Through my profession as a GP, I frequently speak with parents whose children suffer from conditions that make learning difficult. Dyslexia, ADHD and autism have become commonplace and nearly everyone knows someone having one or more of these conditions.
I cannot help but sympathise with these parents who face the challenging task of helping their children succeed academically, despite their conditions.
Although parents complain of medical difficulties they encounter, such as the hefty price of Concerta, a medicine that is used for children with ADHD and which is not given under Schedule 5, the most common grievances are usually related to deficiencies in the education system.
In this respect, the services offered by the government vary from one condition to another. As a rule, students with ADHD are given the service of a psychologist and a learning support assistant, the latter depending on the gravity of the case. Children with dyslexia are not given LSAs.
However, there are a variety of services for educators and parents to help them cope with the children’s condition, such as courses and meetings.
Secondary school students suffering from the condition are also given courses on how to study better. In addition, the Floriana public library is equipped with a section containing books chosen specifically for children with dyslexia.
Students with autism are given the support of a resource worker at an early age, both in the home or at childcare centres. As these children grow up, they start receiving assistance from the autism spectrum disorder support team, which continues working with them into secondary education.
The time is ripe to reflect on whether the system in place is still adequate in such a fast-paced learning environment?
Autistic students also have the support of an LSA and are referred to the Inspire programme iSTEP.
The services are many and I am sure that a lot of dedicated teachers and LSAs are doing their utmost to give these children as good a chance as their peers at academic success.
However, the time is now ripe to stop and reflect on whether the system in place is still adequate in such a fast-paced learning environment.
Are we putting too much pressure on educators? Are we relying too much on parents? Are we really making sure that no-one lags behind?
In order to gauge how parents and educators feel about the current system, I spoke directly with educators and parents of children with dyslexia, ADHD and autism. I managed to get in touch with 84 individuals, 73 of whom being parents, the rest educators.
Although the general impression was that the services over the last four years have improved considerably, there were still many complaints about the system. The most common complaint was related to lack of LSAs and some also said that not all LSAs are sufficiently trained.
A large number of parents also lamented the lack of awareness by the school administration and teachers who sometimes punish children for symptoms associated with their condition or fail to adapt classroom activities to make it easier for children with autism, ADHD or dyslexia.
Others noted the lack of resources and children not being given the help needed during exams.
Possible solutions were mentioned.
With regard to the lack of LSAs, many have suggested offering such assistants better conditions and more rigorous training, with their performance being evaluated frequently.
To address the issue of lack of awareness by heads of school and teachers, mandatory courses on the conditions were suggested. Some also felt that parents of other children needed to be educated to avoid making intolerance or hurtful remarks.
Another proposal was that of investing in multi-sensory rooms in schools and the purchase of more adequate resources, such as textbooks. At present, the latter depends on the teacher, who has to prepare handouts that are better for children with different conditions while still being adequate for the other students.
Other suggestions included more sports activities and better usage of tablets since children with the conditions mentioned above learn better through visuals.
We have definitely come a long way since I was a young student, when children with these conditions were bullied by their peers and chided or ignored by their teachers.
However, I still feel that the system in place has ample room for improvement.
I am confident that, by listening to educators and parents, we will be able to do much more to help children with dyslexia, ADHD and autism to succeed like their peers.
Etienne Grech is a Labour MP.