The "What's on your mind?" Thread -2017

[Alicia88]

Her move wasn't recent - it just wasn't a problem with us getting to see her until she started school. Before that, each parent had her for 2 weeks at a time. Now, that isn't possible. I understand that life is difficult for little kids who don't totally understand the reasons for separate sets of rules. And i don't plan on letting her set the rules. It just stinks that it has to be this way. We missed the little boogerhead and since we have less time with her now, I wish we didn't have to spend so much of it in a battle of wills. Oh well, that's life. It's gonna be just as fun when she's a teenager.
Right now we're watching PJ Masks. The last time she was here, Peppa Pig was her obsession. She's growing up too fast and I don't like it.
Actually, she's watching it and I'm sitting her slightly zombie like because it seems that all children are morning people and I'm not. Lol

 

[tallyollyopia]

All right--for more news I have to go back and explain a conversation I had with my manager when the subject of my vacation first came up: she said that, at my paygrade level (and my promotion finally went through--so I'm now making a little more than eight and a half an hour!) I get two days off a week, and the vacation doesn't touch that. So I thought that, by using four of my five vacation days together I could get six days off and be totally recharged. However, when I put in for my vacation we had more than five people working the store--I get my four vacation days (good thing, too; I don't think I'd have gotten a day off otherwise), but I'm working the other four days of the week (and getting paid for all seven--I checked). The good news is that my promotion (and subsequent pay raise) hit just as this week started, so I'll be getting time and a half on Thanksgiving (all blessed eight hours of it!) at the increased wage, instead of the previous one. (I'm telling myself it's more money for Christmas.) So, there's that. Now; we're not having a feast this year--because there's nowhere to put it. Seriously--we've got furniture in the living room, dining room, and kitchen. Well, UDL (Uncle Dog Lover) invited the three of us over to his house for his annual potluck Thanksgiving (AWM is bringing rolls), but it's at one in the afternoon--when I have to be sleeping for work. (They're going to see if they can bring me back a plate so that I can have some too.) I still might get dinner though--I've let several of my favorite customers know I'm working all night on Thanksgiving, and I'm hoping they'll take pity on me and bring food. Maybe.

In better news--I managed to finally stop those near-crippling hunger pains. After that debate about Slim Fast vs Ensure earlier I thought, why not? (Slim Fast--since it tastes better. I never could stand the taste of Ensure.) It's working! And I'm eating less sugar to keep going! Still having arm trouble though--now it's painful until it "warms up" and then it's fine. Way back when I was 14 I had a doctor diagnose me with RA, and I can't help but wonder if this is it acting up. (I'm used to problems with me knee.) Spot's ear is completely healed with only a tiny scar (AWM jokes about piercing it so he can be a pirate for Halloween), and Princess is doing much better. And now I have to go to bed--Good night everybody!

 

[muffy]

I got in trouble the other day for carrying groceries in. Apparently, I was supposed to come inside and tell John I was back so he could go out and carry them in. Dangit, I'm not pregnant, not an invalid! Lol
I'm also not allowed to feed the cats unless the bag is less than half full.

You have a sweet husband.

 

[Alicia88]

I do have a sweet husband.
I'm glad slim fast is helping with your hunger pangs. I had my wisdom teeth removed way back when and i was on a liquid diet for a while. My mouth is too small for my teeth and they were growing sideways into my other teeth and they had to be cut out. One had to be shattered and pulled out piece by piece. It was miserable and I felt like I was starving to death. I got some slim fast in the hopes that it would suppress my appetite and I wouldn't feel so hungry all the time. It didn't work. I definitely didn't need to lose weight! I did anyway. Liquid diets do that, apparently. I looked horrible and it took me forever to put it back on.

 

[Margret]

Margret From my medical vocabulary, I would take "a-cancer" to be a short form of
a-cancerous... meaning, a non-cancer... a benign growth. Women get fibroadenomas of the uterus, called fibroids. That is a fact of life, all women have them.

Or perhaps, the doctor was just saying, "this is a cancer"...

The fact that your friend is having post-menopausal bleeding is very concerning.. It is caused from hyperplasia of the uterine lining, and usually cancerous..
Any mass on the ovary, at this stage of life, has to be removed, and biopsied.

