Children labelled hyperactive really 'just naughty' ?

[Heated]

news story

[Remotew]

tbh I don't know. I agree that some children who are mischievous will not display symptoms all the time, they couldn't keep it up.

I'm trying not to use the word naughty here. ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Autism, Aspergas. I sometimes wonder if there are too many labels put on children nowadays. The spectrums as so wide. If a child doesn't comply there is often a label. Sorry if I sound insensitive but teachers tried to label my DD. She was just spirited as a child. Maybe I could have had an easier life if I'd taken notice on, what's that drug begins with an R?

[NutterlyUts]

ritalin

[southeastastra]

what a load of crap. i blame the national curriculum, children need to run about and play, boys especially find it hard to concentrate in class at such a young age.

god do we have so many graduates that specialise in childhood that we're just finding work for them to do, seems like it to me.

[Remotew]

Thanks, forgot to add the other label. They are clever "gifted".

[avenanap]

Being gifted isn't an excuse for having a badly behaved child.

[ravenAK]

I taught a young lad a few years back who had ADHD. Nice enough boy, but really struggled with classroom behaviour - he'd fidget, pull faces, shout out inappropriate comments, fall ostentatiously off his chair &/or break wind spectacularly if reprimanded...

However, he was a head altar boy & a leading light of the local Cadet Corps. He did once volunteer the information that these were situations where he couldn't 'muck about', but in school he felt he could.

[jimjamshaslefttheyurt]

what a stupid article. Teacher's don't diagnose, so they are not misdiagnosing - they should refer on any child if they have concerns. It's up to the pros to then decide whether a child fits a dx. That's their job.

CAMHS are generally somewhere around hopeless anyway so I wouldn't necessarily trust their opinion.

[southeastastra]

i'm so sick of the educational system, im tempted to take my son out of school and home ed him.

they want all children to conform now

[southeastastra]

my son struggles with school, they want to give him a statement. teachers are so crap these days. they know nowt (touches a raw nerve)

[jimjamshaslefttheyurt]

My son with autism is 9 years old and hasn't said a word since he was 15 months old (when he lost his speech).

This isn't some made up label.

None of them are. The fact that lots of children are not being diagnosed after teachers highlight potential problems demonstrates that it is is not easy to get a diagnosis, and that the diagnoses are robust. Even when CAMHS get their hands on it.

[jimjamshaslefttheyurt]

statements are very difficult to get SE- if they want to refer him for assessment for a statutory assessment (first stage) chances are he'll be turned down by the LEA anyway. The problem is usually the other way round. Statutory assessments cost lots of money.

[southeastastra]

i know your history jimjams but i do feel that some school are trying to find children to statement just to justify their funding, to the detriment to children that really need it.

[Remotew]

Teacher's do diagnose. IME.

I'm saying there are too many labels on children nowadays. That's all. It is mostly tosh. If a child has autism it is obvious to the parents and health professionals from an early age. Any other label is not worth being diagnosed.

[avenanap]

ds was removed from the lunch hall and placed in the reception class for his lunch on Tuesday for..............................eating with his knife and fork in the wrong hands so the teacher thought he was eating off his knife!!!
He's leaving to go somewhere else tomorrow. I have seen how children with life and a sense of fun are labled as disruptive and troublesome. It's sad really. They are so misunderstood. Some schools only want stepford kids that are always quiet, never answer back, do as they are told and never question. Anyone who doesn't fit into this mould can be singled out as naughty or hyperactive.

[FairyMum]

Mmmmm, I think the problem is the other way around. Agree it is difficult to get a diagnosis. Have two children who were labelled as "lazy" before being diagnosed as dyslexic.

[southeastastra]

my sons school has a speech and language base, it's the only one of two in the south of the county, it pees me off, i don't think he needs it but read about so many children on mn that do need statements and have to fight for them.

why are they giving them away on a plate so easily here in the south east?

[avenanap]

Head thinks ds is too opinionated. (ds is very bright and at least 5 years ahead at school)

[Remotew]

jimjam. Your DS sounds very similar to my friend's DS. I'm not underestimating this fact. Hope I didn't come across that way.

[jimjamshaslefttheyurt]

SE I don;t understand what you mean. If a child gets funding through a statement it belongs to them. It isn't general funding that can be used by the school. Most SN funding comes via SA and SA+

The school doesn't statement; the LEA does- usually after some sort of protracted battle. DS1 started school with no speech at all and LD's- we still had to battle for a statement. I had to start the process (the LEA wouldn't) then had to fight over every section of it. I don't know anyone who has been just given a statement.

[jimjamshaslefttheyurt]

"Teacher's do diagnose. IME. "

No they don't. They might natter in the staff room or decide in their head that child X has condition Y but that's not diagnosis. A paediatrician (preferably) diagnoses, a clinical psych can diagnose, but a teacher can't.

[PootyApplewater]

The England state school system badly fails lots and lots of children, and especially boys, ime.

It is a disgrace.

The labels are irrelevant to a certain extent - no point having a diagnosis if the education isn't going to provide appropriate or suitable support anyway.

The whole system of statementing is mind-numbingly slow and laborious; parents have to shout louder and more frequently on behalf of their child than other parents in order to access support.

News stories such as these miss the point entirely.

Whether hyper-active or naughty, there is still a root cause, and that is what needs assessing.

[FairyMum]

I think teachers often label the parents rather than the child

[southeastastra]

i know jimjams, this is what i am finding so frustrating and confusing with my son.

he has been assessed by occupational therapists and speech therapists who can find nothing wrong but the school still wants him to be seen by a educational psych and ultimately have told me he will prob get a statement.

for what, i don't know, his whole school life has been negative

[Heated]

The reason why I found this article interesting was having visiting the school ds will start in Sept and being told the relatively high number of SEN was down to getting kids 'diagnosed', they were even on the register if they had poor handwriting!! And the school rules - such as no rolling on the floor, no play fighting (2 things ds currently excels at in nursery ) - made me wonder whether those that didn't conform to the rules were 'naughty' or were just 'diagnosed' with some label.

And then how irritating is that for parents with children who genuinely have ADHD?

[avenanap]

Sounds like it. Poor things .