Whenever a licensed mental health professional is conducting differential diagnoses, particularly for a neurodevelopmental disorder (under which category ADHD falls within the DSM 5), corroboration of early global impairments is necessary for diagnosis; thus, evidence of impairments across numerous settings (eg, home and school), from numerous reliable sources, is highly pertinent when evaluating the presence and/or severity of the disorder.
With that said, however, a K-12 teacher has no inherent credentials which allow them to diagnose any individual with a mental illness, and certainly do not have the professional experience within the area of behavioral medicine that would lend itself to having enough knowledge of pharmacological interventions such as Ritalin, insofar that anything beyond a mere recommendation for further evaluation would arguably not fall under their purview.
As such, anything beyond a referral for neuropsychological or psychiatric assessment, and provision of the teacher’s own account/observations of the student’s behavior, is simply inappropriate from an educator who objectively does not have sufficient training to evaluate the physiological and/or psychological cost/benefit analysis with regard to endorsement of the psychopharmacological intervention for any particular student.
Overall, mind- and mood-altering medications are indisputably essential for assisting a significant proportion of the population with managing various activities of daily functioning and/or alleviation of any symptomatology arising from psychopathology; however, their immediate and/or long-term side effects, particularly in developing children, render the prescription of these psychotropics as only being provided when deemed absolutely necessary by licensed medical professionals.
