BM>Leona Payne On (30 Jul 96) was overheard to say to All
BM> LP> I was told by a social worker year before last that I couldn't even
BM> LP> say the words "Attention Deficit" or "hyperactivity" to a parent to
BM> LP> compare what I had observed about a student's behavior in class to 
he
BM> LP> list of symptoms of that disorder.

BM> Most teachers are reliable enough observers to reach the conclusion
BM> you are talking about, however, it is only work habits, lack of
BM> ability to complete tasks and inability to exercise impulse control
BM> that you should be talking to the parent(s) about.  Those are
BM> concrete things that you see everyday; you are qualified and
BM> competent to address those _educational_ issues.  If or when the line
BM> between what you are trained to do and experienced in doing is
BM> crossed into another field (i.e. medical) then, as the SW said, you
BM> open the district and possibly yourself to civil action.  You can
BM> continue to inform the parent(s) of your observations and hope that
BM> they will eventually get the message and at least have the kid
BM> evaluated.  Nothing prevents you from discussing this with the school
BM> nurse, school psych or a counselor.  AFAIAC you've then done all that
BM> you can or should do.
BM> Bob
AFAIK, there are definitely some things to be careful of here. Over the
years, and after having received much advice from other teachers,
administrators, school nurses and counselors is the following:
Describe, as you say, the behvior to the parents (can't stay in seat,
can't maintain attention, etc...) and _IF_ the parent asks for advice,
and seem at a loss for solutions, and seem to feel that traditional
solutions such as tutoring will not work, I suggest that they might want
to request that the child be evaluated for learning disabilities. IMO
this is very much within the realm of the teacher's duties.
Sheila
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