Thank you. They've done imaging and seen nothing wrong with her ovaries, but that doesn't mean something isn't starting up there. If I had any excuse at all (that insurance or Medicare would accept) I would have a total hysterectomy as well, since my maternal grandmother died of ovarian cancer, which puts me at risk. My mother had such painful fibroids when she was young and middle-aged (my brothers and I were all born fairly late in life because she had so many miscarriages) that after 3 children she decided it wasn't worth any more pain and had them go in and yank everything out, including her ovaries, so the fact that she didn't get ovarian cancer says nothing about my risk level.

I've noticed before that many surgeons seem to have gone into that specialty because they flunked bedside manner class and thought (erroneously) that they could avoid talking to patients by becoming surgeons. So many of them seem to have serious communication problems. I suspect that this applies to her surgeon as well, which is why she had trouble getting a definition out of him. He probably thought his meaning was obvious.

It's gonna be just as fun when she's a teenager.

In spades.

Actually, she's watching it and I'm sitting her slightly zombie like because it seems that all children are morning people and I'm not. Lol

Oh, yes. I remember as a child being thoroughly disgusted when the only thing on television early in the morning was the farm report. If you think it's bad now, just wait until Christmas morning...

Now; we're not having a feast this year--because there's nowhere to put it. Seriously--we've got furniture in the living room, dining room, and kitchen.

Makes sense to me.

The good news is that my promotion (and subsequent pay raise) hit just as this week started, so I'll be getting time and a half on Thanksgiving (all blessed eight hours of it!) at the increased wage, instead of the previous one.

Hurray!

My mouth is too small for my teeth and they were growing sideways into my other teeth and they had to be cut out.

The same thing happened to me. The first one to go hit right in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner when I was a teenager. Ouch!

Margret

 

[Margret]

Of course the general public can't understand what the doctors are saying--how would we know we were being ripped off?

As I've mentioned before, my mother was a physical therapist. She basically ran both the P.T. and O.T. departments at her hospital for a very long time, in addition to giving treatments.

When I was 16 or so I had some atypical bleeding from the aureole of one breast, and my mother told me to go down the hall to the emergency room and have it looked at, since we could basically get it for free that way. It stumped the doctors (eventually it turned out that one of the little capillaries happened to intersect one of the pores) and they were talking about it over my head (they thought) using worrisome terms like "exploratory" and "carcinoma," and I thought (and very carefully did not say out loud), "Boy, if you guys only knew who my mother is you wouldn't be talking this way where I can hear!"

Margret

 

[Alicia88]

My mother has worked as a nurse since before I was born. When I was around 8, I helped her study for her boards so she could get her LPN license so I've known most of the terms since I was very young. Even now, if I'm unsure about something, I'll call her. And she doesn't always trust doctors, either. It's a good thing, too. Several years ago, my great uncle had to go to the ER. I don't remember why, but she went with him to kind of supervise the doctor. He ordered an MRI. My mom said, "you realize he has a pacemaker, right?" The doctor said, "yes, it's right here in his chart." "But you want to do an MRI?" "Yes." She then had to explain to a licensed doctor why that would kill him. The ER here is commonly referred to as the morgue. My family only uses this ER if we basically know what's wrong. Otherwise, we go to the next county over.

 

[Margret]

Of course the general public can't understand what the doctors are saying--how would we know we were being ripped off?

Actually, virtually all professions have jargon, designed (consciously or not) to separate the "in" group from the "out" group. Some of it is necessary; there are specialized words that professionals need that are unique to their profession and related professions. But some of it really is primarily to make their speech unintelligible to outsiders. With the medical profession, have you ever noticed how, every few years, diseases acquire new names? That's to mystify outsiders. For example, "Manic-depressive illness" has now become "Bi-polar disorder." I suppose that could be justified on the basis of "manic" being a pejorative term, but they have to know that most people still think of it as "manic-depressive" anyway.

Margret

 

[kashmir64]

Rant.....

So part of it is my own darn fault. My bike hasn't been ridden in 2 weeks and I waited until this morning to get it back ready for the road. I left just a couple of minutes late...but I haven't been on a bike in 2 weeks. My speed was slower than normal and I felt terrible while riding. I got to my husband's place of work so I could use the car, I changed in their bathroom, and I spent several minutes in there feeling like I was going to vomit and not daring to leave the toilet just in case.

So I got to the hospital where I needed an EKG and a timed blood test. EKGs are walk-in, so it's not like I'm late for an appointment, but the blood test is timed and I was walking in the door right when they should have been taking my blood. I told the receptionist that I screwed up, left late, since it's a timed blood test I asked if she could do a rush job. And she did. I said the same thing to the woman registering, and I have never seen anyone type that fast, she did do a rush job. I got to the desk for blood work, told that receptionist the same thing. She said sure and pointed me to the waiting area.

