When does a child’s individuality become a problem, and when does that problem need a label? We expect children to fit a preconceived mould; we expect them to read at this level by the time they are 7, and to be able to do maths to that level by the time they are 11 (and I know that the levels are changing, but there will still be benchmarks).  We expect them to sit still for an hour or so at a time, and so produce lovely hand written pieces of work with minimal mistakes.  We expect them to be at school away from their family for at least 250 days a year, and to behave, and play nicely and to mix with all different kinds of children and teachers from all different walks of life.

If I was expected, as an adult, to sit in a room with 30 other people, on an uncomfortable chair and write about things I had no interest in, and not talk when the person in charge was talking, and then do maths, or geography or science or PSHE and have to conform and only have toilet breaks when I was told, and only go outside at allocated times, and if it was raining/icy/snowy I would have to sit inside and watch old Disney videos, I would quit and walk away.  I am an outdoor, doing person.  I am not a sit still office person, and so my jobs since leaving school have reflected this.  I think if I had to go back to school now I would be waiting at the head teacher’s office more than I would be in the classroom.

My children are not sit still types.  They are outdoor exploring, or indoors wrecking the sofa to build a den children.  They find having to do an hours’ writing a chore; my eldest is revising for exams at the moment, and making him sit for an hour to revise or complete coursework is tough on me and him.  When we leave school, we can choose jobs or careers that suit our personalities. Although parents have a degree of choice in the school they send their children to, the education system is still, more or less, sitting and learning.  Dynamic, inspiring teachers do make an amazing difference, but there are still tests and exams to be taken and a curriculum to be followed.

So, do my vibrant individuals have a problem? And does that problem need a label? No and yes, would be my answer.  No they don’t have a problem or a disease.  Being ‘diagnosed’ with a learning barrier automatically makes it sound that there’s something wrong with them.  My children have amazing brains that don’t just think outside the box, they think like there is no box! They can see and feel things that I never notice.  They come up with ideas (and counter-arguments) that just blow me away.  They are incredible empathetic.  They have conversations and understandings that are well beyond their years. They are two of the most intelligent people I know, and yet if you give them a pen and ask them to write their ideas down, everything seems to fall apart and crumble.

My vibrant individuals do not have a problem.  Instead they have a huge advantage when it comes to thinking, reasoning and understanding.  It is education that has a problem trying to get the best out of them.  It is our problem, not theirs.

Do they need a label? If you asked me this a few years ago I would have screamed ‘No!’, but now I think they do need a label so that people can understand.  But alongside labels, they need people to understand what those labels mean.  Dyslexia does not mean stupid, it means amazing minds that articulate verbally rather than on paper.  ADHD does not mean naughty, it means they need to be doing and touching and seeing rather than using all their energy and concentration to sit still.  ASD does not mean odd or eccentric, it means enhanced perceptions.  ODD does not mean everything you say will be challenged, it means explain the whys behind the rules.  Learn to compromise with each other.

I think we need to adjust the education system to take into account the amazing variation that is in our society.  Tolerance, understanding and acceptance of who we all are needs to happen from age 3.

Einstein would have ‘failed’ his KS1 SATS – and his is one of the most amazing brains that there has ever been.