Head Teacher wondering if 7 year old might have Aspergers. I am a bit suspicious of seeing the autistic spectrum everywhere.

[Longstocking2]

Now I'm NOT a professional and I have Aspergers in my family so I know exactly how challenging autism can be for everyone around it.

But I have a good friend who has a boy in school who is a bit of a fidget and a bit naughty and now the school are saying he may have Aspergers.

Of course he may; but I wonder whether a percentage of these boys may just be absolutely dead bored with the primary setting as driven through by successive governments? Classrooms are almost like edulabs where we fine tune kids to perform for Oftsed and there is little excitement and not enough (in my opinion) celebration of difference in development type and speed which doesn't suit all this constant assessment. I don't blame the schools for this and certainly not the teachers. They all seem to be under this terrible Ofsted cosh which has created these weird exam prep factories (2ndary schools) and Lets Make Kids All The Same so we can analyse them on spreadsheets to make us look good (primary schools). In this sort of lab, difference is bad and the drive is towards a kind of homogeneity.

Call me a cynic, but I really wonder whether some of these 'diagnoses' aren't just a way of saying its the child who has the issue not the stultifying environment. Great if you're a good little girl who is in heaven sitting still and listening/writing etc but for an active boy a day at school must be like a prison sentence I sometimes feel.

no offence to anyone intended and for those with Aspergers, I mean no disrespect. I just wonder whether there is any over-diagnosis these days because our education seems to be being dictated by politicians who don't really know anything about the actual process of education on the ground and that they've made the environment deadening for our liveliest boys who could be in a much better place to stimulate them in a way that is appropriate for where they are now, not where we want them to be for our end of year spread sheet for the ofsted judges wielding doom or blessing.

I take all these points.

Chippednailvarnish, edulabs is how I have felt in some schools where an educational agenda is so rigid that it doesn't seem to fit the kids themselves. My agenda is trying to understand why we don't question how our schools are so we can understand how they suit some kids and not others. I care very much about the individual child.

How a child copes with school is actually a tiny part of the over all diagnoses for Asperger.

Some children with Aspergers absolutely thrive in a school environment, DS1 didn't.

Autism isn't 'one size fits all either'.

There is never going to be a consensus on education, every adult is different. The purpose of the education, the location and the size and the geographic location of those being taught have just as much influence as the curriculum, imo. The success of a child going through the school is influenced by their parents educational level and social economic status. No state school system can remove all these inequalities. Lively girls and boys and quiet studious girls and boys all deserve to be catered for. Children with sn may also be high achievers, then they fall apart in the "real world".

The difficulty is not just with education as our society is unjust so will be access to knowledge, economic power and influence. Call me cynical but I don't think the way the government treats disability indicates any positive bias towards any vulnerability in the population, or a desire to over diagnose.

I take your points but school staff see lots of children and may well have identified traits that may be typical behaviours.

It is not a criticism by them, simply an observation.

schools can flag but in my own experience it's an involved process for a diagnosis

Whilst schools are able to flag up concerns, a diagnosis takes on average around 18 months and involves a team of professionals, not just a headteacher who may use it for convenience or added monies.

YANBU. I don't necessarily think that children are being over diagnosed by medical professionals but I do agree with others that many teachers/heads are jumping to the ASD conclusion for children who are behaving 'differently' without considering other possibilities such as the suitability of the school environment for the child.

Ds moved from mainstream to specialist school because the environment of a mainstream school wasn't right for him (too much unpredictability and too much stimulation). His challenging behaviour has decreased because his new environment suits him better but he still has severe autism.

I think you are talking out of your bottom!!
It takes a long time to get a dx and just because the HT has indicated a concern it doesn't mean that the child will be dx with an ASD.
There are hundreds of children and parents desperate for their dx so they can get the child the help they need via an ECHP ....
My DS8 is on the spectrum ... It is clear to see... After a discussion with the head and his teachers, they have decided that although he shows some traits, he copes well within school and a dx will not benefit him.
We also have DS6 with severe autism in SEN school.

Accept that your friends DS may have an issue and get him the support the school feels he needs within the education environment!

I wouldn't rely on schools to spot any SN!

And teachers are not ime that good at spotting SN. Actually, some primary are well known to tell parents to 'wait' as 'its just an issue with maturity' until the child is in secondary school where they are then referred and diagnosed with dyslexia for example. Or AS. Or whatever else it might be that would have meant them putting things in place to suport the child.

Sorry, Poltergoose, I realise that some children and parents are struggling to get a diagnosis. It's really inconsistent.

Yabu about diagnosis. DS was assessed for ASD. Took a year to refer. Assessment took whole day. Four professionals carried out a whole array for very precisely scored tasks and assements - from conversation, observation, to lots of tasks and games. We gave a detailed history.

DS doesn't have ASD. I cannot see anyone who doesn't have it being mistakenly diagnosed. He has got ADHD and no they don't hand out meds like sweeties either. It's the media that thinks they do.

Unfortunately if you aren't on meds with ADHD you don't need monitoring: ergo you don't get help unless you shout.

Yanbu that schools are inflexible factories at times. Not all, but some.

YABU OP. My DS was 7 when the school called me in for a meeting to discuss an Ed Psych referral. I admit that I was resistant sceptical, but agreed after seeing his work.

He was diagnosed with an ASD and recommendations were made and followed through. The difference has been amazing. He is happier. He is learning better. And far from curbing his creativity, he is able to express it through his work.

I am grateful that his school were so on the ball.

I think you would have noticed if your friends son was autistic.

Doubt it. It's still news to people who have known DS for 18 years.

I teach in secondary school and we have increasing numbers of students diagnosed with ASD. I can't think of any where I would say 'actually, the diagnosis is wrong, that kid is fine'. So clearly they don't go handing out diagnoses to anyone. Also there are children who are diagnosed with ASD at secondary, but who have flown under the radar up till then but the stress of managing without support has caused a mental breakdown. We're not talking about kids being diagnosed because they're 'a bit fidgety'. Early diagnosis is undoubtedly beneficial, and perhaps crucial.

It's really tricky to get a diagnosis and one of the key things is that the difficulties need to be observable across different settings eg school and home..

Well, after the boy has been assessed and the multi-disciplinary assessment team of paediatritian, clinical psychologist language therapist, occupational therapist and whoever else say “no it isn’t Asperger’s he’s just bored and fidgety at school” then you’ll know, wont you? Until then it’s just your idle speculation.

There are huge variations between different people and the way that Asperger’s has presented in your family may be very different from whatever signs your friend’s son is showing in school.

Schools rarely suggest pursuing an austism-sprectrum diagnosis unless they can see real problems that either need support right now or else that will need serious support further down the line. Assessment uses up precious resources including teachers’ time to evaluate and report on the child. It’s not something schools do for trivial bureaucratic reasons. Perhaps you might consider the possibility that the school actually have the boy’s interest at heart?