I know a lot of people want a diagnosis for their child. This is why I feel there is a better way...
Photo by Joseph Gonzal on unsplash.
When you diagnose someone, you are telling them there is something wrong with them. When we diagnose someone with a learning disability or anxiety or depression or whatever, the intention is to see what bucket they fall into, and then apply a standard set of accommodations, and then continue to force them to do something that may not be right for them in the first place.
Diagnosis, the way it is done, completely ignores that someone's negative reaction to reading, learning, or a situation, may actually be normal and protective for them.
We are NOT all the same. We are not meant to be the same.
Research often only shows correlation, not causation.
If you know anything about depression and its treatment, you know, there are many ways to become depressed, and many ways to treat it, and the right treatment can be hit or miss because often people do not know the pathway that caused the depression.
What if instead we noticed: Hmmm, this situation is making someone anxious, this situation is making someone depressed, this situation is making someone not able to learn. What is it about this situation that is not a fit for this person?
I look at my 6yr old son who is not too eager to learn to read right now, and some people are quick to say "maybe he has a learning disability, you should get him tested". He does not have a learning disability. He is interested in other things. He is very much into 3D spacial concepts and figuring out complex cause and effect and making up rules for games etc. Reading is just not something he is developing at this time, and this is not a learning disability.
Likewise, there are a lot of things that I can not absorb because they are not my truth. People assume that everything taught in school and in society is pure truth, its not. Its just the opinion of the dominant culture. But, if someone has their own version of the truth, they may have trouble learning the dominant culture, because it is not a fit for them.
Likewise, an environment, or workplace, or group of people, may not be a fit for someone. They may develop physical and emotional anxiety symptoms around them, and the solution is not to medicate the symptoms and then force them to accept the situation, but allow them to move away and find a better fit.
Based on my Astrology, I am naturally less likely to conform to mainstream society, or to force my children to follow the social rules.
I would rather we as a family do what is best for us, what feels right and healthy, even if that is not what mainstream would do, even if someone would say "wow, maybe that person needs a diagnosis, so you can force them to conform".
I am not forcing my kids to conform. I am working with them, because I know how they are built, and I know how I am built. Based on our Human Design, Soul Contract, Astrology, and Gene Keys. I know where we are each heading. I am not concerned about what people try to scare us into. I know that my kids will want to buy things in life, and they will want to work to earn money, and they will want to learn and become good at things, and create and contribute to society with their gifts. So, we do not need a diagnosis. We just need to live true to our unique selves.
That is what you get when you work with me!
Even though my life theme (according to Human Design) is called "The Cross of the Unexpected" for a reason (i.e., I really don't know where our life is heading), I have a map and a great compass inside of me! And that is what I offer my clients as well - Their map, and Their compass, so they can be Empowered in life.
Of course, in our society, where education is funded, and additional funding is required for your child to receive the respect they deserve, for their personal limits, which is critical for their health and ability to function, and you cannot get this without a diagnosis - that part sucks. Respect should be free. And I am not sure what we will do about this. Because, if you force my child, he will appear to have a disability. But it is not him that is the problem. He is not learning disabled. He is asking for a little respect to follow his own process. In a public school system this may be hard, as the student to teacher ratio is so high. And the rules are strictly mandated from above, where people tend to have terrible views of the intentions of children. So, for now, we do the best we can.
This is why I am anti-diagnosis. Because there is nothing wrong, other than bigger people thinking they have a right to force smaller people to do things, and many of these smaller people have absolutely no problems saying NO!
What do you think?
I'm here if you have any questions or concerns about your own experience.
Love and Blessings,
Alahnnaa Campbell
MSc Psychology, Stress and Health
Ps. my 6yr old woke up one day when he was 9yrs old and told me he discovered he could read. He re-entered the public system at 10yrs of age, and at 11yrs of age he reads things well beyond what I thought he would be able to comprehend. He also has no problems not submitting work, that does not align with who he is, and stating his needs, limits, and preferences, when it comes to receiving accommodations at school. It just takes time, and our role as parents, is to navigate whatever we are faced with, and then to let go, knowing we played the role we were intended to play, and maybe the other will grow in their consciousness, or maybe they will not, and that's ok. We still have the right to exist as we are.
Unconditional Love by Glen Carrie on Unsplash