help, we will need to find somewhere else to go. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thank you so much! By the way, our neurologist didn't want to give her migraine meds because of her age.

You're very welcome. I work with both IEP and 504 students every day, and help juggle the paperwork. We work with accommodations daily.

quote:

Originally posted by ALISONCG:
Thanks so much for clearing up the differences for me. I got the feeling from the guidance counselor that they really don't want to be bothered. Some mornings I cry when I realize he will not be able to go to school AGAIN! I am a migraine sufferer myself and there's no way I will send him to school in pain but the school nurse told me that the goal should be to keep him there. She was refering to the fact that I pick him up when he develops one at school and bring him home to bed. They do have meds. there for him and offered to give him an ice pack, let him lay down, turn off the lights, etc. but twice I have picked him up and none of those things have been provided for him. As a mom, I just want him to be comfortable. How do other moms handle that?

Hello and welcome!

You know, we just do what we do and share what we can, but we're thrilled we can be here and can help make a difference for you and your daughter. That's the payoff.

I've got to mention, though, that we have had a few moms post about their docs trying triptans and the like with teens, some as young as 13. It seems to me that Imitrex was the one most often cited. You could always get a second opinion from another doctor on this, if you think trying migraine-specific meds might help.

quote:

Originally posted by ThinkPink:
This is my first time on and I am thrilled to find this site! My daughter, Age 15, has been suffering from a chronic headache since September 07. She even had sinus surgery. She has missed a great deal of school but has still maintained a high average. It shocks me that she is able to function. We keep receiving the 'mutiple absents' letters from the school and I know how to handle them because of the wonderful information on this site. I am so grateful for all of you!
My daughter had a nerve block today to see if it helps. I live in Upstate NY and,if the block doesn't help, we will need to find somewhere else to go. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thank you so much! By the way, our neurologist didn't want to give her migraine meds because of her age.

My daughter is in private school and I work at the school so they allow me to document all the extra hours at home that she spends on schoolwork. It doesn't sound like your district cares much but it is worth the documentation if they will accept it. I also think that with doctor's notes this puts you in a better situation of legally.
Try to find your state's attendance laws and find out what all the legalities are if at all possible.

Good luck
Melanie
lovemykids411

In reference to what DragondroolHost said about doctors prescribing triptans, my son has been taking Imitrex since he was 10 and it does work for him. He takes 25 mg which is the same dosage I take. He only weighs 74 pounds. The only problem he has with it is that he gets very drowsy. I have the same problem but not until the next day, his is almost immediate. I have taught him to rate his headache pain on a 1-10 scale and after less than 30 minutes (after taking Imitrex) he will say he is at a 1. It has been a lifesaver for us and I have friends that it works for also.

ThinkPink, we have a list of patient-recommended headache specialists on our site, which you can find HERE. We have a list of pediatric specialists toward the bottom of the page, but none of them are in NY. Your daughter may be old enough to consult with a regular specialist - it's worth it to call and check with the individual practitioner.

As I understand it, it's rather common for migraines to be misdiagnosed as sinus headaches. I always thought my headaches were sinus until I was diagnosed with migraine and chronic daily headache when I was 20.

Let us know how else we can help.

Hi ThinkPink

Welcome to the forum. I live in PA just over the border from upstate NY. I am very near Elmira/Binghamton.

My son has been using triptans from a very young age. I believe he probably started using them before he was 11 years old. It sounds like you need a headache specialist. Does your daughter take a preventative medication? My son started on a preventative drug at age 10.

I travel with my son to Baltimore, MD to see our Pediatric headache specialist (Dr. Gladstein). There is another Pediatric specialist in Delaware (Dr. Yonker). It's about 4 1/2 hours to our doctor. I would definitely use the list of specialists provided here to find a doctor. There are some other headache clinics around as well if you don't feel you need a pediatric specialist.

Good Luck
Jean Ann

quote:

Originally posted by ThinkPink:
This is my first time on and I am thrilled to find this site! My daughter, Age 15, has been suffering from a chronic headache since September 07. She even had sinus surgery. She has missed a great deal of school but has still maintained a high average. It shocks me that she is able to function. We keep receiving the 'mutiple absents' letters from the school and I know how to handle them because of the wonderful information on this site. I am so grateful for all of you!
My daughter had a nerve block today to see if it helps. I live in Upstate NY and,if the block doesn't help, we will need to find somewhere else to go. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thank you so much! By the way, our neurologist didn't want to give her migraine meds because of her age.

I have always brought my son home too. My school did not offer to do anything besides give him the meds we left there. The nurses office is noisy and bright with flourescent lighting. We never attempted making him stay.

My son has developed some anxiety about school this year. Just from being ill so much and dealing with the comments from students and teachers etc... At first, I thought I should have tried to get him to stay or go even when he felt awful. I thought I might have made it too easy for him. But, now I realize he was under tremendous stress. Forcing him to stay there or go in the first place would not have been a help to this anxiety.

I guess what I am saying is that you have to do what feels right to you and what is best for your child. You know him better than the school nurse. You have to do what is best for him. You could always seek advice from your doctor.

Have you asked your school what your other options for school are? We took my son out of school in 8th grade and put him on homebound instruction. That was after he missed 30 days of school and we tried a part time schedule. He is in 9th grade now and we just took him out of school again. At least on homebound, you can get some instruction. It's not a lot though. It's not as good as being in school full time, but it is something more manageable.

There is also homeschooling and cyberschool to consider for next year. I know you probably want him in school. It killed me to take my son out last year and this year. But, it was the best choice for him. He wants to be in regular school. As soon as he is well enough, we will get him back in there.

Jean Ann

quote:

Originally posted by ALISONCG:
Thanks so much for clearing up the differences for me. I got the feeling from the guidance counselor that they really don't want to be bothered. Some mornings I cry when I realize he will not be able to go to school AGAIN! I am a migraine sufferer myself and there's no way I will send him to school in pain but the school nurse told me that the goal should be to keep him there. She was refering to the fact that I pick him up when he develops one at school and bring him home to bed. They do have meds. there for him and offered to give him an ice pack, let him lay down, turn off the lights, etc. but twice I have picked him up and none of those things have been provided for him. As a mom, I just want him to be comfortable. How do other moms handle that?