Approximately 10 percent of all students at school in Sweden have some form of neuropsychiatric disability (NPF) such as ADHD, autism and language disorder, according to the Special Education School Authority.
Now the Riksförbundet Attention warns that many students with NPF diagnoses who fall behind in school do not get the help they need.
– Help comes very late in Swedish schools. Most support is given in junior high school, but we and many parents want the necessary help to be given already when things start to get complicated. When the student starts falling behind or feels a great distaste for school with high absenteeism, says Anki Sandberg, chairman of the association at Attention.
Eight out of ten students have high absenteeism
According to a new school survey conducted by Attention, in which more than 3,400 guardians of students with NPF diagnoses have answered, the children feel that the most difficult aspects of school are the teaching, the school assignments and the social relationship with other students. Many shy away from going to school and become so-called stay-at-homes.
The survey shows that eight out of ten students have a high absence linked to disability.
– We see that this increases year after year, and it creeps down in age. The problems we see in schools come much earlier than before. That’s a big warning bell. We have to step in and support the students already when the problems arise, then you have the best chance of curbing the problem before it becomes serious.
Attention believes that more resources are needed for the school.
– You have to invest more in the school and see it as the important player it is. Successful schooling often means a successful working life. We have to see it as an investment in society, it has to come at a cost, says Anki Sandberg.
National statistics
Attention wants to see national statistics that show how students with NPF meet the school’s goals, and that resources should be added to the physical, social and educational school environment.
– We want to have a discussion about compulsory teaching instead of mandatory schooling, that is to say that a greater responsibility must be placed on the school to be able to reach every student with knowledge. That you try different methods and not just leave the responsibility with the parents.
Cognitively demanding society
Anki Sandberg also believes that today we live in a more cognitively demanding society with many different types of impressions.
– It is a common challenge, not only for the school and the family, but also politicians. It is about which resources to give the school in order to cope with the task of teaching all students.