PRESCHOOL TEACHERS - what if you suspect that a student has special needs?

I have encountered the same kind of situation, where the program says not to say anything to parents, but teacher had concerns, and I don't think it's fair to the parents or the child to not address the situation. It can be done in an indirect manner without saying "there is a problem". You said the parents seem concerned. If it is possible for the parent(s) to volunteer some time in the classroom, they will notice that their child is not functioning on the same level as his peers. And you're right as teachers we DO NOT DIAGNOSE, however, we can say, "yes I noticed that too. You might want to make an appointment for a physical and express your concern to his doctor. A thorough physical is always the best place to start when there are concerns about a child's development." That way, the teacher isn't offering any suggestion about what might be a problem, she is just stating that she has also observed developmental differences and she is supporting the parents in their observation of the same. She can do it with a smile on her face, while noting the child's obvious positive qualities and she can make a vague comment about how it's always a good idea to catch any developmental issues early so they can be appropriately handled. She can follow up in a few days by asking if the parent has had a chance to make that appointment, and asking them to keep her informed about it. All she is doing is showing concern for the child, and the parents most likely will appreciate her concern. The teacher must be very careful not to use any catch phrases such as "developmental delays" or "autism spectrum" unless the parent is asking specific questions about those issues. And even then, the teacher should caution them not to jump to any conclusions, just get a physical done and "we can go from there."

The time to address this is during the parent conferences, also if the parent comes to you and ask questions about their child development, or request information for help such as referrals. After you have did the observations of the child you should show the Supervisor the documentation on the child andthe Supervisor should tell you to do the referrals for the child and you cannot go through the process until the parent signs the referrals. You cannot diagnose the child, you do not have the expertise, to do this, but you may have feelings the child is not at developmental level, maybe the child lacks interactions with children his age. The child may have limited socialization with others also.He may be lacking interaction skills so you need to individualize with this child to increase this area of development. like pairing him off with someone who is more verbal, and interacts with others more. Let him lead the class outside and give him the opportunity to call the names of his friends to wash hands etc. As you know some school are just for profit their philosophy statement states different to meet the total needs of the child etc. possibly if you could work at a more professional setting you will definitely see a difference in how the children are treated and the more educated the Teachers usually they are more concerned about the needs of their classes.

My foster son is in a very comparable situation. he's in simple terms 4 and in a particular desires preschool. the college is making an attempt out and attempting to label with all forms of issues in general via fact he isnt cooperatng with the finding out. lots of the labels they have thrown out are ADHD, mildly retarded, autism, aspergers, and that i'm beneficial none of those labels prepare. Socially, he's no longer getting his desires met at school via indisputable fact that he's performing at a plenty greater point than the different babies. he's the only infant in his class who's verbal, rest room experienced, etc. His IEP targets are a comedian tale, I do preschool with him at abode and then deliver him to college via fact the state says I would desire to. We attend an area homeschool team, he's taking swim instructions, attends a preschool storytime on the library, and a track class at our community paintings and technology midsection, those sort of activities supply socialization. If i replaced into given the alternative, I easily would homeschool, evade the labels, instruct him the way he learns maximum suitable, no longer the way the instructor teaches maximum suitable.

Honestly, I understand your situation and you are kind of stuck in the middle. I would go with what my heart tells me though, and see if the parent is aware of the child's condition. Maybe not directly telling them that the child requires special need but signal it in a way that raise their attention. Probably they never notice it, you can tell by their reaction. Try not to offend them though, as you said, not many parents able to accept that their child is different. See how it goes from there.

You should probably talk to the parent(s) and if they say something about it then work from there.