Here, Professor Louise Holt, a Professor of Human Geography at Loughborough University, comments on how the government need to look at the connections between health and education, and how providing more much needed resources in schools, would not only reducing waiting lists, but quickly and effectively support the children that need it the most.
“Wes Streeting is right to review waiting times for Autism and ADHD assessments. Our research with families shows some wait years, with big regional differences.
“While checking for possible over-diagnosis matters, we also need to review how health and education are connected and work together – or fail to.
“Our work suggests over-diagnosis is unlikely to explain the rise in assessment requests for children. Greater awareness plays a role, but a key element is how education, health and social care intersect.
“Many parents pursue a diagnosis for their child to secure effective support in education. If early, school-based support was consistently effective, parents might be less determined to seek a diagnosis.
“Our recent research with families shows how schools are not adhering to the requirements enshrined in the Children and Families Act (2014), to provide reasonable adjustments and auxiliary support for children. Although there are examples of excellent practice, all the families had experiences of schools and local authorities denying that their child had Special Educational Needs (SEND), not listening to parents, and failing to provide support or reasonable adjustments, even when the SEND had been identified, and if the child had the statutory protection of an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP). Many parents mistakenly believe a diagnosis or EHCP is required to access help, when schools in fact have responsibilities as soon as needs are known. Yet even an EHCP does not guarantee support in today’s resource-strained system.
“Funding is inadequate and uneven, but training in common neurodiversities for school and local authority staff, a needs-based rather than diagnosis-based approach, and proper adherence to statutory duties, would significantly reduce pressure on diagnostic services.
“Importantly, most of our parents reported that relatively minor levels of support and adjustments, that would be cost-free to implement, would have made a major difference, if only schools had listened.
“Early intervention is key to helping children thrive in education, yet too often, parents report that even when a child’s SEND is identified early, intervention is limited by poorly funded therapy services with understaffed services.
“More broadly, the government should rethink the outdated and ableist education system. The current curriculum review misses this opportunity. Our system treats averages as norms and uses statutory assessments to judge schools, ignoring the diversity of children’s development. Early testing, such as phonics screening at age 5 or 6, astonishes our international peers. A more flexible, creative system that accommodates diverse learners would ultimately reduce the demand for neurodiversity assessments.”
ENDS
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