Violent children need expert help PHOTO

READERS’ OF THE WEEK

Violent behaviour in pupils usually starts early in life, even as young as 18 months, so the heads of the baby and toddler day nurseries, and preschool/ reception classes know who these pupils are [‘Violence in our schools’, Gazette, Jan 24].

There are usually multiple causes, from difficult relationships and mental health issues in parents in the home, to specific learning difficulties, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder(adhd), autism and other medical problems in the child. By the age of eight, they are well-known in the school for their difficult behaviour. These children desperately need a lot of help at this stage from professionals. It is not often available.

The longer these problems are left the more they become entrenched. After the age of 11 they may need specialist schooling in a small group, or residential schooling depending on the causes.

The future outlook can be bleak - homelessness, being unable to hold down a job, alcoholism or drug dependency if their behaviour cannot be changed.

These children are unhappy and need early expert assessment from a paediatrician who specialises in developmental problems and social problems, a clinical psychologist/ special needs teacher, a visit to the home by a social worker/health visitor and a meeting of all these specialists to determine the way forward.

These children should be assessed even after a few weeks of violent behaviour, especially in school, to determine the causes and begin to solve the problems, not leave it and hope it will go away. It will get worse over time.

years later we hear very little about that, as the full implications of leaving the world’s biggest trading area sink in.

The latest opinion polls in “Leave” areas like Wales and the North East show that people are changing their minds and opposing Brexit. The only argument that Theresa May seems to have is that we voted for it and so we must stick with it. But as John Maynard Keynes said: “When the facts change, I change my mind”.

Incidentally, one of your Brexitsupporting correspondents referred to John Redwood as a “Blitz survivor”.

As he was born in 1951, I wonder what Blitz he survived. Another (minor) Brexit lie.