Sam: Ready for school?

Sam is five and his parents became concerned after a disastrous family holiday. They set off
on the ferry for France and Sam was in great form. When they got to Calais he refused to
get off. His parents had told him he was going on the ferry on his holidays: the child thought
that this was the holiday and he was not moving off the ferry. Eventually, he was carried into
the car kicking and screaming and inconsolable. The rest of the holiday he clung to his
parents, and lay awake most nights as he found it difficult to settle in a strange bed. With his
limited language kept asking for ‘Gano’ (the name he used to call his grandfather). His
parents interpreted this as Sam wanting to go home to his grandfather, who was living with
the family.

Shortly after returning exhausted from his holiday, Sam started in the local school. He was
placed in a class of 32 infants, as the school had no indication of his difficulties. He lay on the
floor for the first two weeks and was gradually coaxed to his desk by his patient teacher. He
had difficulty following simple requests and could not seem to follow the few basic rules of
the classroom.

While he had some language, the teacher found it difficult to understand him. He was unable
to participate in 'show and tell' and on the one occasion when he put up his hand to answer a
question in class, he did not say anything when the teacher asked for his answer.

She also noted that Sam rocked on his chair and would flap his hands high over his head
when he got excited. He would chase after the other children in the classroom and grab at
them in the schoolyard in an effort to join their games. He was very rough, pulling and
hanging on to other children. Even the rules of the chasing game in the yard were above him.

After discussing the situation with his parents, the teacher requested an assessment. They
agreed to place him in school only until 11 o'clock each day until they could secure
resources for him.