WWYD if you think a student might have a real issue?

Let me preface by saying that I have taught preschool for a few years. I do not have a degree but have gone to all the education core classes in college. So I guess you can call me experienced (by the experience I have gained on the job), knowledgeable, and in love with kids!! Smile

My first year in teaching, I had an adorable little girl as a student. She was really smart, mature, and precocious. She was also very impulsive. She got annoyed and frustrated very easily and would hit, bite, push, almost without thinking. Sometimes she really hurt the other girls without realizing her own strength. She always felt really bad afterwards - even without being reprimanded by the teacher. It was as if she felt awful seeing that she caused someone else pain. She was also very touchy/feely, always wanting hugs, etc.

My co-teacher spoke to the parents who had her evaluated and it turned out that she had severe Sensory Integration.

This year, I opened up a playgroup in my home and I havea student who reminds me SO much of the student I taught my first year. She isn't as touchy/feely and she seems to understand personal space, but she is having a really hard time with not hitting, biting, grabbing, pushing,etc. I've been working with her to teach her how to use her words, giving her the right tools to express herself instead of resorting to physical aggression. It hasn't really been working, though, b/c she is so impulsive. I'm starting to wonder if there is something more than meets the eye. I spoke to a friend who has a son with Sensory and she said it definitely could be that this little girl is having sensory issues. Obviously, there is so much that I don't know - such as what goes on at home. I know that she has loving parents who give her a lot of love and attention, but then again, we never know what really happens behind closed doors.

So my question is like this: I really want this little girl to be happy and I want to do my responsibility as her teacher to help her out. I would like to suggest to her parents that there may be a bigger issue than we think adn maybe they should have her evaluated. However, I am nervous to come across as some inexperienced Joe Shmo and that my advice won't be given real consideration. I mean, her parents can totally think "She doesn;t even havea degree and school barely started! how much can she REALLY understand about our child?"

What would you, as a parent or teacher, suggest?

Beginner Joined: Feb 22 2009 Posts: 21

I just had the same situation however the issues were different. This is my first year doing preschool and I have a boy who is hardly talking when all the other children are talking in almost full sentences. Because of his communication issues he hardly interacts with the other kids. He almost never initiates any interaction with the others. He also holds back from participating in activities and, at least for the first few weeks, was screeching every time anything happened because he couldn't tell me what was going on.
I put a LOT of thought and research into it. I had a friend who is a speech therapist, although she has never practiced, come and she saw right away that there was a definite problem. I then spoke to someone about how to talk to the parents.
I then called the parents and stressed only the positive but told them I thought it was something that should be checked out.

as a parent answering this.
maybe wait a week or two and then tell them. you want them to see that you observed the child for a while to giver her a chance and then say that I think maybe you should get it checked out, if you are in a place where early intervention is a normal thing to go through say that it can't hurt to get it checked out.

my child was in a class of 20 plus boys and it was his first time in preschool. I was told the second day that he should get checked out. it hurt.

also it isn't good to wait to long to tell the parents either if the child had an issue you might as well work on it sooner rather than later. don't wait for a few months or even a year and then at the last day btw your son has an issue.

Platinum Member Joined: Feb 20 2009 Posts: 7617

Definitely make the parents feel that you are not jumping to conclusions, diagnosing their child, or giving up on her. After a few weeks of school, it is appropriate to say, " I'm concerned about saras aggressive behavior in school. She is such a sweet, bright girl, but she seems to have a hard time controlling herself when it comes to interacting appropriately with other kids. I don't want this to affect her socially, but I do notice the other kids are starting to avoid her. Have you encountered this before? Whathas been effective so far in addressing this?" If they have suggestions, go that route first. Don't bring up an evaluation the first time you discuss her behavior, wait and see if you can manage her behavior on your own.

Most important, please don't say anything about sensory integration or what you think the problem might be. As you said, you are really not trained to differentiate among different childhood disorders, and you dont want to be responsible for guiding them in the wrong direction. This can be any one of a million things, and if needed, the right professionals will decide.

Posted: Sun, Oct 02 2011, 10:42 am Post subject:

If you have any friends with some expertise, maybe one could happen to drop by and observe? Then, you could say to the parents, "My friend X, who has a degree/experience in the field, happened to stop over, and commented to me that your DC might benefit from some testing to rule out sensory issues."

Diamond Member Joined: Sep 18 2004 Posts: 2600

Platinum Member Joined: Feb 20 2009 Posts: 7617

Silver Member Joined: Jul 26 2011 Posts: 803

mention now that she seems to be having trouble keeping hands to herself then wait till after succos and suggest that she get evaluated for sensory integration disorder. the 'disorder' part shouldnt be left out thats the part of the title that suggests a problem. being a teacher, you are in the very position to bring the problem to the moms attention. have list of numbers ready to give the mother and follow up in two weeks. ' hi mrs so and so, did you get a chance to make an appointment for your daughter evaluated?" good luck!!

Thank you to everyone who gave advice. I definitely do not want to seem like I am "diagnosing" her - b/c after all, I am not. I thought about maybe taking the approach of this: Say a bunch of positive things and then something like "I've been observing your daughter and trying to work on the biting issue with her like we discussed earlier. However, it seems like it is not working and it makes me wonder if there is something more to it than just the actual biting. I am not a professional and I do not know too much about these things, but I did want to bring it to your attention sooner than later in case something can be done to help. I did have a student a few years back who displayed similar issues and when her parents had her evaluated, it turned out she had sensory integration. B"H, she was able to really thrive once she received the help she needed."

How does something like that sound?

Platinum Member Joined: Feb 20 2009 Posts: 7617

Fine, but leave out the part about sensory integration. It is misleading, even with your disclaimer, to put ideas in their head when this can very likely have nothing to do with sensory integration. Just say that many behaviors are more easily managed once a child is evaluated and you all have an idea what the root of the problem is.

Also, sensory integration is not a disorder, and the term is not used in that context. If you want to say that someone has a problem with sensory integration, you say he has sensory integration disorder. Sensory integration is what we all do all day long.

Diamond Member Joined: Jan 19 2006 Posts: 4427