[senco-forum] ADHD

"We also have to accept that not all children with challenging behaviours

Perhaps we need to beware of generalisations when posting our opinions.  I
would agree that not all schools and LAs are as good as others where SEN
issues are concerned, but I can only write from my own experience in this
particular part of S Wales.

In our school, all aspects of learning/behaviour are considered before
anyone suggests referral through the EP/ Medical officer to the Children's
Clinic.  As I am qualified to assess and teach people with dyslexia, we
are in the fortunate position of my being able to assess a child simply to
exclude dyslexia as a cause of the difficulties, so that we can speedily
look for other root causes.

Perhaps we are fortunate in this area, but I know of no primary school
where behavioural difficulties would be dismissed as just another
badly-behaved child.  All schools are aware of the difficult home
backgrounds of many children in the area and the different ways in which
children react to situations over which the school has no control.

When I wrote about the child accepting the need to change, I had in mind
several children we have had whose violent behaviour was the result of
home difficulties.  We worked with CAMHS and the Pupil Support Behaviour
Team to help those children understand and accept that certain events were
not their fault; it was fine to be angry, but it was not good for them, or
others, to vent that anger on others.  By working on anger management
techniques, the child in each case realised that the decision to change a
pattern of behaviour lay with them; it was their choice and no-one else
could do it for them.  Obviously, we helped along the way with praise for
all efforts, even the smallest, and a firm, consistent attitude to
unacceptable behaviour, while never letting the child forget that he/she
was loved and valued.

No-one ever considered medication for these children, as it was totally
unnecessary.  What was needed was a sense of their own worth and being
convinced that no-one deserves violence directed at them, which was
contrary to their experience at home.

We do our best for every child in our school and can say that no parent
ever has to push for difficulties to be recognised and addressed.  We are
the ones who sometimes have to push for a parent to recognise that
something needs to be done, as in my posting earlier this week concerning
a child whose parents will not tell him that he's dyslexic; or a father
who stated baldly that no son of his could possibly have anything wrong
with him - all that child needed was glasses to correct his
short-sightedness!

Regards

Jean

> "We also  have to accept that not all children with challenging behaviours
> have ADHD  and work with their psychologists, psychiatrists and other
> specialists to  find the way to help them to change, because change can
> only take place  when the child is motivated and accepts that they have
> certain  responsibilities.  Horses and water come to  mind..."
>
>
>
>
> To my mind that would depend on their having been fully assessed for other
> learning difficulties...that would be my first port of call before seeking
> an
> ADHD diagnoisis...all too easy to blame the child. I read someewhere that
> 80%
> of  inmates at penal institutions have reading difficulties at the very
> least,
> and  many were often not diagnosed with anything.
>
> Perhaps change in the child is not always what's needed, but in people's
> attitude to the child, leading to accurate diagnosis and the right sort of
> support, as even a seemingly minor learning difficulty can be the tip of
> the
> iceberg and have a major impact on a child, -educationally, socially and
> on  their
> self-esteem.
>
> It is hard enough for eloquent parents with high qualifications and
> intelligenced to get the right help for a child, imagine how hard it is
> for a  parent
> with less than adequate advocacy skills to take on the system, especially
> -as
> is often the case- these are inherited difficulties; also for the child
> with
> parents who do not even realise their child has any problems and would nto
> even  think to push for the diagnosis they need. Even the best parents
> will
> often  accept what the schools say about their child even if the child
> tells them
> different. And there are some parents who just don't care enough.
>
> Often schools see behavioural issues as just that, a child is branded a
> troublemaker even at infant level and that label follows them and no more
> is  ever
> done; the child becomes a defiant teen, acting up to the name they have
> been
> given as fighting it hadsn't helped.
>
> The rest is history and another life down the toilet....all for the sake
> of
> looking a little further.
>
>
>
> Best wishes,
> Aly
>
> Chair Auditory  Processing Disorder in the UK/APDUK
> www.lacewingmultimedia.com/APD.htm
> www.apduk.org
>
>
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