20 minutes later I'm still waiting. 20 minutes for a timed blood test that I said flat out needed to be done ASAP. I am right at the point where the data collected would be worse than useless. Actually harmful if the doctor goes by the data. I go back to the receptionist and I tell her that I need my paperwork back as my blood could no longer be taken. She rushed off, I was assuming to get my paperwork, and then she popped out the side door and told me I was next in line and it would only be a minute. I said "It can only be a minute."

5 minutes later I'm still waiting. So I go back to the desk and say I need my paperwork back. The receptionist rushes off again, I thought getting my paperwork, and this time the lab tech pops out the side door and is urging me to have the blood taken right then. Nope. Worse than useless, downright harmful. She pushes some more. Nope, just give me my **** paperwork. She says no one told her it was something called stat. I pointed right to the receptionist and said I told her it was a timed blood test. The lab tech kept going on about stat and how those patients are processed first and no one told her. I pointed to the paperwork where it said "12 hours", and said it's a timed test. She said that no one told her I needed blood taken by a certain time. You will not believe the fight I had to do to get my paperwork back instead of agreeing to a useless blood draw. Worse than useless blood draw.

I spoke with the patient advocate, she said she would go to the lab work manager to figure out what went wrong. She also agreed that I should have been expedited since it was a timed test, even though a test order from 6 days ago couldn't be listed as stat.

The problem is transportation. My husband can be an ***hole at times, much as I love him, and the biggie at this point in our lives is use of our sole car. Because he is a manager he does need to have ready transportation, but he gets all fussy if I ask to use the car to go out of town too often. So while I got it today, I'm not sure if the fight for tomorrow is worth it. The only other option though is ride my bike to the nearby lab, and I don't want to ever go back there. The tech at that lab deliberately hurt me when putting the needle in.

I wish you lived up here. I'd be happy to give you a ride to the lab.

 

[kashmir64]

Samai was lying on my legs and they went numb. Realized she turned 8 months a couple of days ago and I haven't weighed her recently. 12 lbs. And she's by no opinion fat. She could fit in my hand when I got her. what happened????

 

[segelkatt]

Actually, virtually all professions have jargon, designed (consciously or not) to separate the "in" group from the "out" group. Some of it is necessary; there are specialized words that professionals need that are unique to their profession and related professions. But some of it really is primarily to make their speech unintelligible to outsiders. With the medical profession, have you ever noticed how, every few years, diseases acquire new names? That's to mystify outsiders. For example, "Manic-depressive illness" has now become "Bi-polar disorder." I suppose that could be justified on the basis of "manic" being a pejorative term, but they have to know that most people still think of it as "manic-depressive" anyway.

Margret

Yes, and Asperger's is now "on the spectrum". I ask you"what spectrum" and who decides?

 

[Alicia88]

I took a nap while Aislyn did and dreamed that I found a tiny mama cat in the snow with 14 kittens and took them all home so I could bottle feed the babies since it seemed like there was no way she could keep up on her own.
That's totally what I would do in that situation. Haha

 

[Willowy]

Yes, and Asperger's is now "on the spectrum". I ask you"what spectrum" and who decides?

The Autism spectrum. I can see why they did that. What if the person doesn't quite fit the criteria for Asperger's, but doesn't quite fit the criteria for Autism either? They used to call it PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder---Not Otherwise Specified) which is kind of complicated to explain. I think "on the spectrum" covers it all fairly nicely.

Who decides? My brother was just diagnosed. First, he had to decide that there was something atypical about himself (or parents will decide if their children are atypical), enough to seek diagnosis. Then he contacted a psychiatrist who specializes in adult ASD diagnoses. He asked my brother a lot of questions and called my mom and asked her questions about my brother when he was little. And with that info, he decided.

Sigh. My niece's teacher just told my SIL that she should be evaluated for ADD. It's not ADD; she's "on the spectrum" like the rest of us, we know it. I suppose she'll have to be diagnosed now since the teacher is making an issue of it. I'm not even sure what her IEP will look like, but hopefully it will help her get through school and the teachers will be more patient. Haha. I've heard bad things about that school district :/. But maybe my SIL is tough enough to make things work.

