A Parent Interview - Making Decisions.

Updated: Jun 3, 2019

Johnny is a 6 year old boy diagnosed with ADHD. When he started school he developed anxiety

to the point where he was doing all his learning from a school office. His Mum Caroline tells us

how changing centres made him not only adjust to school learning but thrive in it.

- When Johnny was 5 years old he started school. How was that experience? Why did you

decide to change schools after some months?

Johnny started school at a large public school (750 students) which had open-plan classrooms.

He was very unhappy about attending school and developed anxiety, which snow-balled. 

Johnny’s anxiety presented as very poor behaviour. He started to lash out at students and 

teachers and would pace angrily outside the classroom. He was simply too anxious to 

participate in any class activities, despite intervention from a SENCO (Special 

Education Needs Coordinator), dedicated Teacher Aide, RTLB (Resource Teacher of 

Learning and Behaviour) and Child Psychologist. We quickly dropped his attendance to 

half-days, but he was unable to cope with even a short time at school. He became so 

withdrawn that he was provided office space to do is learning and was too scared to go 

outside at break times. It became very apparent that no amount of support and intervention 

was going to help him adjust to such a large, noisy, busy environment.

- In what ways has the new school been better for Johnny? What changes have you seen
in him?

Johnny has made slow, but significant progress since he started at his new school. His first 

teacher ‘took him under her wing’ and ensured that he was always by her side and constantly 

supported. He was given endless positive feedback and reassurance. Johnny has really benefited 

from the small size of the school, the laid-back atmosphere, the beautiful natural surrounds 

and the happy learning environment. Single-cell classrooms and small class sizes have suited 

him well. His anxieties have slowly reduced and he has gone from being a disruptive, 

non-participative child, to a learner and contributor. His teacher tells me that he’s ‘just part of the 

class’, which is such significant progress (it melts my heart!!) With a reduction in anxiety, he’s 

been able to make friendships and this also has boosted his confidence.

- If Johnny has a preference for either school, how has he expressed this?

As Johnny has a vast vocabulary, he has expressed his preference for the new school in many 

different ways! He says that his new school is better because the other one was, “Too noisy. Too 

hard to concentrate. Too many kids and not very fun.” He also wrote a story in his writing book 

that says, “I love my school. It’s just perfect.”

#ADHD #SpecialNeeds #ChoosingSchools #Decisions #InclusiveEducation 

#SomethingIsNotRight #Hisname'snotreallyjohnny