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[quote=Anonymous]Warning--long soapbox response here:
As a developmental psychologist, I regularly engage with teachers.  I take their insights seriously and learn a lot from their experiences.  I agree with OP that a parent is wise to listen to a teacher's perspective with an open mind.

But teachers are human and so, like us all, have formed biases.  Given the number of children they deal with at the same time, teachers also may too quickly mentally label a child. They might tend to trust their teacher intuition rather than appropriately also question it.  We all have biased beliefs about what normal behavior and social interaction should look like.  Confirmation bias is real and I encounter many teachers who are overconfident in their perceptions of a child. They tend to see only the things that align with their  perception, and don't as easily see the impact of context on the child's thinking/behavior.  They see that most children adjust and this child is not so assume something must be wrong with the child.  But the span of normal human behavior is really wide and some teachers are just not that accepting or flexible about normal variations in behavior.  Or they might not be  aware of how the context and their expectations for behavior may not be well-aligned with some normal human variations in need for activity, for social interactions, for time alone, for sensory stimulation etc.  A kid who is within the normal spectrum may have wildly context-specific maladaptive, aggressive behavior. Teachers can have a hard time seeing how the context they create shapes peer interactions also.  They can perceive as "flaws" or issues in the child things that are misalignments between the child and context that the teacher has some power to shape in fairly simple ways.  This doesn't mean they are a bad teacher, it just kind of comes with the territory--they have a lot of kids to keep track of and they need them to act relatively in line with each other to keep the classroom going as they are expected to.  Also people who become teachers are often people who thrived in a school environment and don't on a gut level perceive how the demands it often creates (lots of sensory stimulation, lots of social interaction, minimal physical activity) might be at odds with a child's sensory system or temperament.

Diagnosis is a lot more complex than our gut reactions or initial screeners. Two children can present almost identically-- be having really problematic behaviors such as hitting others, major meltdowns etc. and one just needs to be able to freely go to a quiet, calm reading corner as soon they feel frustration rising and the other needs medication and years of interventions.

I have seen many seemingly "classic cases"  of a developmental disability that turned out to be an combination of other factors.  Personally, I wish classroom environments assumed it's normal to have traits associated with the most common disabilities and that things like being able to move regularly, control sensory inputs (e.g. through headphones, tinted glasses, some quiet less decorated spaces) to retreat from interaction for awhile, to fidget etc.  were built in without disrupting the learning process.  We'd have less disruptions, spend less on special education and be able to direct resources to those who really need them.

So I agree parents should listen to teacher's perceptions because they see their kid in the context of many more children.  But I'd also encourage teachers to listen to parents, and be more research-minded about their intuitions.  If they see a child who is interacting oddly or who acts out, focus more on the contextual triggers than on the kid at first. When does this happen, under what conditions and are there tweaks that prevent it?  When does a child NOT act out, get along with peers well?  If you do this regularly you'll gradually evolve to a classroom that is more inclusive of the full range of normal behavior--experience fewer kids who are triggered by contextual factors-- and train your intuition better to see those who need more intensive interventions.

Ok, getting off my soapbox.[/quote]

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