I often deal with this topic with parents, but also with
teachers and with the various professionals that revolve around the health of
children. In fact, we often hear that there are too many diagnoses on children.
In fact, in recent years we are witnessing a boom in diagnosis. There are many
evaluations that they recognize in small specific learning disabilities (DSA),
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorders, and so on.
But what are the reasons for this increase in diagnosis? What can we attribute
to the increase in assessments that lead to a certification?
TOO MANY DIAGNOSIS ON CHILDREN: BUT WHAT IS A DIAGNOSIS?
We often hear about diagnosis. But what is it really about?
Diagnosis is the result of an evaluation process, which brings certain
characteristics back into a specific category. The diagnosis, therefore, is a
useful tool that allows you to define a situation and allows you to share it
between professionals with a common and shared language. It is therefore a
"label" that allows to give a name to the specific characteristics of
the child.
At the same time, however, the diagnoses allow us to frame
the situation and enable us to take action to take a clear and defined path. A
diagnostic framework allows you to move through scientifically validated
guidelines, which allow you to orient yourself in the best way for the
well-being of the child and his family.
ARE THERE REALLY TOO MANY DIAGNOSIS ON CHILDREN?
Can we really talk about having too many diagnoses on
children? Can we talk about over-medicalization? The problem, in reality, in my
opinion, are not too many diagnoses on children, perhaps, but what is done with
them. In fact, evaluation is often the starting point, but also the point of
arrival. Too often there are fragmented indications and partial services, which
do not help children and their families. At this point, therefore, the
certification becomes only a tool that "labels" the child, but does
not activate the context to rehabilitate it or strengthen its deficit areas.
The diagnosis, in this way, in my opinion, serves very little.
At the same time, however, saying that there are too many
diagnoses on children can be dangerous. In fact, when something worries or
arouses some suspicion, contact a professional and investigate the situation.
It is essential, in fact, to do in-depth analysis. Working in advance in this
sense is very important. First we move, the resources are activated first.
The professional has a very important role. In fact,
families must be accompanied to understand together what and how to do it.
Every intervention must be built with that child and his family. It is up to
the professional not to simply make the assessment, but to support the family
in activating a context capable of supporting the child's characteristics. It
is not only the child who must strengthen or rehabilitate his own skills, but
also the context. Therefore, the psychologist-family-school alliance becomes
central and with other contexts important for the life of the child.
TOO MANY DIAGNOSIS ON CHILDREN: WE ARE NOT PASSIVE SUBJECTS
One of the major risks that worries me about the excessive
medicalization of children's disorders is to convey the message that nothing
can be done, because the disorder is in the child. The risk, therefore, is that
of feeling powerless in the face of the situation, and reifying all the
difficulties in the child. He is the only one who can do something. This is
true, but to a certain extent. As parents, as teachers and as adults who
revolve around the lives of children, we are responsible for the context in
which they live. And, as people, we are active subjects, each with their own
skills and responsibilities.
It is the competence and responsibility of the adult world,
in fact, to take action to guarantee all the major and best situations. It is
not about doing it yourself or waiting for the situation to improve on its own,
but moving in the best way. It must be activated synergistically. The diagnosis
does not say that the problem is the child's and that the context must not
change. This vision, in fact, risks reifying the problem in small. The goal,
however, must be to create the best conditions to promote well-being and the
improvement of living conditions, of the child and his family.
TOO MANY DIAGNOSIS ON CHILDREN: CHILDREN ARE NOT SMALL ADULTS
Many times we ask ourselves what is the standard of child we
refer to. What is meant by a typical-child? Perhaps, in a society where
perfection is expected of everyone, we have lost sight of what childhood is and
the real characteristics of children.
Despite the daily scientific discoveries, we often forget to
implement their application in everyday life. Too often, in fact, we are
witnessing attitudes and claims of the adult world that do not consider the
development of children. Children are not miniature adults. Their biological,
physiological, cognitive and emotional structure is different from the adult
one. It is not possible to make requests that children cannot objectively
satisfy. Children cannot be asked to do abstract work in first grade, when that
part of the brain is not yet developed. Can we ask the children to sit for 4
hours, to listen to the lesson passively? Can you expect children in
kindergarten to eat compound seating, without talking during lunch? Some do,
but not everyone can do it, and not necessarily because they have something.
TOO MANY DIAGNOSIS ON CHILDREN: THE ROLE OF EDUCATION
To understand if a child can be diagnosed, it is important
to understand if the demands of the environment are suitable and if the
teaching methods, for example, are consistent with his learning style. For
example, Gardner points out that there are 7 types of intelligence. The current
school, in most cases, considers only two: the logical-mathematical one and the
linguistic-verbal one. On the other hand, whoever develops social or
bodily-kinesthetic intelligence the most, how can he achieve his goals with the
tools currently available in most Italian schools?
Furthermore, another interesting aspect is that development
is structured in an interconnected way with education. It is therefore
necessary to ask ourselves if we are guaranteeing all the possible favorable
conditions for this to happen. It is not a question of being good or bad
parents, but of implementing an educational system conducive to healthy and
harmonious development. For example, can a child be expected to follow the
rules at school if, for example, he doesn't have one at home?
IN CONCLUSION, ARE THERE REALLY TOO MANY DIAGNOSIS ON CHILDREN?
This does not mean that everything is allowed and that all
the diagnoses are useless, indeed. Diagnoses are fundamental, and this is why
special attention must be paid to their writing. We must be happy that the
scientific community carries out studies and research to refine diagnostic
criteria and intervene early on many difficulties.
As professionals, however, we must be very
careful to give meaning to the diagnosis, which alone is not enough to exhaust
the child's description. It is necessary to take a picture of the situation, as
a starting point to understand where to strengthen, rehabilitate, educate or
re-educate. In fact, the psychologist's is a scientific work, but it cannot be
separated from the relationship and the context.Source: HLTAID002 Basic Emergency Life Support Certification
