Sorry, no. Precisely nobody employed by a school district is getting involved in medication nor diagnosis for children. Nobody. Not even in Texas, and especially not a new grad with “assistant” in their title. Nurses might dispense prescriptions as prescribed but that is a firm end to the involvement in a child’s medical situation. Your wife’s master’s degree does not permit diagnosis of mental health and suggestion of medication or diagnosis in a counseling setting would be criminal, prosecutable behavior. The alleged people pushing her to do so would both know this and be just as culpable. And cui bono? You realize for your story to be true there has to be a pharmaceutical rep/third party paying a school district to perpetuate trivially prosecutable behavior for everyone involved, right?
In the United States this has not been controversial for decades and is common knowledge among educators. I’m sorry, either you gravely misunderstood the situation, or your story is complete fiction. I’m concerned that you don’t know what her title was but you know they wanted the kids on drugs and maybe if we didn’t do that some kids would still be alive. I’m also concerned your story just happens to be in Texas, of all the places.
Source: Educator.
Edit: lol, six downvotes between HN cache misses kinda proves my subtle allegation, genius
I'd like to add another anecdata point. I have lived most of my life in Texas. A couple of my close relatives were born in the mid 80's and started school in the early 90's in the public school system in a medium-sized city in Texas.
At the time there was a lot of discussion about ADHD, the causes, treatments, etc and how to recognize it. Teachers had the authority to remove a child from the classroom if the teacher claimed the child was disruptive. The school would not allow the child to return to class until that kid was no longer disruptive. They used school nurses to make diagnoses of ADHD and to recommend on the official records in the school system that the child be medicated to help them deal with their "learning disability".
Parents needed to schedule appointments with pediatricians or child psychologists so that the kid could be evaluated and if that professional determined the child needed medication to be able to sit still in class, or to be able to sit quietly without talking out of turn then the child was required to take medication, typically Ritalin.
I don't know where you're from but a diagnosis of ADHD back then followed an individual through their entire public school career and teachers absolutely had the right to refuse to have a child labeled "hyperactive" in their classroom unless that child was medicated.
I have no idea how all that ended up as standard procedure. Texas began a decline in the quality of education in their public schools a long time ago and there is no opportunity to arrest that fall without removing most of those currently in office.
Your original poster may not have all his ducks in a row but he at least knows that he has a flock of something that quacks. I may also not have all my facts straight but I know I am pretty close. They are both ordinary adults now in spite of the things they had to go through as students in Texas public schools.
"According to America’s Centers for Disease Control, 11% of four- to 17-year-olds in the US have been diagnosed with ADHD, a label for those who are disruptive in class and unable to concentrate; just over 6% are taking medication."
"In the UK, meanwhile, about 3% of children are diagnosed with ADHD; just 1% are on medication. American children can go through six or seven different drugs quite early in their lives; in the UK, children are usually sent for cognitive behaviour therapy first, in line with guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence."
"It is now generally accepted, says David Healy, professor of psychiatry at Bangor University, that 20%-25% of students at most universities in the US are on medication, often on multiple prescriptions"
In the United States this has not been controversial for decades and is common knowledge among educators. I’m sorry, either you gravely misunderstood the situation, or your story is complete fiction. I’m concerned that you don’t know what her title was but you know they wanted the kids on drugs and maybe if we didn’t do that some kids would still be alive. I’m also concerned your story just happens to be in Texas, of all the places.
Source: Educator.
Edit: lol, six downvotes between HN cache misses kinda proves my subtle allegation, genius