My seven-year-old son’s teachers asked us to have him evaluated by a psychologist because they think he’s too rowdy. We think that they are unable to handle a more lively child than the average, but absolutely normal. What should we do? – Concept
When we moved to Switzerland, my daughter became friends with one of her new kindergarten friends: Thierry. “Good luck, Claudio, that child is a pest!”, A mother told me jokingly. Then I also met Thierry’s mother, who immediately let off steam: “The teachers think I’m hyperactive and need support, but I don’t agree. He just has a more physical way of playing than the others. Today children different from the standard are immediately identified as abnormal ”.
For a champion of diversity like me, there was no need to say more. Defying prejudices about poor Thierry, the next day I invited him to play with us. And it was also the last: I spent the afternoon chasing him, retrieving him from above the furniture, detaching him from the shower curtain and, in general, trying to save his life. A few weeks later his mother moved him to a private school, “where they are less lazy with lively children,” but it took only a month for the new school to require a support teacher. I’ll tell you this story as an example of how difficult it is sometimes for a parent to recognize that their child needs help. If the teachers raise a doubt, it is worth giving it credit. And if it’s just a false alarm, that’s better.
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