Children labelled hyperactive really 'just naughty' ?

[Heated]

news story

Well it was 7 years ago when a teacher told me, during a routine parents evening, that my DD had a condition that she had studied, on a recent course, she had attended. Then went on to explain how she had identified my DD.

After returning home in tears I discussed this with family who advised me to ignore it. All was well in the end. Perhaps it has changed since then.

maybe it's a way for them to explain the SATs results. i don't know but i am sick of my son being labelled for nothing

'"Teacher's do diagnose. IME. "

No they don't. They might natter in the staff room or decide in their head that child X has condition Y but that's not diagnosis. A paediatrician (preferably) diagnoses, a clinical psych can diagnose, but a teacher can't.'

Absolutely. It's completely outside our remit. We do our best with the students we're given to teach, with reference to any statement of SN they have.

Sometimes we're sceptical about the accuracy of a diagnosis, & sometimes we feel we can't give the support a child needs. Sometimes we might refer a child with no dx of SN, because we think there's a problem that wants looking into.

Some of these conditions are very complex that the teachers shouldnt be diagnosing them. Take aspergers, if you think about it, we all have a trait or two. I don't like to talk to people sometimes. I dont have aspergers though. There is far more assessments now though, 10 years ago 1/2 traits would be ignored. Now children are being diagnosed as ADHD or Aspergers. Its the medication they are given to manage 'their condition' that concerns me.

Raven and Jimjam read my post re what was said to me by a teacher.

but my son has been seem by OT and speech therapists he is 6 fgs, they have all reassured me that they wouldn't diagnose him with anything - yet the school just wants to push and push for something, more funding?

i have no faith in the educational system as it is.

my other son (14) wasn't alot differnet to my six year old yet he scored 6a at his last sats.

it's wrong.

It's the schools and their need for stepford zombie kids. They are easy to teach. (sorry teachers, not all are like this)

Fair comment abouteve.

I'd say, on the face of your post, that she was absolutely out of order.

If she suspected a particular condition, she should've referred it to the SN co-ordinator.

I'd never think it was appropriate for me to say, at a Parents' Evening, 'ooh Mrs X, I've decided your dd has Y syndrome'.

Not my job to do so.

it is avenap, and one day i will bloody sue them for the stress they have put my under for the last 3 years

That's not a diagnosis. It would not be counted by anyone as a diagnosis. That was her opinion.

I see plenty of kids that send off alarm bells (and no I don't say anything) but that's my opinion, not a diagnosis, sometimes they do emerge years later with a diagnosis, but that's an entirely different thing from my (or anyone else's) non-assessment opinion.

That's why the article was so daft. Teachers refer kds they're concerned about (as they should). Professionals find that some of them don't meet the criteria for a dx.

I did sit in a meeting with a pead who was concerned about the number of children she was seeing who she couldn't diagnose. In her view these were children who needed help, who had 'something' but didn't tick all the boxes for a dx and therefore would be left without help.

Diagnostis criteria do change, but the criteria are pretty strict and in the UK over dx is not a problem- delays in getting one are.

maybe they just need smaller class sizes and a chance to get out and let some of their energy out

avenanap, I can assure you I don't want Stepford zombie students!

They are the hardest to teach - give me the arsey but articulate, over the apathetic 'We don't know & we don't care - can you just write our coursework on the board & we'll copy it down?' variety, any day!

Sorry my last post was to abouteve,

A teacher can say what they like, - it's not professional to do so, but they can. However, it's not the same as a diagnosis.

The interesting question in the article is why so many children are struggling to behave appropriately in school when the don't have a developmental condition.

and i work with children so see alot of different behaviours

Agree SE- the article should have highlighted the problems with schools not tried to do a 'oo ADHD doesn't exist because chidren (who haven't been diagnosed with it) don't have it'.

they don't behave because of the national curriculum.

as far as i can tell it works for girls, not boys

the system has ruined my son's childhood, it started from 3 and a half with him. i'm just glad i posted it all on here.

raven: Come and work in Derby. We need more teachers like you!

i don't think it's down to energy, children all learn differently. Some learn in a more visual way, others are auditory. If the classes are not piched to their learning need they can get lost in the lesson and loose interest. I'm not surprised they mess around.

ds is lively (not in the running around, interupting sense), bright and has opinions. He's miserable in an environment where he's not heard or his thoughts are not challenged or respected. Arn't all children like this? At the moment they are overtested and there are alot of teachers that are not prepared to listen to them. I'm moving my ds for this reason. He's told to shut up by his head who doesn't listen to him. How can they respect the teachers that have no respect for them?

Thank Raven, It was her opinion and I'm glad I ignored it. I agree that she was a spirited and challenging child but I rode through the storms without the ED etc. There was no need, but that was in our case. I do understand that this is not always the case.

I think that sometimes kids are different and shouldn't be labelled because of it.

Jimjams, I think it's because sitting in a classroom all day doing stuff you're crap at is bloody soul destroying.

We need more practical & vocational lessons, more PE, & less emphasis on targets, SATs & similar nonsense. Equally, we need to challenge the most able a damn sight more.

One size fits nobody.

sats are the root of the problem imo

sats, lack of strong parenting (for a few), teaching not pitched to them, teachers not listening......

i just feel the system has taken all my enjoyement out of my son's childhood.

he's very artistic which counts for nothing in today's age.

it has just made me very negative towards him, whilst the 'normal' kids get off scott free.

the system is badly flawed.

and i will bloody sue them

It's sad. ds has never been choosen for the chess team, despite being a very good player and beating all of the current team. They choose kids that have never played and needed coaching! He's never been picked for any sports teams either (the head promised every child would have a turn). It makes me very angry. There's no fun for him either.

Is your ds still at the school?