Please Stop Cooking Up Excuses

I was warned by my OB-Gyne friend that scheduling with a developmental pediatrician should be way ahead. True enough, I booked two of my students last week of March and got a word from the medical secretary only last week of April for a definite schedule in May. The consultations will be done separately for a two-hour assessment to tell if their attention disorder are mild, moderate or severe and to gauge how these would affect their schooling, among others.

Generally the parents I’ve met are genuinely concerned with their child and will get to the bottom of things to find out what’s wrong and, in no time, identify solutions to cure the problem. Like this couple who I’m now collaborating with, they may consistently get into the battle of highs and lows in dealing with their child’s hyperactivity and yet they never succumb to defeat. They’re still around – very much cooperating and wanting to get involved with their child’s life.

On the other hand, I have parent encounters where a dozen of alibis have been concocted to cover their mess. Take this incident I just had with a mother whose child was diagnosed with an ADD. I have had many serious talks with her and I committed to help her get the treatment that would suit the individual needs of her child.

Since last week, I’ve contacted her office and mobile phone to notify her of the schedule and I got that funny feeling she was serving me amusing lies. In the initial call, she said she can’t remember me despite the fact that I have spoken to her several times about the red marks her child got; 2nd call, she pretended she was not the person I was looking for and had the nerve to say she was out; 3rd call which was today, she said that the lady I was looking for was no longer connected in that (family) hardware store (?!?); 4th to succeeding calls were brewing me mad as she cooked up a pretense that something’s wrong with her telephone line.

Sadly for her, I would not allow her to spoil my day. I waited a few hours to simmer down, called her in her mobile phone and gave her a decent whipping up. I told her that the school is her partner in working for the best interest of her child but she cannot rely on it to make wonders when she and her husband barely cooperate. She said her bag was snatched, blah-blah... She said her child has been seeing her own tutor so she decided not to enroll in the Summer Enrichment Program her child was required to take. I guess it's the minimal doctor's fee that's bothering her...But it took us two months to finally end the waiting.

I have had enough of her excuses. Her child may physically look ok but the attention deficit disorder has alarmingly affected his academic performance. At the end of my conversation with her, I have minced strong words to let her taste her own bitter broth, if only to let her realize that her child needs a spoonful of help.