“My name is Dakota. I’m 9 years old, I’ve been waiting to be assessed for ADHD and autism for almost two years. I love school but I feel stupid because I can’t do what my teachers expect me to do. I don’t fit in the box that I’m expected to fit in.”
That’s what Swansea schoolgirl Dakota Mitchell said when asked about how she’s finding school. In class, Dakota often gets distracted and finds herself fidgeting and moving around the classroom - which her teachers and parents believe is her way of regulating her emotions. She loves her after-school activities, especially dancing, but often feels anxious and like she can hear 40 different voices speaking all at once – all at “volume 100”.
The bright and talented year four pupil has been exhibiting signs of ADHD and autism for more than two years, but is still waiting for an official assessment. An assessment would likely give her a diagnosis, which would mean Dakota would be able to be prescribed medication to help her manage her ADHD and would make it much easier for her to acquire provisions for school and home that can help her manage her autism.
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Now, her mum Clare-Anna Mitchell is calling for all teachers and teaching assistants in Wales to receive compulsory neurodiversity training – so children like Dakota are better supported at school, no matter how far they are into their journey of being assessed. You can get the biggest Swansea news stories straight to your inbox with our newsletter.
Clare-Anna explained: “Two years ago, Dakota’s school flagged that she couldn’t sit in her seat and that she’d go and wander and fidget – it was her way to self-regulate. She’d put pressure on things and she had a short attention span, they said these were things associated with ADHD and autism.”
“Initially it completely blindsided me, and I was really upset and worried about how these things would affect Dakota. I knew she’d always wanted to be a scientist and I obviously wanted her to reach her potential - and I didn’t know what ADHD and autism would mean for that,” she added. “So many people just know nothing about it, [neurodiversity] isn’t something people talk about, it’s stigmatised and seen as abnormal – I want to break that stigma.”
Dakota has recently changed schools as Clare-Anna felt her previous school wasn’t supporting Dakota to the level she needed. With this in mind, she’s calling on the Welsh Government to introduce compulsory, detailed neurodiversity training for every teacher and teaching assistant in Wales, to ensure they are well-equipped to support every child, whatever their individual needs.
Whilst many teachers are trained in neurodiversity to an extent, it’s something that's not currently compulsory, according to Clare-Anna. So, there can be a real inconsistency across Wales in the amount of support available to neurodiverse children in schools – and the quality of any provisions provided.
And, with waiting lists for official assessments lasting up to five years in some parts of Wales, she said the lack of training and provisions made the process of waiting for an assessment even more difficult for children and their families.
“Schools say they don’t have the money to fund training and the local authority says it doesn’t have the money either,” added Clare-Anna. “With education devolved, the funding and the policies need to come from Welsh Government. Welsh Government needs to introduce proper neurodiversity training – and it needs to be compulsory because if it’s optional, people won’t do it.”
Clare-Anna has set up an online petition calling on the Senedd to “review Additional Learning Needs policies” and “make [it] compulsory to fully train all teachers and TAs [teaching assistants] in regulation techniques” - and it has received more than 2,000 signatures so far. If it receives 10,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in the Senedd.
The petition explains: “A review of the ALN policies in schools and a huge increase in support for the 40% of children who are struggling daily is needed. They need to be taught regulation techniques from early years, creating happier, less disruptive classrooms and providing a toolbox to take through life.”
Clare-Anna and other parents would also like to see universities offer compulsory and detailed training in additional learning needs to trainee teachers and want to see greater funding for “neurodiversity specialist teachers” and teaching assistants in every local authority to help “support, guide and train staff” in schools across Wales.
Clare-Anna has also set up the 'Neurodiversity UNMASKED' group on Facebook to raise further awareness of the challenges facing children with neurodivergent minds and to provide a community for people to talk about neurodiversity they have experienced or would like to learn about.
Commenting recently on the issue, a Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Our additional learning needs (ALN) reforms will improve outcomes for children and young people with ALN. They are designed and delivered to respond to each individual’s need.
“Extensive professional training has been undertaken as part of the ALN transformation programme. Supporting learners with ALN is part of student teachers’ core studies. An ALN professional learning pathway has been developed to help Additional Learning Needs Coordinators develop their skills to support learners with ALN.
“We recently announced £12m funding to increase the resources for schools to implement the new ALN system and lead whole-school strategies to embed inclusive education.”
You can read more about the petition and sign it online here. To join the Facebook group, go here.
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