 

[arouetta]

Actually, virtually all professions have jargon, designed (consciously or not) to separate the "in" group from the "out" group. Some of it is necessary; there are specialized words that professionals need that are unique to their profession and related professions. But some of it really is primarily to make their speech unintelligible to outsiders. With the medical profession, have you ever noticed how, every few years, diseases acquire new names? That's to mystify outsiders. For example, "Manic-depressive illness" has now become "Bi-polar disorder." I suppose that could be justified on the basis of "manic" being a pejorative term, but they have to know that most people still think of it as "manic-depressive" anyway.

Margret

Yes, and Asperger's is now "on the spectrum". I ask you"what spectrum" and who decides?

The Autism spectrum. I can see why they did that. What if the person doesn't quite fit the criteria for Asperger's, but doesn't quite fit the criteria for Autism either? They used to call it PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder---Not Otherwise Specified) which is kind of complicated to explain. I think "on the spectrum" covers it all fairly nicely.

As both are a daily part of life for me, I'm going to throw my opinion into it.

Bipolar disorder has been called that for a very long time. Manic depression was long gone when I was diagnosed in 1996. It's a better description because mania looks very different in different people, and people with the disorder really do bounce between two polar opposites with a much-cherished bit of time where they are between the two poles.

Autism, well here's my rant.

First, I have heard far too many high-functioning people sneer at a PDD-NOS diagnosis. They call it "autism lite" and depending on their social skills will either imply or flat out say that people get that when they aren't just that bad off. Bull. My daughter was diagnosed with PDD-NOS because she was too severe off for a clean diagnosis. Her social skills were like a really bad case of Asperger's Syndrome. Her communication skills were like a really, really bad case of classic autism. So half of one disorder, half another, PDD-NOS was the best place to put her. And I was told that no matter what progress she made she could never have the diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome because a disqualifying factor was language problems the first 3 years of life. From age 4 on she could be a textbook perfect case, but she couldn't get the diagnosis. So unless her social skills progressed in such a way that she could be reclassified as classic autism, she was stuck with the PDD-NOS label forever. And sure enough, between a shift in the medical community to adhere to the guidelines instead of treating autism as a death sentence so a term to be avoided, and changes in her level of functioning, my daughter's case was reclassified as high-functioning autism when she was 14. And had the DSM not changed she would be back to PDD-NOS because she has become a classic textbook perfect example of Asperger's Syndrome, though with some communication problems not typical to those with Asperger's Syndrome.

Second, the reason they call it a spectrum now is because of kids like my daughter. There's the not that badly impaired end, the severely impaired end, and a person can move back and forth along the range between them as they mature. I've heard of kids at my daughter's level of function in high school that were diagnosed because of social issues in late elementary. But my kid started off as low-functioning and slid along the spectrum to high functioning. She's now slid a little back the other way because she can't manage life the way a 23 year old adult should. She's not one of those people on the spectrum with a spouse very understanding of the social difficulties and a technical job and a mortgage. But she's also not one of those in a group home, or worse one of those who are completely non-verbal and little more than a small child in their level of functioning. Both extremes are autism, and everyone whose level of function is between them is also autism. That's why it's a spectrum, because the "colors" are all the levels of impairment between the absolute worst and the absolute best.

Third, it should have been one disorder in the first place, and it wasn't because of non-medical reasons. Leo Kanner was in the US and in 1943 took a bunch of adults with impaired functioning and a diagnosis of childhood schizophrenia, detailed their symptoms and told them they didn't have childhood schizophrenia, they had an unnamed disorder instead. Hans Asperger in Austria in 1944 took people with nearly identical symptoms, detailed those symptoms and told them they had an unnamed disorder instead. In a normal world the two doctors would have shared their research and jointly name the previously unrecognized condition. In the messy world they lived in they were on opposite sides during a major war. There was no sharing of medical research at that time. And by the time there was shared research, both names were recognized diagnoses.

except for some non-medical stuff going on, they would have been one disorder in the first place.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I can't imagine doing it once a month. Do you have a car?

Nope. Sometimes I can manage a ride, others, I have to take a cab. The up side to the cab is that the driver brings my bags in!

I have a friend who is about to get a hysterectomy. She's been told that the doctors aren't sure what is causing her problems; she doesn't test positive for cancer, but the surgeon said he suspects it's "acancer," apparently all one word. Does anyone know what this means? A Google search produced nothing.

