To be shocked that people can think like this (SEN) related

[pigletmania]

Sorry another DM article, but reading the ignorant readers comments filled me with shock. I thought we ad moved forward obviously some expletive are stuck in a time warp

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2286259/UK-FIVE-times-special-needs-pupils-EU-average-Schools-accused-classifying-poor-performers-having-learning-.html#comments

Meant some people.

I think you were right first time!

I felt really down and disheartened. My dd 5 has asd she goes to a fantastic school on special transport. There is Norway she would be making the wonderful progress she is making in a MS school. She used to go to a local ms primary but she could not cope with the environment du to her condition.

So we are bad parents who are chavs, milking t system, who should beat their child like it used to be back in te day. This comes a coupl of days after that asty comment from that councillor. Just feel really

Sorry I am on my I pad so typing is difficult

Right I'm sure I'm going to get some stick for this but, I do think special needs are overdiagnosed. I also think that this is not because of parents pushing for it to get any imaginary benefits (educational as well as financial). I can see why people may think it though, I am sure people think I am one of those those parents when they see me regularly asking for meetings re my DDs SEN but I am actually arguing to have her removed from their SEN register she is SA+ because of a speech delay that has with the help of SALT been overcome. Therefore to my mind she no longer needs to be labelled as having SEN but they don't agree presumably because it affects their budget.

Um...it's the Daily Mail Ignore, really.

I just dont know

we either have 5 times more becuase we classify and handle it better
OR
we have 5 times more because we might be too fast to classify?

It really depends also on what you define by EU, as how it gets handled it Italy will be a million miles from Denmark

OP reading readers comments on DM is like putting needles into your nails, DONT!!!!

I for one am glad we handle it as we do in the UK

we do however have significant social deprivation esque issues, and I cant help thinking their might be some correlation???

In my case I really wanted dd to stay in ms with her nt peers but her behaviour was not good, as she was finding it hard to cope with te environment and was becoming stressed. As a result her learning was affected and the gap widening between her and her nt peers. The headmistress (who has an Autistic dd) really pushed for her to go to the Autistic school, I was apprehensive but it has been for dd te best move ever. Not only has her behaviour settled down, sh is a lot calmer,she is catching up academically with her nt peers.

Her parents evening yesterday was wonderful, it's now a pleasure to do things with dd. she has started Rainbows, and will start dance classes with nt Children, this would not have been possible a year ago

It's unfortunate, pigletmainia, but I expect no better from the Daily Maul. I'm not even going to click the link and give them advertising revenue for their particular brand of snobbish, disablist tripe.

Cockyfox - I'm glad your child has made such great progress, but your daughter is not representative of all kids with SEN. I'm quite confident that my boys haven't been over-diagnosed and if you met them, you would notice the difference.

I am not clicking the link either....all I will read are pig ignorant comments and I have enough to deal with.

ouryve I am absolutely not saying our case is typical or even more than a minority of cases but that there are unnecessary diagnosises (guessed spelling) out there.
Although thinking about it DDs diagnosis wasn't unecessary as I can not deny she really did need a lot of help so maybe I mean that certainly in infant schools they need to be more fluid with the review and removal of children on the SEN registers with delays that can be overcome rather than issues that can't.
An obviously am only speaking from my own personal experience and trying to point out that parents don't want there children labelled unecessarily but only when the diagnosis truely benefits their child. Which in our case was access to SALT.

Cockyfoxschools may get extra funding for SEN children but there are stringent restrictions on how the funds are used. i am trying to get my daughter on SEN as she has absence epilepsy. she is only in reception and is very bright. but the epilepsy is exhausting and she cannot pay attention in class al day long. By having her registered i can ensure the school provide additional support for her so that she can acheive her full potential.

Goodluck double. Like your dd, my dd is bright but due to tir conditions learning is affected. It was so frustrating knowing deep down that dd had t in her but socialy and emotionally wasa few ears behind her peers and thi was struggling to come yout. Now she is in a specialist school we are starting to see the dd underneath

Yep, never, ever read the comments in the DM or Daily Express re SN/SEN.

It will make you despise your fellow human.

I think it's a bit of both, better diagnosis and over diagnosis. Having taught in the Middle east where there's a real stigma attached to having 'something wrong' with your child, I'm glad that here in the UK parents can reach out and get help for their SN child. But in some London schools in deprived areas I saw children where the problem was clearly their homelife and the teachers had to try to label the children with some form of SN because it was the only way to get help managing the child when the parents clearly couldn't be help. A better family environment would have removed the need for an SN diagnosis.

I agree with Cockyfox and all those who equate reading DM readers comments with driving hot pokers into your nails.

I strongly suspect that the commenter's get a huge amount of pleasure from winding everyone up

its actually really fucking hard to get a diagnosis actually nd even harder to get an educational statement. much too hard.
in some European countries the special needs provision and knowledge is severely lacking, which brings the average down. We are not supposed to be getting the average. were supposed to be getting it RIGHT.

I am studying a module about the autism spectrum for my degree. In South Korea a child will far more likely to be diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder (refrigerator mother anyone?) than autism for cultural reasons. I can't believe there is still a place in the world where this is the preferred diagnosis .

Double you may think there are stringent restrictions on the way SN money is used - indeed, there may be restrictions - but these are ignored and bypassed on a daily basis. Many - I hesitate to say most, but I believe it is most - use SN budget to employ TAs who help with the whole classroom, fill in for teachers, do admin, etc. Very few children with funded 1-1 support get the equivalent amount of time on a 1-1 basis.

When my DS moved into primary 2 in his last school they only had a TA to support the reading groups (so a whole class activity), despite my DS having 5 hours a week of funding. The HT told me his funding was going into primary 1 'where there were some real issues this year.' I don't doubt that there were real issues, but using DS funding to support those issues was fraudulent IMO.

Schools do have a vested interest in keeping children on SN lists. Which is actually hilarious when you see how hard they push to stop your child from getting onto 'the list' in the first place.

Branleuse you're right. It is really hard to get a bloody diagnosis! My dd1 was only diagnosed last year with ASD despite both me and DH and her teachers knowing she was probably somewhere on the spectrum for the past 5 years! She was only diagnosed with dyslexia 6 weeks ago despite having the academic level of a 6 year old at almost 10. Now I'm starting the statementing process, which is another long hard road. Then next year I've got the fight to try and get her into an ASD specialised secondary school.

I do wonder how special needs money is used, my DD was having a daily speech session with an LSP but she was another child's specific learning support so who was supporting him whilst his LSP was doing speech with DD. This is another reason I want her support stopped she is taking it from someone whose parents have fought hard to get them 1 to 1 support. From the little I have seen at our school it is very rare for there to be 1 to 1 support and those who are employed to do this seem to act as general TAs.

Answering your question in the strictest sense OP, yes I think YABU to be shocked. Negative attitudes to disability are a very real and present part of life, and disability hate crimes happen and we should all be aware of that.

YANBU unreasonable to be furious or disgusted people think and behave like this.

I believe attitudes have shifted somewhat but there is still one hell of a lot of ignorance and prejudice to be tackled.

It was just so sad reading it and how ignoran and uneducated some are