> I was told by a social worker year before last that I
 > couldn't even say the words "Attention Deficit" or "hyperactivity" to a
 > parent to compare what I had observed about a student's behavior in
 > class to the list of symptoms of that disorder.  She further added that to
 > do was to make a diagnosis which would create liability for the
 > district to pay for the child's treatment.  I argued with her on the basis
 > that a) I am not a doctor & thus am not offering a medical diagnosis  &
 > b) I am allowed to assess a student's health & suggest a trip to the eye
 > doctor or hearing tests or a trip to the nurse for a headache or skinned
 > knee.  Why can I  not be considered a reliable enough observer of a
 > student's work habits to reach a conclusion with regards to the student's
 > lack of ability to  complete a task or to master urges of impulsive
 > behavior.
In the state of California, and also in the state of Alaska, teachers may not 
make any sort of medical diagnosis or even suggest that certain things 
(hyperactivity, mental illness) might be the problem. What we CAN do is to 
lay out the observations and suggest that the parent look into the matter. We 
are not medical professionals....we're educational professionals. We can tell 
a parent "so-and-so has a difficult time sitting still, s/he pops up and down 
all the time," etc. But we can't say "your child might be hyperactive, s/he 
has a real hard time concentrating.
This point was brought home to me a few years ago, when teaching first grade 
up in Alaska. I had a student (boy) who was constantly up out of his chair, 
he stood up to write, he'd seemingly lose concentration, and had a few other 
symptoms that I could have *sworn* might be ADD (without the hyperactivity). 
I asked the school nurse and school psychologist to observe him in the 
classroom. The school nurse followed up by calling Michael in for a hearing 
and sight exam. She gave up midway, as "Michael couldn't concentrate on it". 
She tried him again a week later with the same result. I called the parents 
in for a conference. They didn't see anything wrong, and I couldn't put my 
finger on it, NOR was I allowed to give any medical suggestions. I did ask 
the parents to take Michael in for a medical exam, giving them a written 
summary of his problems and a brief observational summary (written by the 
school psychologist). They didn't want to believe me at first. The stepdad 
was more willing to listen. About four weeks later, Michael's dad came up to 
me as he was delivering Michael to school two hours late. He thanked me for 
sending them to the doctor with Michael - Michael had severe eye problems 
that they'd never noticed before. Later, we talked, and we all came to the 
conclusion that one should always check out the possibility of physical 
problems before assuming a learning problem.
                                 -donna
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