LOST EDUCATION

School refusal continued even after my daughter was put on paxil.  This led to special education classrooms.  Instead of allowing the child healing time, she was put on mind-altering medications supposedly to help her cope with anxiety.  Paxil was triggering mood swings, along with psychotic episodes.  My daughter then attended a special education classroom for children with anger problems.  I wish I had realized that my shy, quiet child was now filled with anger due to side effects of paxil.  But then, how could I, GlaxoSmithKline hid the clinical data from the public in order to keep their sales figures up.

Special education classrooms do not have the same level requirements as the regular classrooms.  The children are passed each each year with very little education.  Kids at various ages, grade levels, are taught together the basic concepts of each subject in a group.  My daughter, who is not learning disabled kept falling further behind in her grades.  

In September 2007 I enrolled my daughter in a Virtual High School.  It is a course acknowledged by the Ministry of Education, and credits applied to her Ontario School Record.  In order to do this I had to remove my daughter from the Toronto District School Board and pay for all the schooling, including tutors.  The only offer of classrooms available that would be able to catch her up to grade level within the Toronto District School Board once again were in special education with lower requirements.

While we struggle financially, my daughter is finally thriving.  My daughter has goals to attend university, the Virtual High School makes this goal a possiblity.  GlaxoSmithKline should be paying for these courses; it is because of paxil that my daughter fell so far behind.  Instead, I pay $500.00 per subject, plus tutors.  I don’t regret doing this for my child, but it makes me angry that GlaxoSmithKline will not take accountability for the loss paxil caused her because she resides on Canadian soil.