Parents And Children Who Struggle At School Need To Be Supported, Not Shamed | Letters

As a azygous genitor of a kid pinch suspected autistic traits, I find Bridget Phillipson’s comments profoundly unfair (Bridget Phillipson: parents must do much astir bad behaviour and attendance successful schools, 31 August).

Each greeting tin return maine up to 2 hours conscionable to get my girl into school. Despite each my efforts, she is often absent owed to terrible anxiety. I americium connected my knees pinch exhaustion. The struggle makes it almost intolerable to scheme moving days aliases gain a unchangeable income, and I receive nary benefits.

For much than 2 years I person tried to entree kid and teen intelligence wellness services support. We person only precocious been accepted connected to nan neurodiversity pathway, yet look a further nine-month hold for assessment. In nan meantime, location is nary meaningful help. Our schoolhouse does what it can, but cuts to children’s services mean families for illustration excavation are near to header alone.

Parents are already doing everything possible. What we request is simply a authorities that acknowledges these realities and invests successful due typical acquisition needs and disabilities and intelligence wellness support, not 1 that simply tells america to “do more”.
Katherine Green
London

Jeremy Hunt’s dismissal of captious support for abnormal children arsenic a “cash transfer” stings for parents, for illustration me, who person abnormal children (Overdiagnosis of children overlooks that increasing up is ‘messy and uneven’, says Jeremy Hunt, 27 August). While different kids learn, play and person nosy astatine their schools and nurseries, my deafblind boy Harvey breaks down. We couldn’t get nan backing for a nursery spot that champion meets his needs, truthful now he doesn’t eat, and gets truthful distressed he pulls retired his cochlear implants.

Battling nan strategy to find an due nursery feels lonely and isolating, but successful galore ways it’s worse to cognize I americium acold from alone. Research from Sense, nan nationalist disablement charity, shows almost half of parents pinch abnormal children person struggled to find a schoolhouse that meets their child’s needs, meaning location are thousands of children crossed nan state missing retired connected nan support and acquisition they request to get nan champion commencement successful life.

This isn’t astir overdiagnosis aliases children not having capable “resilience” – it’s astir cuts to nationalist services that time off children for illustration my boy paying nan price. This will person lifelong consequences.

Behind each this talk are existent families for illustration mine, hopeless for much finance successful this failing system, truthful children for illustration Harvey can get nan support they need.
Kimberly Hind
Clitheroe, Lancashire

Statements astir overdiagnosis of intelligence wellness problems do not let for different thresholds of distress. Some group tin thrust retired symptoms, while others experience acute trouble and despair. The displacement successful consciousness and recognition of conditions, often perpetuated by societal media, has helped to make certain labels fashionable and, on pinch nan effect of immoderate campaigns, location will beryllium individuals who self-diagnose.

But location is ample grounds that location has been a worrying escalation successful nan number of young people, particularly girls, pinch worry and depression, and a emergence successful infirmary admissions for eating disorders, self-harm and attempted suicide.

It does not make economical fto unsocial humane consciousness to underestimate excessively readily those who whitethorn beryllium struggling successful soundlessness but request urgent help, arsenic two-thirds of later and lifelong intelligence unwellness starts successful adolescence.
Marjorie Wallace
Chief executive, Sane

Sally Weale’s article reflecting connected overdiagnosis of intelligence wellness conditions successful young group will touch galore earthy nerves, peculiarly successful parents pinch teenagers. The statement arsenic framed puts these parents betwixt a stone and a difficult place. While we want nan champion imaginable support for our children, we don’t want them to beryllium labelled without bully cause.

Framing nan statement astir test rates creates an illusionary binary exemplary of health: either you are well, aliases you are not; either you person an worry disorder, aliases you don’t. The reality, however, is very different. We each beryllium connected a continuum of cognitive and affectional wellbeing: we each person bully days and bad days. However, crises apart, location is greater worth successful improving nan wellbeing of everyone, particularly for those astatine astir risk.

Surprisingly, improving nan wellbeing of nan organization arsenic a full besides helps nan astir vulnerable. It reduces their vulnerability and successful truthful doing reduces nan number who request master support. This not only reduces wellness work load but increases accessibility for those astatine astir risk.

An unlooked-for use of nan intelligence wellness situation successful young group mightiness beryllium a nationalist speech connected nan benignant of nine we want, and really this tin beryllium achieved to nan use of everyone.
Prof John Gallacher
Oxford