Duncan Harper has done education and health providers a great service in revealing that none of his dozen or so pupils diagnosed with autism actually suffer from it (TES, June 16).
Furthermore, only two of his 30 or more pupils with a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are “genuine victims”. All we need to do to achieve a wonder cure for their behaviour problems is to confiscate their PlayStations.
At a stroke, he identifies a potential saving of many millions of pounds.
There will no longer be the need for paediatricians, clinical and educational psychologists, and speech and language therapists to waste time with multi-professional assessments.
The NHS will save a fortune on Ritalin. LEAs can forget concerns about funding places and staff training.
A couple of decades ago, we blamed “refrigerator parents” for their children’s disabilities. Now its “PlayStation parents”.
Rest assured I shall continue reading The TES to find out which domestic appliance will next be blamed.
David Brown
(Retired special school head)
Pontefract
West Yorkshire
