How can a preschool teacher best introduce the concept and encourage a parent to get evaluation?

by Alex
(Virginia)

I am a preschool teacher who is a big believer in Sensory integration and the important role it plays in my students development. I have scheduled a meeting with a parent because I would like to encourage them to have their child evaluated. i am pretty sure that he struggles with SPD and I am also pretty sure that they will be skeptical. I have 15 minutes to convince them that this problem exists, that it might be what is bothering their child and that they should check out this website to see what it's all about.



Can anyone recommend an article or a quick synopsis that I can give them to take home and look at.
Thanks, Alex



Comments for How can a preschool teacher best introduce the concept and encourage a parent to get evaluation?

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Feb 06, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		talking to parents.
by: Anonymous

first let me tell you how awesome you are. You might tell them about it and recommend they read some books like "The Out-of-Sync Child" and "Sensational Kids". Tell them in the long run it will help their child and you are doing this out of concern for the child. Beyond this, that is all you can do.
Jan 10, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		Congratulations & good luck
by: Anonymous

If only there were more teachers like you! I have finally had my daughter evaluated because of the school and another group of caring teachers. She is was 6yrs old (now 8) and the result was SPD. Initially her Yr 1 teacher identified her lack of writing skills, even though she drew/coloured a lot but it wasn't until her Yr2 teacher said there were other small things that didn't "fit". She suggested to me that we talk to the school's reading recovery teacher.

When I finally talked to this teacher she asked me about how Amy coped with other things many of her peers could do (eg was she good with knives and forks, how was she with dressing, with wearing clothes). By asking questions about normal daily things I was able to see it wasn't just me going crazy and I wasn't imagining things - these were real day to day issues for Amy and it wasn't to do with my parenting. It was such a relief to be able to talk about it without feeling judged, knowing it was about helping Amy. What I have now found with Amy is that she tries so hard at school (to keep up and "conform") that

I get the worst of the behaviour at home, so you can be sure the child's parents see even more of it than you do, so if th child is looked at, it might lead to a more peaceful home life. The behaviour doesn't have to have a label (labels can be frightening) but a suggestion that the behaviour can be modified if it is understood, but to understand it you have to know where the issues stem from. Good luck and thank you for being caring enough to try and talk to the parents. You might find they are quite relieved to know it's not just them!
Dec 16, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		networking with parents
by: Anonymous

Yeah, for teachers who recognize the signs! Although it is hard to tell a parent that their child is anything but perfect, you may find that the things you mention are not a surprise to the parents. As a matter of fact, I think that parents often struggle until someone gives them permission to recognize the inevitable struggles they deal with on a daily basis.

The Symptoms Checklist, available on this site, is a good tool. Even if the parents are not quite ready to hear it today, at some point they will be and they will know that you are a person to turn to. Good luck with the conversation.

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