To ask, if you’re a teacher

7 diagnosed in one of my maths classes (FE) No support. I suspect 2 of the other boys have ADHD too.

Yes it does. Some studies look at probable figures based on calculations of waiting lists.

Where I live there is a 10 year wait for CAMHs who carry out the diagnosis for children. Most children will age out of the system.

The DfE data is based on schools reporting SEND lists. You don’t need a diagnosis to begin that, it is dependent on whether the school thinks there are needs to be addressed.

Im not saying that there are potentially more than 5% in population. But the actual amount cannot be calculated from an an anonymous, biased, internet forum.

I'm genuinely asking - does the NHS data include only those diagnosed? Because at the moment in my area they are taking over 6 months to even triage referrals. The waiting lists for children are enormous. It used to be perfectly possible to get referred end of Y2 and prescribed medication if needed by summer term of Y3. Now those same children are waiting until Y6. That's a lot of primary children in the system without a diagnosis.

I give up. What you are asking for is anecdotal stories that you have no way of knowing if true. And you aren’t considering the bias in answering.

You can not believe it all you like, the 5% statistic is based on actual data from NHS/DfE. Not asking opinions on the internet.

You can not believe in gravity if you like, still makes it real.

Because as researchers and statisticians know, people are more likely to respond to a question like this if they have a larger number. If they have none then they are less likely to respond.

You cannot extrapolate any useful data on increase or rates based on replies on an anonymous forum.

I want the laughing emoji back!! 😂

(Only because this post is so true 🤪)

5% is for adhd, autism is also 5%, not necessarily the same 5! You asked for SEND, which includes dyslexia, dyspraxia, Tourette’s, cerebral palsy, wheelchair users, Down’s syndrome, learning disabilities.

So whose do you want to know? ND or SEND?

10 out of 30 in one of my KS2 classes at the moment. Not far off that number in others.

I give up trying to explain why asking a question like this in an anonymous form will not give accurate answers. You didn’t put in title, but loads of people will read the OP and not reply. A lot of work goes into making studies as unbiased as possible.

I see it as a bit of an affront because you don’t state your purpose. Many ND, disabled people spend a lot of time reading about how their diagnosis is made up, diagnosis can be bought, there is an unsustainable level of diagnosis. Weirdly cancer diagnosis is far more common now and we don’t have anything similar about that or blaming the people with cancer.

Thank you. My DH and I would agree, but that doesn’t make it fair does it. Your DH is also lucky to have you to support him and to help him be the best he can be. Child tries so hard to just get on with stuff, but life is quite overwhelming for them at times. I am genuinely very proud of them. So much more difficult than their siblings because of how their brain is wired. But they also have the ability to think outside the box and are great in a crisis! We are trying to support them into financial independence but it’s not easy. They are not even eligible for any benefit financial support as they have savings (from working from 16 to save for a car for work and they don’t go out very often). Also have never considered PIP and have no formal diagnosis.

What does your DH do for a job?

For the school? No, a diagnosis does not do this.

my school sometimes have our hands tied by parents, to be honest, as we can’t add children to the register without parental support. It’s a really complex journey for many parents to accept.

sometimes we identify clear need and parents “don’t want to label” their child, so delay things by years which massively negatively impacts their children’s access to funding they are entitled to and the help they need.

in contrast, we also have parents who insist their child has Sen needs who don’t unfortunately present at school at all because the child is masking, which is very tricky in terms of supporting everyone and getting correct diagnoses and funding

finally we also have parents who fight for a diagnosis because they can’t parent well for a variety of reasons and want a get out clause of “well my child is running around punching others because they have adhd you know, not because I have never enforced boundaries or attended to their needs, oh no, it’s adhd. Now can I have the form so I get more benefits?”.

12% of children in my county are on the ND pathway.

Totally agree with this. These issues have always existed but giving the learning difficulty a label doesn't solve the issues associated with it.
Whilst putting a name to the problems might be better these days, in my experience SEN students with a good work ethic engage with the prescribed adaptations and do well whereas SEN students who treat the diagnosis as an excuse to give up working in class perform badly.
That's the way it's always been. If a child doesn't try, they don't progress however many accomodations and adaptations a teacher makes.
Parents need to be realistic too. I have known parents complain that their child's diagnosis has only given them entitlement for 15 mins longer on a GCSE. They honestly expected the exam to be made easier in terms of rigour for their child because of their diagnosis.
Seriously- they expected easier questions and more lenient marking!

I mean if I worked in one of those grammars I wouldn't be posting on here about this. It'd be like another planet. There are autistic kids at those schools of course, but ones who could get top scores in 11+ at 10.

Threads like this obviously attract people with an interest, and SEN tolerant schools (not just those paying lip service) have much higher SEN.

The grammar schools near me have single digit EHCP and ditto pupil premium!