Adapted from ADDitude Magazine

It is absolutely crucial to inform the classroom teacher, school nurse, and other educational staff about your child's condition.

Often there will be an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or a 504 Plan in place, both of which identify and mandate services and accommodations your child needs. If not, it will be the parents' challenge to ensure the school knows how to help your child.

The Classroom Teacher:

• Often teachers don't inform parents about classroom problems until the first teacher-parent conference. Ask the teacher to provide progress reports from day one to share with your child's healthcare professional.
  
  
• Tell the teacher what medication your child takes, why it was prescribed, and possible side effects. The classroom teacher is one of the key contacts to help you determine whether the medication is working.
  
  
• Remind the teacher to be sensitive. Talking publicly about the child's medication or condition can be humiliating and could turn your child off from taking medication they need.
  
  
• Learning disabilities are very common in children with ADHD, so ask the classroom teacher to monitor for academic issues. Have your child tested if there appears to be a problem so you can get the appropriate help.
  
  

The School Nurse:

When starting or switching medication, the school nurse can be one of your greatest allies.

• Even if your child takes an all-day medication (so the nurse doesn't have to provide a midday dose), he or she should know which medication your child is taking in case of emergency. You can request information about the medication from your healthcare professional to share with the nurse.
  
  
• Develop a back-up plan should you forget to give your child the morning dose. With advance planning, the school nurse can be given permission to provide the morning dose if you call in to request it.
  
  
• Dosages of ADHD medication can vary widely with each child. The school nurse can help monitor the dose and gather information from the classroom teacher on the functional impact of each dosage increase.
  
  

Other Educational Staff:

ADHD students are most likely to run into problems during unstructured activities and transitions. Each adult must also know whether increased structure or specific modifications are needed for your child.

• The gym and art teachers, recess monitor, lunch room monitor, school bus driver, and after school coaches who interact with your child outside the classroom may need to be aware of the need for increased supervision or special models of teaching.
  
  
• Your child has a medical condition that requires careful monitoring and supervision. Working closely and cooperatively with the school staff and after school supervisors can help your child achieve maximum academic and social success.