I. Practice the pronunciation of the words below. Learn and translate them.

Hyperactive, attribute, syndrome, autism, encompass, gullible, empathy, diagnosis, excitability, label, uppity, obnoxious, thrust, abduction, naivety, anonymous, access.

II. Define the words and word combinations below. Say how they were used in the article.

To be attributed to sth, to exploit, to back sb, to put down to sth, to let off steam, to diagnose sb as…, to coop up, to attest, a crude view of sth ; posting, to trash, the top concern, eye blinking, sniffing, arm thrusting, repeated throat clearing.

III. Find in the article the English for:

чрезмерно активный; неугомонность, беспокойство; учителя, у которых проблемы с дисциплиной на уроке; вспышка, быстрый рост чего-либо; невыполняющие свои обязанности, плохие родители; детская площадка; вне дома; опровергать слухи; составляющие личности; играть более существенную роль; пригрозить наказанием; несносное, отвратительное поведение; нервничать и быть в замешательстве; более старшие ребята; служащие, кадры; нельзя переоценить; непроизвольный; с неустойчивым вниманием; шаблон; меняться, разниться по интенсивности.

IV. Explain what is meant by :

A generation stuck at home, attention deficit disorder, mild autism, behavioural problems, affected children, normal childhood traits, to display the lack of eye contact, the average classroom, a scare story, to avoid discipline, to join the profession, inadequate parenting, uppity parents, extra funding, the deprived parts of London, the education watchdog, impaired social interaction, restricted / repetitive pattern.

V. Dwell upon the symptoms of:

a) Tourette`s syndrome;

b) Asperger`s syndrome and say if they are dangerous. Are many children afflicted by them?

VI. State the idea behind the lines below.

1. Unruly behaviour by many children is being falsely attributed to medical complaints and syndromes when better parenting is needed.

2. Her conclusion will provoke fury among psychologists and the parents of affected children, who have spent years fighting for recognition of a range of behavioural problems.

3. Psychologists want the work, and lower the diagnosis threshold.

4. They are also suspicious about the number of children who are able to use a diagnosis to claim more time in their examinations.

5. Barry Bourne rejected the claims that his profession was exploiting labels to make money.

6. One posting complained about students who «are whipped off to a psychologist and labeled if they show the slightest sign of misbehaviour ».

7. «I get sick of being trashed by some little s*** who then tells me I can’t punish him because his pill hasn’t kicked in yet».

8. She blamed «uppity parents looking for compensation, extra funding, a stick to beat teacher and an excuse for their kid`s obnoxious behaviour ».

9. Our experience is that diagnosis is still a battle for many families.

VII. Say whether you share the idea expressed in the following sentences.

1. It is often convenient for neglectful parents to claim that a child has a behavioural disorder.

2. If you treat children as adults they will behave accordingly.

3. Syndromes such as attention deficit disorder and mild autism were being exploited by psychologists keen on to «make a quick buck».

4. People from the same family develop in very different ways.

5. We need to do more to address the consequences for staff who have to deal with the bad behaviour.

6. When you give a kid a syndrome, you give him an excuse.

7. Many young children feel unsafe in local parks as there are often dirty and dominated by gangs of older youths.