240 The Explosive Childture is a competent, clinically savvy, attentive, available
prescribing doctor. But the doctor can’t treat your child
successfully unless he or she receives accurate informa-
tion from you and your child’s teachers about the effects
of the prescribed medications. When all relevant adults
work in concert with the doctor, side effects are handled
more efficiently and adjustments are made more respon-
sively. A discreet approach to medication is also recom-
mended. Most children aren’t eager for their classmates
to know that they’re receiving medication for emotional
or behavioral purposes. And there’s a temptation for par-
ents to keep school personnel in the dark about their
child’s medication status as well. True to the collabora-
tive spirit required for intervening effectively with explo-
sive children, and because the observations and feedback
of teachers are often crucial to making appropriate ad-
justments in medication, I generally encourage parents
to keep relevant school personnel in the loop on medica-
tions. If there’s no way to keep a child’s classmates in the
dark, it’s often necessary to educate the classmates about
individual differences (asthma, allergies, diabetes, diffi-
culty concentrating, low frustration tolerance, and the
like) that may require medicinal treatment.
If you choose to medicate your child, for how long
will you have to use medication? That’s hard to predict.
In general, the chemical benefits of these agents endure
only as long as the medication is taken. Nonetheless, in