24/01/2018
Children with ADHD or Special Needs in the Classroom â Paula Scollan
Can a school suspend or expel a student who suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and is extremely badly behaved, deliberately hitting other children or fighting with them? Please advise.
Iâll start by saying that not all children with ADHD have behavioural problems but regrettably some may have. Primary school teachers are trained in this area (that is, how to deal with or teach a child that has ADHD within the classroom) but teacherâs cannot diagnose ADHD.
In the High Court case of Richard Clare v Minister for Education and Science, the South Eastern Health Board, Ireland and the Attorney General 2004 IEHC, 350 Mr Clare claimed that the defendants failed to provide appropriate education for his needs as a person suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
In a questionnaire to the Health Board in 1993 the plaintiffâs mother said her son was not suffering from any behavioural problems. The primary school principal and teacherâs failed to notice that there was anything wrong with Mr Clare despite the fact that his mother was called to the school every year to discuss his behaviour. In sixth class the class teacher told Mrs Clare that her sonâs behaviour was inappropriate and unacceptable but brushed it off as low key misbehaviour and the principal said there was nothing to lead him to believe Mr Clare needed psychological assessment.
Mr Clare then went on to secondary school where he was disruptive in class, disrespectful to a teacher, deliberately hit another child with a school bag, bad language, homework missing and he was suspended. While the mother later admitted that she suspected her son might have ADHD there was no evidence that she contacted the school about this. It was not until 1999 that Mr Clare was diagnosed with ADHD, the school then being told.
In 2000, the plaintiffâs year master wrote to Mr Clareâs parents stating that Mr Clare was involved in a fight and that they were extremely lucky the other boyâs parents didnât take legal action. He was then âsuspended from school indefinitelyâ. He was later allowed to return to the school on agreement that he behaved and that he would be expelled if he did not behave. He was eventually expelled.
The Judge held that the school âdid not discriminate unfairly, unreasonably or at allâ in the context of section 7(10)(d) of the Equal Status Act 2000 in expelling him. The school was âentitled to balance the rights of Mr Clare with the other students in his classâ, which was not discrimination under section 7(4)(b).
The Judge went on to say that the school principal and class teachers should not be faulted âfor failing to ascertainâ that Mr Clare had ADHD. Mrs Clare should have made the authorities aware that her son had a defined problem.
Some parents may not want to know about their childâs problem and treatment cannot be sought without parental consent. Some parents will deliberately try to hide the fact that their child has a problem so that their child can attend secondary school with a clean slate.
In my opinion the whole area of diagnosis of ADHD is a huge problem in primary schools. We have the parents in denial that there is something wrong with their child and they wonât have their child assessed by a consultant and then we have some teachers brushing a child behavioural problems off as âboisterous child behaviourâ. Some teachers may have a lack of interest in getting involved or fear falling out with the childâs parents. Young and inexperienced teachers may simply not know any better. There is no single test for ADHD, which can make it more difficult to diagnose.
Symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder include, inter alia, impulsiveness, poor attention span, and hyperactivity. A child psychologist will base their diagnosis on a number of things including observations by parents and teachers and direct observations of the child involved.
NEPS, the national educational psychological service is a free service available to primary schools. A psychologist will come to the school, assess the child, determine what they need and consult with the parents and teachers involved. If a diagnosis has been missed in primary school, there is a major chance that it will not be picked up in secondary school. You may wish to refer to the Department of Education website www.education.ie and click on NEPS link at the top of the page for more information.
The above article is for informative purposes only and cannot be relied upon as legal advice. Please contact your solicitors accordingly with each individual query. Scollan Gleeson Solicitors T/A Beau Park Law, Church Street, Drumshanbo, County Leitrim 071 96 40858
