5 year old on the spectrum, where should Mom begin?

babyontheway
Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:07:03 +0000

Without specifically trying to take one side or the other, I think that any parent of a child who may be diagnosed as having a learning disability, behavior issue, etc, should take a look at the community and schools that they live in, and see how prevalent treating hyperactivity or other issues is. We’ve all read about overmedication in kids and there is a concern that kids today are prescribed more medication than they were years ago.

I’m not saying that this particular kid should or should not be prescribed medication, but if the school district recommends medication to a large percentage of kids, that’d be good for the parents to know. It would provide frame of reference to understand the school’s perspective. Or, if they rarely recommend evaluation, that’s also be a frame of reference and good to know.

I’m not sure that knowing this is much different than knowing the percentage of students on free or reduced lunch, and that is widely available and circulated information.