Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Interesting article--school culture, IEPs

ITA. If I'd been thinking on my feet, I'd have responded with something to the effect that if that is the case, the school has also committed to supporting him and meeting his needs as a learner.

The program is a "choice" program, meaning he is not "entitled" to be there. I don't think I'd have heard this at the school he is assigned to attend.

It sheds light on how they view the program, doesn't it.

I think this may depend on the particular school nurse. When DD was enrolled at the local public all started out well but went competely to he!! when new school nurse came on board. She and horrible principal seemed to validate each other's opinions. Nurse "didn't believe" DD's diagnoses, found "parents' claims to be unbelievable" and contacted our pediatrician to request "documentation of all concerns you have had about this child since birth". This was all included in our DOE complaint but she continued her aggressive behavior with other kids after DD left the school. A friend begged me for help because this same nurse was single handedly preventing her daughter from getting a 504 for a physical disability. After sending that parent to Wrightslaw and providing some basic information she was able to get 504 meeting convened, with personnel from central office in attendance. According to the description I heard this nurse was willing to do almost anything to block the 504 - no idea why - and threw a total hissy fit when the rest of the team unanimously voted in favor of providing it. During the meeting psychology student (intern?) in attendance gave a little speech about how important it is for children to feel safe with school nurse and afterwards principal apologized to my friend for the nurse's totally inappropriate behavior. Nurse left the school under not great circumstances a while later...

So... ummm... I'm very glad to hear that some have had awesome experiences with school nurses who advocate for their kids but no unfortunately it's not a universal phenomenon.

As with all other professional roles, some school nurses are wonderful resources, and others...not so much. I think the best ones care about children professionally (not in an over-involved, personal way), are extremely knowledgeable and competent in their own profession, and know what their roles are in the school. Where I've seen issues, it's usually been in one of these areas. A typical scenario is if the nurse (or other professional role) attempts to act outside of his/her expertise, such as by making unfounded determinations regarding the presence or absence of mental illness. Another one is when the staff member loses objectivity about a child, due to personal relationships (either positive or negative) with the child or the child's parent, for instance, either discounting or blindly believing uncorroborated reports about a child's behavior, based on preconceived notions.

Now that I think of it--I did notice one of the main positive things the nurse had to say (about both of my kids, this year) was that since she'd never met them, it increased their credibility. Ha ha! I knew what she meant, but it does follow that a kid with health issues (mental or otherwise) might see the nurse more often than those without.

She did take time to explain to DS that if he had a panic event, he could come there and she showed him where he could sit (private) and reassured him this is a very common problem in the school.

She also explained to me that *any* absence related in *any* way to the diagnoses on the 504 is can be coded that way, which I didn't understand before.