Margret

First thing I thought of was benign tumors, adenomas. They can turn cancerous, but more often they don't. Having uterine adenomas can really mess up your insides and cause super crazy bad menstrual cycles. Hysterectomy was pretty much the only option for large benign adenomas until maybe 10 years ago when less drastic options like cauterizing the inside of the uterus became available. However if it is adenomas and the doctor suspects at least one has turned cancerous, hysterectomy followed by biopsy of the suspect tumors is probably the best bet for a long happy life.

That was my first thought, as well. But I wouldn't bet the farm on it. Generally "a" preceding a term in medicine means "not," as in "asymptomatic," without symptoms. I'd ask for clarification, for sure! The difference between acancer and a cancer is literally life or death!

I meant to say, I'm pregnant, not an invalid. Shoot, I can't think straight these days. Lol

It's the hormones. You'll get over it about 19 years after the baby is born. Give or take.

The Autism spectrum. I can see why they did that. What if the person doesn't quite fit the criteria for Asperger's, but doesn't quite fit the criteria for Autism either? They used to call it PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder---Not Otherwise Specified) which is kind of complicated to explain. I think "on the spectrum" covers it all fairly nicely.

And sadly, far too many diagnoses are best guesses, and more for an insurance coding than not. LORD, I bless those doctors who are really thorough and don't rush a diagnosis!

Bipolar disorder has been called that for a very long time.

The best description of bipolar disorder I ever heard was from one of my patients about 11 years ago. She was having a severe manic episode, and when she started to come out of it, she said to me, "I'm bipolar, you know. I'm fine on one end, and a polar bear on the other!" And she was. I've never forgotten that discussion, and the insight it gave me into her world.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

DANG! I ALMOST FORGOT!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 

[Margret]

Several years ago, my great uncle had to go to the ER. I don't remember why, but she went with him to kind of supervise the doctor. He ordered an MRI. My mom said, "you realize he has a pacemaker, right?" The doctor said, "yes, it's right here in his chart." "But you want to do an MRI?" "Yes." She then had to explain to a licensed doctor why that would kill him. The ER here is commonly referred to as the morgue. My family only uses this ER if we basically know what's wrong. Otherwise, we go to the next county over.

My husband had a doctor who would ask him, every time he went in for a check-up, "Why don't I have you on (some drug with a name I forget)?" And every time Roger would point to the line on his chart that said he was in 4th stage kidney failure and on dialysis, and point out that the drug is one that can't be removed from the system by dialysis. Eventually Roger found out that the doctor was a drug addict.

Samai was lying on my legs and they went numb. Realized she turned 8 months a couple of days ago and I haven't weighed her recently. 12 lbs. And she's by no opinion fat. She could fit in my hand when I got her. what happened????

Awww. They grow up so fast, don't they? I bet she doesn't have that cute little kitten tail any more, either.

I took a nap while Aislyn did and dreamed that I found a tiny mama cat in the snow with 14 kittens and took them all home so I could bottle feed the babies since it seemed like there was no way she could keep up on her own.
That's totally what I would do in that situation. Haha

Yep. That's the Mama hormones kicking in.

Sigh. My niece's teacher just told my SIL that she should be evaluated for ADD. It's not ADD; she's "on the spectrum" like the rest of us, we know it. I suppose she'll have to be diagnosed now since the teacher is making an issue of it. I'm not even sure what her IEP will look like, but hopefully it will help her get through school and the teachers will be more patient. Haha. I've heard bad things about that school district :/. But maybe my SIL is tough enough to make things work.

The problem is that too many teachers are "diagnosing" ADD and ADHD for students who are merely being kids, and demanding that they be put on drugs. When the student really does have a problem (but not ADD) it can be very difficult to fight. I suggest that your SIL point out that the teacher is neither a doctor nor a nurse, is not qualified to diagnose an illness, and is not legally able to prescribe drugs.

Bipolar disorder has been called that for a very long time. Manic depression was long gone when I was diagnosed in 1996. It's a better description because mania looks very different in different people, and people with the disorder really do bounce between two polar opposites with a much-cherished bit of time where they are between the two poles.

Yes, it's a long time. But people do still use the term, and when my friend Steve was diagnosed (which is where my experience comes from) it was still being called "Manic-Depressive Illness."

One of the problems of this constant name changing is that it can make communication difficult for lay people. A difference of a single generation, and we tend to use different terms.

