Child Medication at school

[Powernxs]

My ten year old son is having his prescription properly administered at his school he is taking a controlled substance (Adderall). Can I send him to school with only the daily dosage in his prescription bottle and allow him to administer the medication to himself? He is competent and suffers no mental problems that would prevent him from self-medicating. We live in Nebraska.

 

[LdiJ]

My ten year old son is having his prescription properly administered at his school he is taking a controlled substance (Adderall). Can I send him to school with only the daily dosage in his prescription bottle and allow him to administer the medication to himself? He is competent and suffers no mental problems that would prevent him from self-medicating. We live in Nebraska.

Probably not. Most school districts absolutely do not permit that. Most school districts have a no tolerance policy for children having any medication in their possession, even aspirin. How often does he have to take the Adderall? Could you tweak his dosing schedule so that he takes it at home before school?

 

[justalayman]

with something like adderall, I doubt it. The school has a right to keep all drugs out of the general student population unless there is an overriding reason to allow the child to keep it with them. In your situation, the child is required to take his medication at a specific time so there is no need for him to keep it with him.

If the medication was to treat a life threatening condition, I can see an argument that the child keep it with them for immediate administration. I have a child with asthma that the school admin tried to demand the inhaler was left in the office. A letter from the doctor stating she must have it with her available for immediate use was required for her to keep it with her. In her situation, having to go to the office to get her meds could mean life or death. In your situation, it isn't.

 

[Powernxs]

The problem started when the doctor changed his dosage from a whole pill to half at lunch. The doctor sent a note to school to inform them of the change, my wife was called to be told she must come down and break the pills herself. She complied then they skipped his dosage that day. After calling about this she was told it was because they needed ordered faxed from the doctor not a note from the doctor. She once again complied with this and the doctor’s office faxed the order. He wasn’t given the medicine once again and they called her to tell her they couldn’t give him the medicine because now the bottle dosage didn’t match the doctor’s orders. So off to the doctor again and after a new label is printed by the pharmacist they STILL fight giving him this medication and ask that her or myself drive to the school each day to medicate him. Any ideas because leaving work to give him a pill is out of the question.

 

[ecmst12]

Have him switch to the extended release version of adderall so all he will have to take is one pill in the morning.

 

[ecmst12]

The other option is 2 separate prescriptions - one for the full strength pills that he takes in the morning, and a separate bottle of lower strength pills just for taking at lunch time. That will be exquisitely clear for the school - all they see is one bottle that says take one pill at lunch time.

 

[justalayman]

Any ideas because leaving work to give him a pill is out of the question.

well, if this wasn't a legal forum I might suggest a stick upside their heads. This is ridiculous.

I don't know what the label states but I would suggest this. Obviously the scrip would be for whatever pill the doc prescribed but in the directions it could read:


break pills in half. take one half of a pill at: (whatever time or times per day as directed)

If he also takes a whole pill sometime, I would reserve some of the whole pills to be kept at home with only split pills in the bottle left at school.

If you are not speaking with the highest level of administrator at the school, escalate it to that person. If problems persist, contact the school system superintendent and address the issue with him/her.

I understand your issue but I would strongly urge you to not allow your child to carry the meds with him. I have seen things such as that cause a lot of problems for the student.

 

[ecmst12]

With Adderall being abused in schools, carrying it with him could make him a target for theft even beyond any temptation for any wrongdoing by him. They're not going to allow that possibility any more than they would allow him to carry legally prescribed narcotic painkillers. It's just too many problems waiting to happen. But the school nurse has a boss, and the boss probably has a boss too...it could be a matter of going far enough up the totem pole.

However, I still recommend you take one of my suggestions to not give the school any possible way to screw up his dosing or misinterpret the order or give him a hard time about anything.

 

[justalayman]

With Adderall being abused in schools, carrying it with him could make him a target for theft even beyond any temptation for any wrongdoing by him. They're not going to allow that possibility any more than they would allow him to carry legally prescribed narcotic painkillers. It's just too many problems waiting to happen. But the school nurse has a boss, and the boss probably has a boss too...it could be a matter of going far enough up the totem pole.

However, I still recommend you take one of my suggestions to not give the school any possible way to screw up his dosing or misinterpret the order or give him a hard time about anything.

Nurses? There are schools with nurses?

the problem with extended release meds is it is more difficult to tailor the dosage such as what it appears they are trying to do currently. I know having taken adderall myself, I would do anything I could so my kid didn't have to take it, or at least anymore than absolutely necessary. That is a wicked wicked med.

I like the idea of the two different dosage pills, if they are available.

 

[ecmst12]

I take adderall too and it is a wonderful med, in that it allows me to hold a job and go to school like a person without ADHD could. It has side effects, sure, but the symptoms of the ADHD are by FAR worse than the side effects. But I find that the extended release version works much better for me, much smoother action, less up and down feeling, and I don't have to worry about taking anything in the middle of the day which would be hard for me since I don't have lunch at the same time every day.

Not everyone will have the same experience, but that's why I offered TWO suggestions. If OP's child hasn't tried the extended release, it's worth giving that a try, since it could avoid the hassle and embarassment of having to take medicine at school at all. If he has and it didn't work for him, try the other suggestion.