How easy is it to slip through the cracks.

It took too many years to get any support and help for Hawklad. A lot of important time during his key development years were missed. He was labelled with the following tags and descriptions…

A loner

Below average attainment

Having issues

Poor concentration

Under performer

Some discipline issues

Can’t sit still

Clumsy

Accident prone

Messy eater

Untidy

Behind national targets

Easily distracted

Needs to work on the basics

Does he need better discipline at home

Then it all changed when a group of Doctors and education experts finally issued a medical letter confirming

Aspergers

ADHD

Dyslexia

Dyspraxia

To get there was a nightmare. Yes it felt like a never ending slog. An ordeal. Constantly fighting the system. You end up doubting yourself. Are we just being pushy parents. Should we just fall back into line.

In the end our son was one of the lucky ones. Too many great kids don’t get the chance to shine. Wrote off. Misunderstood. They never get the support they need because they fell through the cracks in the system. A system which still has such poor levels of awareness, too many stereotypes, too few resources in specialised services.

It shouldn’t be like this.

46 thoughts on “Cracks”

  1. The important thing is that you kept pushing, kept seeking, kept demanding answers until you got them. You did not allow him to fall through the cracks and that is what matters. You kept fighting for him and that gives him the chances he needs and deserves.

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  2. I probably would have been diagnosed idiot savant if anyone had thought to diagnose me in the 50s. But kids were just kids then, problematic malcontents. I bitched about all the inaccuracies we were being taught. How I knew they weren’t quite right, I cannot say. I hated school while I excelled at it, straight A++’s every report card. But the teacher’s comments: disruptive, cannot sit still, daydreaming, non-attentive! They had no idea! One part of me heard every word they said, while the rest of me was outside playing. I may as well have been in jail. The classroom walls were like barriers.

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  4. No it shouldn’t, I remember whenI I was in England and Isobelle go go and have different tests. She had no idea of what she was doing, and all they got was she is slower than others of her age. I would pay for extra help with maths. I can’t remember what the name of the place was, but she did it for a couple of years. Skill at 17, can’t add or subtract.
    She was 10 when they finally got the statement 😓

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  8. I hear you loud and clear. The only reason my son was assessed early for things was because he was born very early. And his development in a lot of areas was late. However, here in the US our school systems depend heavily on how much money a town/county/state has. If we lived in a big city my son would have had options for schools designed for kids with learning disabilities. If we lived in the state where I grew up, he would have been screened for dyslexia early on. Here, they look at reading level and if a kid is behind they take them in small groups for more time reading, but zero specialized instruction for those with dyslexia. I consider us lucky that our health insurance pays for assessments and some therapies (not the reading tutor). So many kids slip through the cracks here too. It’s too bad teachers in general aren’t better educated to look for possible signs of things that are diagnosable instead of poorly judging them.

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    1. The crazy thing is that the doctors have highlighted dyslexia but aren’t allowed to take it further. It has to come from the education service. But in my area the service has been cut so the kids get very little support. It’s up to schools with limited budgets to wing it.

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  9. The head teacher at a local school gave us the choice he was stuck with: A) Spend the money on helping kids who struggled. or B) Spend the money on getting them statemented. Obviously we chose A given the informed choice and the extra help made all the difference to our beloved child.

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  10. It shouldn’t be so difficult to get the support services. Ben missed out on a few years of support because he pediatrician told us we couldn’t get him assessed until he was 3 years old. Then school bounced him around for several years. The actually suspended him for 3 days because he kept running from the classroom 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ even with his diagnosis and history of running off.
    Our kiddos should have the opportunity to show their brilliance, just like EVERY child should. Unfortunately all government cares about is test scores. Can the child fill in the correct bubble with their #2 pencil?🙄🤦🏼‍♀️ So wrong! So many kids growing up thinking they’re not smart, or they’re bad cuz school doesn’t help them… or even SEE them.😡

    🤐🤐🤐🤐doing it again, sorry.😞

    Beautiful photo!!💌💌💌

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