Margret

 

[segelkatt]

My son has two children now in their 20s. At one time or another they were both diagnosed as having Asperger's, but at different stages of the spectrum. Both are highly intelligent and verbal. Both are most comfortable when they are "in a rut", same old same old. The younger one is also a trans which makes things more difficult although we all accept it and refer to him as a her and use her chosen name Rynn (it used to be Richard) and refer to her as my son's daughter. She has moved out and has a job in another state as a manager at Subway and seems to be doing alright, at least so she says. She does not have a driver's license and at this time has no desire to get one, she rides a bike and the bus.

Chris, the other son, is another matter. Even when small, like pre-school, he had some weird behaviors. He claimed that he could not walk barefoot because the grass was hurting his feet. He did not like loud noise and he did not like any kind of music. He would yell out the window that he was being held prisoner although the door to his room was open. Child Protective Services were called numerous times and it was observed that he was indeed not in a closed room while yelling out the window so they stopped coming whenever some concerned neighbor called them.
Both children went to a special school where they both attained excellent grades and graduated from high school. Rynn attended a university out of state on scholarships but did not last past a few months as he/she found the environment too difficult and so returned home with no plans for the future.
Chris had problems even at the special school as he would have outbursts (kicking the walls or the desk whenever something did not go his way) but because it was a special school it was pretty much ignored, there were other kids who acted worse.
Chris has pretty much been ignored by Social Services since then, they just put him on SSI and pretty much forgot about him. His attention span to anything he'd rather not do is extremely short, he'd rather mess with his computer any time, he has a hard time dealing with anything new. Once he was told by some social worker who was evaluating him to go down stairs in an office building to the first floor via the stairs and then come back using the elevator. He could not do that like any ordinary person could, it took him over half an hour to finally return, nobody knows where he was, he said he got lost.
Lately I have been concerned regarding what would happen to him once his parents are no more and told my son he should have Chris evaluated by a counselor, not just a social worker. Apparently that did not go so well.
He was told he should be on some medication and he did not want to do that as he apparently was on one before and it turned him into a zombie and he had a fit (outburst) in the Counselor's office about that. I told my son Chris would need to be on a different medication until they found one that agreed with him, that to have an intelligent verbal person declared to be disabled beyond hope was disgraceful. Apparently the counselor thought he'd do alright perhaps doing circuit board assembly, a mind numbing occupation, what a waste of somebody who could probably do programming.
I wish he lived in California where opportunities for people like him are much more available, but he lives in Reno, NV and social services there are pathetic. Unfortunately I live an age restricted community so I can't have him here, I don't think he would want to be here anyway as I would ride herd on him and he would not like that one bit. If he lived here I would insist on a counselor doing the right thing. My son is not home much as he drives a big rig and his wife is not much in regard to insisting what Chris needs.
So, this is a long rant regarding Asperger's/Spectrum. I don't know what else I can do to help Chris who is a long way from what his brother/sister is doing although they are both "on the spectrum", both verbal, both very intelligent, both "stuck in a rut" but dealing with it in a different fashion. Chris will need to be self-sufficient or he will be "warehoused'
sooner or later, what a waste. Does anybody ave any ideas?

 

[arouetta]

Look into group homes. They are for people who can't quite live on their own but can manage part of what it takes to live on their own (hold a job, clean their room, cook, stuff like that). Back in the day waiting lists were long, up to 10 years, so if you guys look into a group home and think it's where he would fit, get on the waiting list immediately.

 

[Willowy]

The problem is that too many teachers are "diagnosing" ADD and ADHD for students who are merely being kids, and demanding that they be put on drugs. When the student really does have a problem (but not ADD) it can be very difficult to fight. I suggest that your SIL point out that the teacher is neither a doctor nor a nurse, is not qualified to diagnose an illness, and is not legally able to prescribe drugs.

I don't really have any objections; I kind of think teachers should point things out to parents and suggest they get the kid professionally evaluated (of course they should avoid being overly pushy or obnoxious, but that's good advice for life in general). We've told my SIL from the beginning that the kids are on the spectrum but she won't accept it. It was fine when they were little (they were just weird little kids) but now that they're older it's getting to be unavoidable. We have apologized to her for our genes . It runs hard and deep on my dad's side.

I don't blame the teacher for thinking it's ADD; my niece, like most people on the spectrum, does not have any patience for things that don't interest her and there aren't many things that interest her :/. But ADD meds don't work for ASD. You can't medicate someone for being bored and uninterested.

But because I didn't have to deal with going to school I don't know how it's going to work out for them and the South Dakota school system is not known for being super great (lowest-paid teachers in the country, you get what you pay for). So. I just hope it won't make things worse.