As an aside, why would a school psych want a child "labled?" Any idea? I mean, is it just that she really feels he has something going on that is not being addressed? or are there other factors at play? Funding? Does she want a 'shadow' on DS - to make it easier for teacher/assistnats? Or is it that she wants DS put in certain classes/programs that she perceives would make it easier on the staff? What? Just wondering what would be behind that if it isn't truly accurate and in best onterest of child. Or is that she just really feels like he needs a particular dx/lable and is trying to what she sees as best for DS?
I don't think most practitioners want inaccurate labels as a matter of professional practice. (I have seen incompetent school psychs try to avoid labeling a child who badly needed to be identified, actually, in a school system that was pressuring staff systematically to under-identify disabled kids, but that is another story.)
Accurate labeling is beneficial in helping everyone in the situation understand what is going on (and what is not); the causes of the behavior, what strategies are likely to help or make it worse. An accurate label, accompanied by the IEP process, gives access to the proper services and accommodations that make school manageable for a kid who wouldn't manage otherwise.
And a correct label offers a handle for teachers and peers who would otherwise label a child "a behavior problem," "a bad kid," or worse-- I would much rather my DS and his peers know he has a disability than think he is a "bad kid."
I would not assume that the school psych is evil, or that there is some kind of terrible agenda at play. Sometimes that is the case, of course, but I wouldn't jump there as a first, or second, or even third option. Even though I have met people with truly bad intentions toward my kid in my travels through the educational system, I still have to be dragged to that conclusion, because most people were not deeply evil; most just didn't understand him yet.
DeeDee
