My daughter's teacher has suggested that we have her analyzed by the local school psychologist. In order to proceed, they need our permission and I was wondering why would any parent be against such an evaluation? Are there any repercussions that I might not be aware of? Has anyone had a bad experience with a school psychologist or their evaluation methods?
Before I blindly say yes, I just want to make sure there are no unexpected consequences of this decision.
In our case we went to see the psychologist together as a family to chat with her before our son ever saw her alone and I would imagine that to be the case everywhere.
How old is your daughter?
The following teachers then read the records, and then already typecast your daughter (ohhh.. she went for an assessment..) before the new teacher can make their own judgement (its only human).
It depends how severe you, or your teacher think the "problem" is.
Teachers and parents were strickter a few generations ago, and children behaved more in line in the classroom. I would assume less kids were also send for psychological assessment. It may now be the only tool a teacher has if the child doesn't act "in line".
You could ask your childrens doctor for a second opinion on you daughter, and also for a clarification of the results or consequences of an assessment.
Many teachers here are incompetent, (Ask any British teacher living here) and when the child is uncooperative or misbehaving they send him to the school psychologist.
My friend's grandson (Burgdorf, Canton Bern) was sent to the psychologist, and pronounced stupid, and put into special remedial teaching.
All the family members objected (All are either born here or lived here > 40 years), but the headmaster refused to re-consider.
The daughter then moved to another town in Canton Bern and had her son re-evaluated. He was classed as highly intelligent, and sent to a special school for 3 mornings each week in Bern for brilliant children.
The family went back to the headmaster and asked for his opinion. He said he sticks by the decisions made and the teacher is competent.
My daughter just turned 7 and I think I rather get her assessed in the US where cultural differences will not play a role.
You do have several other options, which is to go via your Swiss Paediatrician for a referral, find someone privately in Switzerland for yourself, use one of the many child/family psychology clinics available throughout the country. In fact, our Paediatrician was disappointed when she found out that the school psychology had been involved and she didn't know about it, and that we were self-referring and choosing ourselves...she partly had a different opinion on the course of action, and partly told us that she could have saved us hassle by using her own contact network to refer more efficiently...
The big advantage of using the school psychologist is that if they recommend/refer then it will be at no or low cost to you. The school psychology in our town has paid for thousands of francs of therapy and assessment for our children, which there is no way we could afford ourselves...the funding does 'run out' after about 2 years with the local town, then you have to go to the IV (disability insurance) if it's going to be a long-term problem that needs ongoing support, or sporadic support when needed which can be paid for by the health insurance, which only covers a proportion of therapy and only if prescribed by a Swiss psychiatrist.
Sure, if you feel more comfortable using a private psychologist or psychiatrist in your home country to do the initial testing, this can be reassuring (and take it out of the school system) but if you need ongoing help then it's going to be very expensive unless it's done via the school system or health insurance.
As for the fear of labelling, I have no idea, for my kids, they go the labels they needed, and the 'Nachteilausgleich' (special consideration) that my daughter got helped keep her in the highest academic level, where intellectually she belongs even though her exam performance is poor (the key issue for her is exam performance and social confidence / classroom confidence)...
The school psychologist actually doesn't do a lot - they are first point of referral and can meet with the parents and the teacher to discuss the challenges the child is having, and then make recommendations for further testing or referral. They can't even 'prescribe' therapy. If, for example, they think that psycho-motorik therapy could be helpful (PsM will look at fine motor/balance/gross-motor and movement, and can do movement therapy as well as art/dance/music type therapy, and possibly have a speech therapist within their team)... but in fact it was the PsM therapist who did the assessment and then made the recommendation for therapy which went back to the school psychologist for approval. Same with 1:1 therapy, they sourced the therapist who then did the assessment but it was up to that therapist to write summary reports every three months to the school psychology who then approved the payment for the therapy...
Hope that makes sense.
With hind-sight I'd much rather have my children labelled with labels like 'dyslexia, speech delay, gifted, anxiety,depression, autism spectrum, ADHD' than 'difficult, oppositional, violent, underperforming, bad parenting'....
And by law, the school can't refer without your permission. Same with the other medical stuff (the kids bring forms home for things like hearing tests).
The other reason why the teacher will ask first, is because you may have already done some testing or have things going on in the background... we are not obligated to tell the teacher or the school everything that is going on for us and our kids...in fact, we were advised not to give the full reports from the Swiss KJPD, as they are highly technical and also may not be relevant 6 months later, and instead to try to communicate the key challenges our kids have and what strategies have worked in the past, and what we want from the teacher in terms of our own expectations as parents.
