<p>
	Pressure is mounting on Education Minister Richard Bruton to set a clear timeline for the introduction of a new system to assign special need teaching resources after it emerged some children are being unnecessarily &quot;labelled&quot; with disorders.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The head of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has warned that a practice known as &#39;diagnosis for dollars&#39; is happening here with professionals making some children &quot;fit a certain category of disability in order for them to get a resource&quot;.</p>
<p>
	In other cases medics over-diagnose because they feel like an advocate for a child.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Under the current system a formal diagnosis of conditions such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is required before extra teaching supports are provided by the Department of Education.</p>
<p>
	&Aacute;ine Lynch, CEO of National Parents Council (Primary) said they have been looking for changes to the assessment system for some time.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&quot;We would be absolutely concerned about the assessment and labelling,&quot; she said.</p>
<p>
	&quot;Teachers are the best people to assess children&#39;s learning capabilities and that should be reflected in the allocation of resources.&quot;</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Ms Lynch said a broader range of questions also needed to be asked in relation to whether children should be labelled with certain disabilities from such a young age.</p>
<p>
	And writing in today&#39;s Irish Independent, Fianna F&aacute;il&#39;s education spokesman Thomas Byrne described as &quot;shocking and worrying&quot; the idea that some professionals could offer a misdiagnosis for money.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Teresa Griffin, the head of the NCSE, has revealed she has been told first-hand by professionals that they had misdiagnosed children in order to help them get extra resources.</p>
<p>
	Mr Byrne said the relevant professional bodies &quot;need to respond&quot; to this statement.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&quot;Making a child &#39;fit&#39; into diagnostic category simply for the purpose of gaining access to learning supports, may mean that a temporary behavioural problem can become a more lasting one,&quot; the Meath East TD said.</p>
<p>
	&quot;A wider issue with over-labelling is the effect it is having on the distribution of educational resources across schools.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&quot;There are gross inefficiencies and inequities in the current system of allocating resource teachers across schools.&quot;</p>
<p>
	The Education Department is in the process of creating a new model to distribute resources but a firm timeline for its implementation has not been agreed.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	It will remove the link between a diagnosis of a disability and the allocation of resources, instead placing more emphasis on a schools overall needs.</p>
<p>
	The earliest the changes will be in place is September 2017.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Ms Lynch said this will bring a &quot;better way of looking at resources&quot; as schools are best placed to understand the individual needs of children.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&quot;A disability label doesn&#39;t tell us best about the child&#39;s educational needs,&quot; she said.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 15th November 2016)</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/pressure-grows-on-bruton-in-row-over-adhd-diagnoses-35216412.html">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/pressure-grows-on-bruton-in-row-over-adhd-diagnoses-35216412.html</a></p>
