All your education questions answered by Brian Mooney

My son is now in fourth class in primary school. He seems to be having great difficulty in establishing himself within his peer group, has problems with social know-how and is a bit of a loner. He wants to make friends, but seems not to know how to do it. His teachers have also indicated that he has poor attention skills in class.

He has been a victim of bullying, which led to us changing his school. I hoped that the change would give him a fresh start, but his difficulties seem to be ongoing. His current teacher has suggested that I have him assessed, to screen for conditions such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or even Asperger's Syndrome. I am reluctant to go down this road as it might stigmatise my son. What would you advise?

Terms such as Asperger's Syndrome and ADHD can frighten and intimidate, especially when related to one's own child. An understanding of what these conditions mean can often reduce the fears considerably and I would follow the teacher's advice and have your child assessed.

Asperger's Syndrome is part of the autistic spectrum.

All autistic spectrum disorders occur in about 1.2 per cent of the population, much more common than was realised in the past. The features of the condition are a tendency to avoid eye contact, having problems reading emotions from faces and interpreting body language, and to have difficulties in "reading" your peers. Children with this condition can have difficulties in seeing things from their peers' perspective. They can have problems in conversational skills, in sharing and in turn-taking.

They are often regarded as naïve with immature personalities. They can have problems with social "know-how" and have difficulty understanding reciprocal social relationships.

Sometimes such children can speak with a high-pitched tone of voice or use a "posh" accent, which can be quite different from the rest of the family. They often repeat words or phrases. They tend to have narrow interests and parents will often state that they were obsessed with dinosaurs, trains, etc. There is often a history of food fads or walking on tippy toes, some hand flapping, running up and down in straight lines or running around in circles.

They can often have special interests in engineering, mathematics or astronomy.

There may be also a history of being preoccupied with spinning wheels of cars or washing machines spinning. Very significant aggression throughout childhood, particularly against peers, can be a feature. They can show major empathy deficits and as a result of this they commonly experience being bullied. In addition to the above, they often have many features of ADHD.

If following professional assessment any child is diagnosed as having Asperger's Syndrome, the school will act to ensure that every facility possible - within the available resources - is provided to support that child. Such children will benefit from sitting at the front of the class, sitting beside children with good concentration and sitting away from distraction. Younger children should be put on behavioural programmes at home and school.

It is critical for the teacher to be aware of their mind reading skills deficits. A teacher, who would normally give a child one-sentence instruction, needs to give a child with this condition five to 10-sentence instruction.

Such children have difficulties with reading the teacher's intentions. They need a great deal of training in social know-how, social cop-on, help with reading non-verbal behaviour, with understanding other people's minds, other people's intentions and with reciprocal and social conversation. Sometimes these children will require a special needs assistant. They can also benefit from empathy training and mind reading skills therapy.

You might read Asperger's Syndrome for Teachers, an excellent book by Valerie Cumine. Prof Michael Fitzgerald also has a useful website www.professormichaelfitzgerald.eu

A support group for parents of such children, Aspire, can be contacted on 01-8780027.

Brian Mooney is the former president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors.