How many kids actually have SEN?

[justasking14]

Morning all, not trying to be offensive with this just genuinely interested.
A big proportion of people on MN seem to have DC with autism or SN of some kind, its mentioned in their posts & replies. Have other people noticed this too & do you think its representative of general population or do mums of DC with SN use this forum more for whatever reason?

2007Millie - why are you focusing on the flawed assessments? You cant say 99% of the time its right in one breath but then focus 100% of your energy on 1% of people - and lets face it. You dont think the deaf, blind, downs syndrome, cerbal palsy, global development delay, problems after meningitis diagnosis etc are wrong. You literally think some asd and adhd ones are wrong. Its a vanishing small number of the 14% of children with SEN in the school system that you want to talk about.
Obviously there will be the odd misdiagnosis because no system is perfect. I dont think this is contributing to why there are a lot of parents whose children have SEN on mumsnet in the slightest.

I can't add a great deal to all the great posts from Brogly, SinkGirl and so many others, but I am incredibly irritated by the sugar/bad parenting brigade.

FWIW if you look at the prison population, 70% or more have either a learning difficulty or a mental health problem or both. That should give you the sense that autism, SEN and other issues are woefully unrecognised in society as a whole. Presentation can be subtle and we are still learning a great deal, very fast, about the ways in which things like autism and ADHD manifest. Anyone meeting my DD2 would see an intelligent, sociable young person who was perfectly capable of coping with life. She's like the swan - gliding along on the surface, paddling frantically underneath. She does well at school, has good solid friendships and is in a long term healthy relationship.

She also has autism, sensory issues and PTSD.

So all those people who see a child in a classroom and only see the surface - wind your necks in.

So a mum says my child as ADHD. Do we automatically say yes your right and label the child? No we don,t we look at is this the case, why is she saying it,s the case, what are signs and symtoms. Then you look at strattegies to help.

june do you seriously, but seriously think that any school just says 'Yes, you're right, we'll get them everything you want'? Does. Not. Happen.

Who's "we", june2007? Are you a professional qualified to make a diagnosis of ADHD?

June2007 - presumably your fictional 'Mum' who thinks their child may have ADHD is encouraged to approach their GP, as no member of staff working in a school will be qualified to make a judgement either way.

So a mum says my child as ADHD. Do we automatically say yes your right and label the child? No we don,t we look at is this the case, why is she saying it,s the case, what are signs and symtoms. Then you look at strattegies to help
Which is what the diagnosis process is and does.

And the diagnostic process will hopefully have some spelling and punctuation that makes the diagnosis readable too...

I'm struggling to understand june's point (not in terms of the SPaG but generally). Yes if the parents just say their child has a condition the school should be considering if they can see signs and implement strategies etc. Of course they should. But if the parent turns up with a diagnosis from a qualified consultant then it is not up to the school to offer an alternative diagnosis. If they know little Freddie has a can of Red Bull at lunch time and is bouncing off the walls by 2pm then it would be worth asking the parents to supply water. It isn't right to assume all Freddie's problems are down to their diet and treat the diagnosis as suspect.

No I am not a prof but that's the point isn,t it. You look at the whole picture you get those that need to be involved involved. You don,t just say out the blue my child has this or my child has that. (But people do.) Drspouse I have already said I ave all the dys., no need to point it out. And if you notice a child is bouncing of the walls having a drink of red bull, (Compared to when they don,t) perhaps you would advice child not to have it, the condition child may or may not have is irrelevant. What is relevant is the fact food can effect the childs behaviour.

I have to agree with other posters that I came to MN because I was looking for support because parenting my severely autistic son is really hard at times, and with no other support in RL its tough.

And the diagnostic process will hopefully have some spelling and punctuation that makes the diagnosis readable too

I'm pretty sure it's deliberate

Can I just say, in case there are any parents reading this and wondering about their child possibly having an SEN or SN, who might be put off asking for to some of the slightly odd opinions, if you have concerns then the best course of action if to speak to your GP and your child's teacher and/or Senco. Getting an assessment and diagnosis of a neurological condition/s can be a long, sometimes frustrating process but it is worth pursuing. A diagnosis is not a label, and it can open up the doors to better understand of your child and their needs, acceptance and tolerance of behaviours, and external help where available.