The teacher can't work on everything (nor can the parent) with our kids teachers we focus on some things and agree to not worry about other things, and measure progress together over time.
Most of the teachers I have had contact with have been extremely competent and concerned about the welfare of the children in their care.
We have had very positive experiences with the school psychologist and the way things were handled here in Switzerland. Our son got ergotherapy to help with his concentration issues and bad handwriting and extra classes to challenge him in certain subjects as he was bored in these classes due to being under stimulated. All were free and the school psychologist and ergotherapist liaised with our paediatrician tool
If the teachers and system as a whole in the UK had been even half as efficient when one of the older boys was having difficulties in school his severe dyslexia may have been picked up on before he was 15.
Another generalisation based on a single example.
Excellent post, couldn't agree more.
If we have worries about a student and would like a professional advice, we can contact the school psychologist or logopedist, but we're not allowed to name the kid without the parents previous agreement.
The parents must ask for a psy appointment, we can't do it for them, even with their agreement.
Moreover, psychologists in Switzerland, even school ones, must respect the medical code. They are not allowed to share all their findings with us teachers. With the parents approval, and only if they give it, psychologists can send a written or oral report to the teachers, which synthesizes the main points. Parents are allowed to ask that some elements are kept confidential. They are also allowed to refuse that the report is added to the school files.
I can assure you that all the school or private psychologists I've worked with respect confidentiality and will never take sides or speak about a patient without their consent.
They're not confidential? Outrageous. Excellent advice here.
Just read Melusine's post - much reassured! Thank you.
If you are staying in Switzerland, then it is important that you get the Swiss psychologists diagnosis because it unlocks all the support services that your kid may need to help them grow to their full potential.
My son has Aspergers Syndrome and I can only give you our experience of the Swiss system, if it is typical or not I can't say. My son is now in his final year at grammar school, heading for university and through out his school live he has had great support from the school, his class teachers, bar one and most importantly his classmates. The nature of the support included:
- Motor skills training
- Various social skills training sessions
- One on one sessions with the psychologist
- medication for a short while
- A second teacher in the classroom when he was younger
- All of his school work and exams being supplied electronically because his hand writing is nonexistent.
- Sessions for parents and classmates to help them understand his condition and what it meant to have him in their class.
The Swiss class spirt of team work, supporting each other etc... played a very important in his ability to come through the system. It meant that kids watched out for him on trips so that he did not wander off, made sure he took his meds when on overnight trips, helped him with his shoe laces and a 1000 other little things that made his life easier.
Now I have no doubt that had we been in Ireland he would have received the same type of support from the state, but what he would not have had was the Swiss class spirit because in Ireland like else where the individual not the team is the philosophy
It depends how these labels are used. Kids need IEPs (individualised education plans) after assessment because even if a determination is made, it doesn't follow that every child with ADHD, for example, needs the same support - they will all need different approaches. Labels can do more harm than good in some cases, I believe.
I don't know. I've encountered parents who were desperate for their child to be given a diagnosis simply because they couldn't cope with/manage their poor behaviour and then it does become bad parenting. Teacher's can't pick up all the behavioural slack - it has to be a partnership. There are always underlying reasons for "difficult, oppositional and underperforming" and sometimes we parents have to step up even further. I've even known a parent go to their doctor to try and get a "Prescription" to help with the issue of their child never doing homework. An extreme, ridiculous, entirely true example. Needless to say, the parent was unsuccessful.
I've taught kids "diagnosed" with ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder) which means that, fundamentally, the child cannot cope with being told no, cannot manage being "nay said" at all. The reason? Usually they were indulged entirely at home and couldn't adjust to a school environment where they weren't continually pandered to. ODD tended to be a last hurrah "label" when nothing else would stick. I am fully aware that it's a real thing, and a true sufferer must be dreadfully difficult and exhausting to deal with. However, some, to paraphrase Brian's mum, are merely very naughty boys (and girls).
If I'm ever hauled in to see Little Rufus' teachers, I'll not immediately be reaching for a label. If she's being a little bugger, then I'll want to know. Then we'll manage it with the appropriate support if need be and hopefully route out the root cause. I've seen too many kids stigmatised with "labels" that they either never needed in the first place, or outgrew as they matured.