Parents blame illness for pupils' bad behaviour

Parents are hiding behind medical jargon, claiming their children are suffering from a range of medical syndromes and disorders to excuse their bad behaviour, a leading academic claimed today.

Priscilla Alderson said it is often "convenient" for neglectful parents to claim a child had a behavioural disorder when he or she was simply restless or excitable and should be allowed to "let off steam by playing in parks and climbing trees".

She accused psychologists of exploiting syndromes including attention deficit disorder and mild autism to "make a quick buck".

The number of children registered with special needs has doubledin a decade to 1.4million. Professor Alderson, of London University, said: "I visited a special school which had 27 children diagnosed as autistic. Of those only two that I met displayed the lack of eye contact and absence of empathy which denotes true autism.

"Money is behind all this. Psychologists want the work, and lower the threshold accordingly."

The term special needs was "an administrative device" describing children who have extra needs from those provided in the average classroom. Playgrounds and parks are empty because of scare stories about abductions. But children need the space and freedom to play, run and climb.

"Without that, they are restless - and come to be seen as abnormally 'hyperactive.' Cooping children up inside homes is not going to do them any good," she told The Times.

However, Eileen Hopkins, of the National Autistic Society, said: "This can only add to the stress and confusion many families face.

The importance of receiving a correct diagnosis cannot be emphasised enough. Access to the most appropriate education and support depends upon it."