Leona Payne On (30 Jul 96) was overheard to say to All
 LP> I was told by a social worker year before last that I couldn't even
 LP> say the words "Attention Deficit" or "hyperactivity" to a parent to
 LP> compare what I had observed about a student's behavior in class to the
 LP> list of symptoms of that disorder.
 Quite right but by the same token neither can she for the same
 reasons.
 LP> She further added that to do was to make a
 LP> diagnosis which would create liability for the district to pay for the
 LP> child's treatment.  I argued with her on the basis that a) I am not a
 LP> doctor & thus am not offering a medical diagnosis
 True but attention deficit and hyperactivity _are_ medical diagnoses
 that can only be made by an MD.  I don't doubt that you've probably
 seen many ADD/ADHD kids and are very capable of identifying them it's
 just not any teacher's place to tell a parent that in _those_ words.
 LP>  & b) I am allowed to assess a student's health & suggest a trip to
 LP>  the eye doctor or hearing tests
 I think you'd be on shaky ground here also - now a chat with the
 school nurse wouldn't be at all out of line.  Doesn't your school
 routinely do vision and hearing 'screenings' of students?
 LP> or a trip to the nurse for a headache or skinned knee.
 Not the same thing at all; the kid can tell you she's got a headache
 (you probably gave it to her (-8 ) and you can see a skinned knee
 that obviously needs the nurse's attention.
 LP> Why can I not be considered a reliable enough observer of a student's
 LP> work habits to reach a conclusion with regards to the student's lack
 LP> of ability to complete a task or to master urges of impulsive behavior.
 Most teachers are reliable enough observers to reach the conclusion
 you are talking about, however, it is only work habits, lack of
 ability to complete tasks and inability to exercise impulse control
 that you should be talking to the parent(s) about.  Those are
 concrete things that you see everyday; you are qualified and
 competent to address those _educational_ issues.  If or when the line
 between what you are trained to do and experienced in doing is
 crossed into another field (i.e. medical) then, as the SW said, you
 open the district and possibly yourself to civil action.  You can
 continue to inform the parent(s) of your observations and hope that
 they will eventually get the message and at least have the kid
 evaluated.  Nothing prevents you from discussing this with the school
 nurse, school psych or a counselor.  AFAIAC you've then done all that
 you can or should do.
 Bob
... Speaking for myself, and I am unanimous in this
--- PPoint 2.00
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