School not telling parents their child has suspected autism.

153 replies

Biscuitsaretheworkofthedevil · 15/06/2024 14:08

The SENCO of our primary school has some very apparently thought that my child has been on the autistic spectrum. I was surprised to find they don’t mention this to parents. Is it reasonable for them not to mention this to families?

OP posts:

AngelDelightButNotStrawberry · 15/06/2024 14:20

My cousin is a TA and told me they aren’t allowed to, they have to wait for a parent to suggest it. They can talk about needing support but not outright tell parents. They also have quite a few parents who don’t want to acknowledge their children have difficulties.

useitorlose · 15/06/2024 14:16

It cannot be diagnosed by a teacher. I've often thought it but as a SENCO or a teacher I can only describe the challenges a child faces at school and what I am doing to support them. It's not my job to suggest possible diagnoses. If a parent said 'I'm worried he might be autistic, what do you think?' then I might agree that there are some traits consistent with autism but that they need to see a doctor for referral (or whatever the local procedure is).

Octavia64 · 15/06/2024 14:10

Er, she only needs to mention it if she thinks he has autism and is recommending further investigation,

If she just happened to see him in class one day and thought "he might have autism" then no, not really....

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