"I have a 12-year-old son who is extremely gifted. However, his lack of attention to details and "inability" to get himself going are causing him to slowly spiral downward.
"I am a special education teacher at the school he attends and I work with children with ADD and learning disabilities so I have contact with almost all the teachers in the school. The problem is that his teachers have failed to report any problems to me (behavior and/or academic), but they are talking among themselves. One has made it a priority to make his life miserable. He is a great kid, he is on the basketball team and the football team and is very well liked by his peers.
"Today I did something that I hope I don't regret. I did what I thought was the best solution for him and took him to his pediatrician. He prescribed Ritalin and, while I know that this is a wonderful solution for many kids and I have personally witnessed this, I can't help but feel I sold him out because of the pressure put on me by this one teacher in particular (who remember is my coworker). I did not want to put my administrators in the middle of this as we both are teachers in this school and I felt it would strain relationships in the school. However, I do think that some alternate strategies would have worked.
"He has difficulty staying organized and completing projects so I suggested that they inform me of upcoming projects, etc. which was never done. Had I not worked in the school I would probably have pushed this harder. I know that with the official diagnosis we can legally push for accommodations but I am not sure how best to help him. I want him moved from this teacher's class, but the administration says not until the nine weeks is over. He could fail by then. She has labeled him a bully,(which he is not) and says he seeks negative attention.
"My question is what can I do to help him? Any advice you can give would be appreciated." -- Marie
