January 26, 2004

Dear Russell's Unsympathetic Pain in the Ass Teacher,

Russell is on doses of medication far beyond pharmaceutical recommendations, so per his doctor's instructions, we were trying a new medication with him last week. Two days last week, you saw him on that medication and obviously, it is not going to work for school. We had tried the new medication out with good success over the holiday weekend, but he does not require the same level of focus at home that he does at school and he actually seemed okay here, even for things like cleaning and organizing his room, which is usually a pretty difficult task for him.

Russell said that he informed you that he was trying a new medication, thus, we are somewhat surprised by your claim that he was missing medications three days last week. We had also communicated to the clinical aide that you should be informed that he was trying new medication. Apparently, you did not get that message.

On Friday, we had been scrambling to change him back to his original medication based on the feedback we got through Russell that you had asked if he had taken his medication because he was fidgety, when he was on the new medication. Mike and I miscommunicated, thus, he did not get his afternoon dose of medication for which we both apologize.

We realize his behavior can be frustrating, when his medication is not working, especially because he has only been diagnosed with ADHD for the past two years. Unfortunately, however, he is experiencing some adverse side effects from the extremely high doses of medications that he is on. Due to his medication levels, he has only gained about 5 lbs in the past two years, and has only gotten 3/4" taller, which are huge steps downward in his growth rate. Per his psychiatrist's suggestion that he might have Tourette's Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy that is amplified by the stimulant medications he takes, we have scheduled an appointment with a pediatric neurologist at the beginning of March. We have also changed his weekend medication to the medication that was not working for him in class last week, so that he has some break from the very high medication levels, as we are willing to contend with some of the wall climbing in exchange for the pharmaceutical reprieve that his body gets.

High doses of stimulant medication can cause permanent brain damage and we are working very hard to attempt to get him on a medication regimen that will get him to less dangerously high medication levels and still let him be functional in both his academic and home settings. Russell is very much between a rock and a hard place pharmaceutically and we are trying to find a system that will work without overtaxing his system, and yet, give him as close to a normal kid's existence as possible.

There may come a time during this semester that the medication he is on stops working and we'll be back at this place again, experimenting with a new medication and attempting to get the dosing metered correctly. We do as much of this over breaks and weekends as possible, however, we would appreciate your feedback, both positive and negative during those times.

We appreciate your patience. Please feel free to call us at home at xxx-xxxx, if you would like to discuss this further.

Sincerely,




Michael and Wendy Schreiber
cc: The Principal