Medication in the Classroom

Medicine in the Classroom

Have you ever thought how many students in your class are medicated? I’m sure if you knew, it would amaze you. You would think teachers would be one of the first people  to know this information, however that is not always the case. This article takes a look at emotional and behavioral disorders and how physicians prescribe medication. It also identifies some strategies teachers and schools can assist students to be successful. 
“Today, nearly a quarter of all students seen by school psychologists take some form of psychiatric medication in EBD settings, as many as 65% of students take at least one, and sometimes several, such prescriptions.” (Schoenfeld & Konopaske, 2007) I was shocked after I read that statement. The percentage seems extremely high. Then again, it is quite possible that parents are not always forthcoming with information. As we all know, teachers cannot suggest to a parent that their child should be prescribed medication. However, they can provide evidence and suggest recommendations. When student are prescribed medication for EBD, a Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP) might be considered to be developed to assist students to be successful. Studies have shown the effectiveness when medication and a BIP work in conjunction.
Psychotropic medication can be categorized in 4 different areas based on their effects. (Schoenfeld & Konopaske, 2007) The 4 categories are, “ stimulant, mood- corrective, antipsychotic and anticonvulsant medications.” (Schoenfeld & Konopaske, 2007)

Stimulants
“Stimulants increase the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, making students feel alert.” (Schoenfeld & Konopaske, 2007) Stimulants are “the most widely recognized psychiatric medication prescribed for children.” (Schoenfeld & Konopaske, 2007) Medication is prescribed for disorders such as ADHD. Although “doctors choose medication based on the symptoms a child is experiencing combined with what pattern of relief will give the most benefit.” (Schoenfeld & Konopaske, 2007) The article stated that stimulants are more commonly prescribed than any other medication for this disorder.
Antipsychotics
            “Antipsychotic medications are prescribed when impairments in a child’s thoughts or perceptions produce symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, or detachment from reality.” (Schoenfeld & Konopaske, 2007) I’m sure it goes without saying that antipsychotics are prescribed for children that suffer from schizophrenia and psychotic disorders (Schoenfeld & Konopaske, 2007)
Mood-Correctives
            “Mood-corrective medication act by dampening extremes in mood, including states of depression, anxiety, or fluctuations between the two.” (Schoenfeld & Konopaske, 2007) This type of medication would be used to treat a disorder such as bipolar. When children show signs of “anxiety, panic, separation anxiety, phobias obsessive- compulsive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder” (Schoenfeld & Konopaske, 2007) mood-corrective medication would be prescribed.
Anticonvulsants
            “Anticonvulsants suppress the abnormal neuron activity in the brain that causes seizures.” (Schoenfeld & Konopaske, 2007) This medication can also be prescribed for children that suffer from bipolar disorder.
            This article also provided 4 ways teachers can better serve students suffering from emotional and behavioral disorders in the school setting.
1.     Know your students - As teachers, even though you may not know your students medical background, it is important to pay attention to the changes in the child’s behavior.
2.     Communicate with the families - As educators, our time is valuable. However, in order to ensure the success of our students, it is important to create an open line of communication with parents and/or guardians.
3.     Cooperate with doctor requests - The better we as educators follow the doctors inquires, the better doctors can serve the child.  When doctor’s give orders it is important and do what is asked from an educational standpoint.
4.     Stay up to date - The medical field is forever changing. It is crucial to stay up to date on the latest information, newest terminology, and latest medication; in order to better service our students.
This article was very insightful. It stated helpful information regarding medication and how it can affect children in the classroom. I liked how the article examined disabilities and related them to the different categories. What could have made this article better, is if it provided techniques to effectively serve students suffering from emotional and behavioral disorders. Overall, it was informative and gave me  information that I can use everyday as an educator.


Schoenfeld, N. A., & Konopasek, D. (2007). Medicine in the Classroom: A Review of Psychiatric Medications for Students with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders. Beyond Behavior, 17(1), 14-20.

Comments

  1. Laura SchmidtSeptember 12, 2017 at 7:54 PM

    Medication and children can be such a controversial topic. I understand parents want to protect the privacy of their children, but at the same time I understand that without all of the information teachers are not able to service students effectively. I wish teachers were informed of all medications and what the potential side effects can be. It would allow families to have a better picture of how effective the treatment is for their child because the dialogue would be open between home and school. I was shocked to see the statistic of how many children are on medication. With such a large population it seems that teachers should be given more training on the types of medications, as well as what each type is used for. It might be a good topic for an in-service day.

    I can definitely see how a behavior plan and medication together can make for a better outcome than either individually. Some of the students I work with are on one or the other, but putting these tools together seems like it would provide more relief. In some cases the child does not know why they behave a certain way. It can be heart breaking to see them almost feel trapped in themselves. This was a very interesting article choice!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2017 at 8:15 AM

    I think this is such an important topic of conversation. My staff has already experienced multiple situations this year when we found out students were on medications that we didn't know about, r that the medication had changed and we didn't know. Like Laura mentioned, I can definitely understand that parents desire to respect the privacy for their child, but we need to find ways to educate parents that the more we know about their child, the better we can serve them.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Transition Plan

Developing an effective transition plan for high school students with autism spectrum disorder can be a difficult task. This article examined five steps to take in order to make the process easier. “During the high school years, young people work to develop new identities and make decisions about the future, including where they will live, what they will do, and who will be their friends” (Szidon, Ruppar & Smith, 2015). As our reading stated, the child is going through a vertical transition. A vertical transition is defined as any transition that occurs in the lives of most individuals. These transitions are age or developmentally based. Creating a transition plan for a child with ASD is more difficult because these students have their own unique challenges. “Students with ASD experience greater social communication difficulties than what would be expected of   other students their age” (Szidon, Ruppar & Smith, 2015). These students also have “higher levels of repetitive...
Read more

Functional behavior assessment and behavior support plans for work-based learning

This article examined the use of functional behavioral assessments and behavior support plans for students in a work place setting. It explains how a “functional behavior assessment, along with ecological assessments, can be used to develop behavior support plans for students engaging in problem behaviors in employment settings” (Kittelman, Wagner & Mazzotti, 2016). In 2014 congress passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. WIOA is intended to “emphasize competitive integrated employment as the desired employment outcome for individuals with disabilities” (Kittelman, Wagner & Mazzotti, 2016). This act ensures that individuals with disabilities have equal access to competitive employment. Students with disabilities have an opportunity to complete work-based learning experiences (WBLE). These experiences help students learn “skills they need to use academic knowledge and skills effectively in the workplace and include both non-academic skills and social behavior ski...
Read more