Just go the park and climb a tree

Professor claims that behavioural “syndromes” are

normal childhood restlessness of a generation stuck at home

Unruly behaviour by many children is being falsely attributed to medical complaints and syndromes when better parenting is needed, a leading academic has claimed.

Priscilla Alderson, Professor of Childhood Studies at London University, said that syndromes such as attention deficit disorder and mild autism were being exploited by psychologists keen to “make a quick buck”.

Her conclusion will provoke fury among psychologists and the parents of affected children, who have spent years fighting for recognition of a range of behavioural problems.

The number of children registered with special needs has almost doubled over the past decade to 1.4 million – an increase from 11.6 per cent to 19.2 per cent in primary schools and from 9.6 per cent to 16.5 per cent in secondary schools. The term encompasses learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, to various syndromes on the «autism spectrum».

Professor Alderson was backed by Eamonn O`Kane, leader of the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Woman Teachers, who said that members were cynical about an exposition in the number of special needs diagnoses and called for more support for teachers facing bad behaviour.

Professor Alderson said that it was often convenient for neglectful parents to claim that a child had a behavioural disorder. She believes that much of the increase can be put down to more flexible interpretations of normal childhood traits, such as restlessness and excitability. In our more gullible age, she says, this becomes attention deficit – which could be solved by engaging more with children and allowing them to let off steam in traditional fashion by playing in parks and climbing trees.

“I recently visited a special school which had 27 children diagnosed as autistic. Of those, only two that I met displayed the lack of eye contact and absence of empathy which denotes true autism”, she said. “Money is behind all this. Psychologists want the work, and lower the diagnosis threshold. Special needs is an administrative device describing children who have extra needs from those provided for in the average classroom”.

“Playgrounds and parks are empty, because of the scare stories about abductions. But children need the space and freedom to play, run and climb – without that, they are restless, and come to be seen as abnormally “hyperactive”.

“About eight children are murdered outside the home each year, compared with about 50 inside. Cooping up children inside homes is not going to do them any good”.

Professor Alderson, 57, who has three grandchildren, admitted that her eldest daughter had been “difficult”, something she attributes to her naivety at the time about how to be a good parent. “By the time my other children came along I had realized that if you treat children as they will behave accordingly”.

Teachers have complained about the growth in the syndromes, alleging that it gives pupils an excuse to avoid time discipline. They are also suspicious about the number of children who are able to use a diagnosis to claim more time in their examinations. For a fee of $ 50, an educational psychologist or specialist teacher can attest that a child should claim at least 25 per cent extra time because they have behavioural or learning disorders.

Almost 37,000 11-year-olds were given extra time in their national test in English in 2002 – up by 8,000, or more than 35 per cent, in two years. Similar increases were seen in maths and science tests.

Barry Bourne, an educational psychologist, who has worked with children for 35 years, rejected the claims that his profession was exploiting labels to make money. “In the past I think we had a very crude view of some of these disorders,” he said. “It’s a very complicated issue. I think we have a much better understanding of what aspects make up a personality than we did when I first joined the profession. Personally I am convinced that family history plays a far more significant part than we believed in the past and while surroundings and upbringing are also important alone they simply do not explain why certain people from the same family develop in very different ways”.

Mr O`Kane, general secretary of the second largest teaching union, said: “A lot of teachers are very cynical about the reasons behind the consequences for staff who have to deal with the bad behaviour”.

An internet chatroom used anonymously by teachers reveals the beliefs of many members of the profession. One posting complained about students who “are whipped off to a psychologist and labeled if they show the slightest sign of misbehaviour”.

It goes on: “This «diagnosis» then becomes an excuse for more misbehaviour and yet they can behave well if threatened with punishment”.

Someone calling herself Miss Nomer responds: “I get sick of being trashed by some little s*** who then tells me I can’t punish him because his pill hasn’t kicked in yet. When you give a kid a syndrome, you give him an excuse”.

She blamed “uppity parents looking for compensation, a stick to beat teacher and an excuse for their kid`s obnoxious behaviour and their inadequate parenting”.

Eileeen Hopkings, a director of the National Autistic Society, said: “This can only add to the stress and confusion that many families face. The importance of receiving a correct diagnosis cannot be emphasized enough. Access to the most appropriate education and support depends on it. Our experience is that diagnosis is still a battle for many families. Teachers believe the numbers of children with an autistic spectrum disorder is on the increase”.

Many young children feel unsafe in local parks as these are often dirty and dominated by gangs of older youths, a report says today. Lack of opportunities to play out safety was the top concern of 5- to 13-year-olds from deprived parts of England, according to research by the education watching Ofsted for the Government`s Children`s Fund.

Three disorders top the list

Attention deficit hyperactive disorder: The most commonly diagnosed behavioural disorder among children, making them inattentive, easy distractible and impulsive.

Tourette`s syndrome: Characterized by repeated and involuntary body movements (tics). Can include eye blinking, repeated throat clearing or sniffing, arm thrusting or jumping.

Autism: Features include impaired social interaction and communication and restricted repetitive patterns of behaviour. Symptoms may vary in intensity. Mild autism is often known as Asperger`s syndrome.

Jane Barron.

/ From The Times, Dec. 10, 2004 /

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