When my daughter was being assessed, the Ed psych said that around 10% of the population has dyslexia. MN was a fantastic place to come to for support. I had to start somewhere and didn't even know the occupation name of the person I had to find!

School were not great, funding is an issue and because she wasn't 'bad' enough. The SENco did signpost me though.
DD is a bright articulate child. But my 'not bad enough' daughter couldn't spell her own name at 8yo, and yet had read (and understood) the entire Harry Potter series.

So if approximately 10% - diagnosed, or in lots of cases, undiagnosed have dyslexia, and there's also ASD, ADHD and a raft of other SEN, the proportion is suddenly a lot more than you may realise.

Also in the past conditions just weren't diagnosed. They still existed. DB has recently had a diagnosis of ADHD in his 40s.

You don,t just say out the blue my child has this or my child has that. (But people do.)

How do you suppose ANY child gets a diagnosis of autism/ADHD, were it not for people (teachers, HCPs or yes... parents) raising the alarm that they think a child might have traits? Why are you acting like it’s all a big conspiracy and banging on about Red Bull FFS?

I don’t even know why I’m dignifying your posts with a response tbh, because god knows you sound like a troll (in the true definition of the term that is) who just wants to stir up shit and spout inaccuracies to wind people up.

Where’s 2007millie btw? Forgotten to log back into that account by any chance?

People always discuss about learning disabilities and forget physical. Even local authorities. Trying to get reasonable adaptions so your child can actually learn and participate in school life is like getting blood out of a stone. So yes more of us online sharing and reading up on other experiences and what we can do.

REdbull was in refernce to Pastmybestbefore
date.
And there is a difference to saying. I am concerned about my child, to and saying my child has.....
Totally agree about the physical side. Practice does not appear to have court up with theory. (Best disabled loo I came across was some years ago in Cambridge Mcdonalds it was down the stairs but there was no lift.)

I know of multiple children who were diagnosed with autism due to behavioural issues when they were fed nothing but sugar and junk food with no routine and were told 'we aren't really sure if they're autistic, but we will diagnose them in case you need help in the future'

I didn't say every single child.
And yes sometimes children are diagnosed too easily. They are diagnosed before their diet/routine etc is looked in to. This of course doesn't mean children are not sometimes SEN, but children are sometimes diagnosed without proper information. I witness it first hand in my job. Just because it's an opinion you don't like it does not mean it doesn't happen

*I spend 50% of my time in a SEN school, so I do have quite a broad understanding.

I know of many children who have been diagnosed in under 12 months with no real look into their home life.

Once again, I am of course saying that 99% of diagnose' are absolutely necessary, but surely people realise that there are some that aren't? The system is not perfect, and there are 2 sides to the story.*

Like I've said, a thousand times, for most children the process is absolutely necessary, however, on occasions, there are children that get diagnosed without needing it, without a proper look (why this is, I don't know, because I fully appreciate the maze you have to go through to even have a diagnose' considered 99% of the time)

@2007millie - like other previous posters on this thread, I'm also curious how you claim to know so much about the circumstances surrounding the diagnoses that you feel were diagnosed too easily, wothout their routine/diet looked into, without proper information and without a real look into their home lives.

How do you know this??

Have you read every single report from every single clinician whose assessments/observations led to a diagnosis?

I very much doubt it.

I think I can speak for pretty much every parent or carer of children with SEN or SN that they have multiple folders literally overflowing with paperwork relating to their child.

It really is insulting to imply that someone given a diagnosis was given it too easily.

My son's neurologist had physical evidence of a brain bleed obtained via an MRI and cranial ultrasound images and then diagnosed him with cerebral palsy. How I wish this was all a figment of an overactive imagination on my part. The saddest part is this was caused by medical neglect in the NICU