I hope I'm posting this in the right place. I'd really like some advice from other parents who've been through similar situations and what the outcome was.
My DS is in the 4th grade and his teacher feels he may have ADHD (without saying it). What she does tell me is that he constantly needs redirecting, frequently stares off into space and is up walking around the room when he's suppose to be working.
He's always bringing classroom work to be finished at home because he's obviously not getting it done in class.
His grades are currently Reading 74, Science 84, Social Studies 81, Language Arts 88 and Math 91.
Reasons for his low SS grade she says is low test scores. His reading grade is that he's constantly turning in work late - this is what he's bringing home to finish. FYI - Reading is after lunch. I'm not sure where the other subjects fall.
So I asked my son about the staring off into space and he agrees he does it. He says that he's slower at getting his work done and when the other kids get finished they start talking. He says he'll catch part of a conversation and think 'that's interesting' and continue to listen. This is when he's maybe staring at the floor. I'm assuming so it doesn't look like he's listening to the conversation.
He also complains because he says the noise level in the room will escalate when the others finish and "they have no respect" for the ones who haven't finished and it gets louder and louder and he can't stay focused on his work.
As far as him getting up and roaming around the room he couldn't give me an answer as to why he would be doing this but says the other kids do it too. One thing I'm guessing is he's got OCD about his pencil lead needing to be sharp. We've rectified that problem buy getting mechanical pencils.
Now from what I remember when I was in school we weren't allowed to just roam around the room. And if everyone was still working we had to read a book or just sit there or some teachers would allow us to talk quietly as long as we were respectful of those still working.
A couple of other things:
No issues have been brought to my attention from his past teachers other than his kindergarten teacher, but her whole class was out of control so I dismissed her comments. It was her first year teaching Kinder and she even told me she didn't know if she wanted to teach anymore and actually quit the last month of school.
He's always been a very happy and polite young man but this year he seems a little sad and his confidence has gone down. I think one because the teachers have singled him out even separating him from the rest of the class (not for acting out but just so they can make sure he stays focused). He's got kids in his class that are bullying him. Calling him fat and tripping him on the play ground.
Now what's funny is he can get his homework and unfinished classroom work done on the noisy 5 min bus ride or even complete <U>two</U> assignments in 15 minutes or less here at home when he wants to go out and play. He just can't seem to get it done in class.
As far as reading goes.... He's a great reader but maybe has a little trouble with comprehension (reading between the lines). Part of his reading grade is writing which is a big issue. His handwriting is good, he just doesn't like to do it. So with assignments that require a little elaboration he tries to be as general as possible. Now verbally he will give you a second by second account of any story he's telling you. Even this morning he didn't want to sign his last name on his progress report because it was "too much".
I asked if his hand cramps from writing too much and he said no he just didn't want to do it and even told me the other day he was just being a bit lazy about it. He had an assignment answering questions and verbally gave me a great answer but when writing it down it was a generic simple answer. When I told him he needed to write the whole thing he got mad and broke his pencil lead. I disciplined him and he decided he'd go ahead and finish writing his entire thought.
I mentioned this to his teacher and she tells me "I don't think he's lazy. He may just call it that because he doesn't know exactly what it is, but there are other brain disorders that will cause this. Like maybe he forgets what he wants to write down."
WHAT?! :arghh:
I personally don't think my son has ADD or ADHD - of course this is just me. I think he may be bored or feeling left out. He generally doesn't get recess because he's catching up on unfinished assignments. Not only is he spending 7 hours at school working but then has to bring work home and spends 2 - 5 hours a night trying to get them completed for the next day.
I've tried giving him an hour of play time after school before he has to sit down and work on his homework but have since had to take this away. Now he can't play unless all his homework is complete.
I could go on and on about things but I've already made this way to long. I'd really love opinions and will answer any questions you all may have.
Thanks in advance,
Dawn
My DS is in the 4th grade and his teacher feels he may have ADHD (without saying it). What she does tell me is that he constantly needs redirecting, frequently stares off into space and is up walking around the room when he's suppose to be working.
He's always bringing classroom work to be finished at home because he's obviously not getting it done in class.
His grades are currently Reading 74, Science 84, Social Studies 81, Language Arts 88 and Math 91.
Reasons for his low SS grade she says is low test scores. His reading grade is that he's constantly turning in work late - this is what he's bringing home to finish. FYI - Reading is after lunch. I'm not sure where the other subjects fall.
So I asked my son about the staring off into space and he agrees he does it. He says that he's slower at getting his work done and when the other kids get finished they start talking. He says he'll catch part of a conversation and think 'that's interesting' and continue to listen. This is when he's maybe staring at the floor. I'm assuming so it doesn't look like he's listening to the conversation.
He also complains because he says the noise level in the room will escalate when the others finish and "they have no respect" for the ones who haven't finished and it gets louder and louder and he can't stay focused on his work.
As far as him getting up and roaming around the room he couldn't give me an answer as to why he would be doing this but says the other kids do it too. One thing I'm guessing is he's got OCD about his pencil lead needing to be sharp. We've rectified that problem buy getting mechanical pencils.
Now from what I remember when I was in school we weren't allowed to just roam around the room. And if everyone was still working we had to read a book or just sit there or some teachers would allow us to talk quietly as long as we were respectful of those still working.
A couple of other things:
No issues have been brought to my attention from his past teachers other than his kindergarten teacher, but her whole class was out of control so I dismissed her comments. It was her first year teaching Kinder and she even told me she didn't know if she wanted to teach anymore and actually quit the last month of school.
He's always been a very happy and polite young man but this year he seems a little sad and his confidence has gone down. I think one because the teachers have singled him out even separating him from the rest of the class (not for acting out but just so they can make sure he stays focused). He's got kids in his class that are bullying him. Calling him fat and tripping him on the play ground.
Now what's funny is he can get his homework and unfinished classroom work done on the noisy 5 min bus ride or even complete <U>two</U> assignments in 15 minutes or less here at home when he wants to go out and play. He just can't seem to get it done in class.
As far as reading goes.... He's a great reader but maybe has a little trouble with comprehension (reading between the lines). Part of his reading grade is writing which is a big issue. His handwriting is good, he just doesn't like to do it. So with assignments that require a little elaboration he tries to be as general as possible. Now verbally he will give you a second by second account of any story he's telling you. Even this morning he didn't want to sign his last name on his progress report because it was "too much".
I asked if his hand cramps from writing too much and he said no he just didn't want to do it and even told me the other day he was just being a bit lazy about it. He had an assignment answering questions and verbally gave me a great answer but when writing it down it was a generic simple answer. When I told him he needed to write the whole thing he got mad and broke his pencil lead. I disciplined him and he decided he'd go ahead and finish writing his entire thought.
I mentioned this to his teacher and she tells me "I don't think he's lazy. He may just call it that because he doesn't know exactly what it is, but there are other brain disorders that will cause this. Like maybe he forgets what he wants to write down."
WHAT?! :arghh:
I personally don't think my son has ADD or ADHD - of course this is just me. I think he may be bored or feeling left out. He generally doesn't get recess because he's catching up on unfinished assignments. Not only is he spending 7 hours at school working but then has to bring work home and spends 2 - 5 hours a night trying to get them completed for the next day.
I've tried giving him an hour of play time after school before he has to sit down and work on his homework but have since had to take this away. Now he can't play unless all his homework is complete.
I could go on and on about things but I've already made this way to long. I'd really love opinions and will answer any questions you all may have.
Thanks in advance,
Dawn
