A Concern – from one teacher to another…

Through the week, I had the good fortune of meeting Leslie, Simon and young Peter (see my recent posting for parents). What concerned me was how powerless Leslie and Simon felt about their son, and what conflicting advice they had been getting from their son’s school. Fortunately someone they trusted had suggested they bite the bullet and see if young Peter had any issues, or whether  his issues were maturational. What good advice!  As it turned out, Peter’s issues were developmental, and in some areas of gross and fine motor skills he was significantly delayed – and a good Occupational Therapist can work with him and likely achieve good results within a relatively short time span.

However, it was of concern that a teacher at the school told them to wait for a year or two and see what happens. I am a teacher of long-standing, and I know that our experiences with so many children can lead us to conclude that most children will improve over time. My concern is that sometimes we are wrong. Since working so intensively with speech pathologists and occupational therapists, my advice has now changed significantly – for the sake of a screening / consultation wtih health professionals, it might be better to find out NOW if a child has developmental delays. As teachers, we might be education experts – but we are not the masters of every health care domain, and sometimes it is good to ask for expert assistance early. Peter’s issues can be resolved relatively easily now, as he is young enough to benefit greatly from an intensive programme helping his development. Had his parents waited till he was failing magnificently at age 8, a time when concrete learning moves into a more theoretical framework, a similar story might not be told.

Please consider what you say to parents. Please consider that there are other professionals who also have a vested interest in optimising each child’s development. Please consider that a problem today just might not go away in two years time – and in fact, might have grown to such significance that there is little hope of overcoming it.