Son not "focusing" - help!!! (long post)

For even suggesting this. But it sounds like ADHD/Inattentive Subtype. My son who is now 17 was exactly like that as a first grader. If you would like, you can PM me. Robin

Other than teacher saying he is distracted, how does he do? When my son was in preschool and kindergarten I got that report a lot. Yet he was always right on track learning at least at the level of the rest of the class. If he is getting his work done, if he is learning at the same pace as the rest of the class, I wouldnt' be overly concerned yet.

Sounds like ADHD to me. Now, not all children with ADHD need to be medicated. For some it is necessary to make it, and others find other means to compensate for their situation and do just fine. It sounds like to me that some days he is able to compensate better than others and it may just be that the work that day interests him more and he can focus better. I have a 5 year old foster son who was diagnosed about 6 mo. ago. He did not start medication thought til last week. His ADHD was affecting him to the point of hindering is academic performance to the point that they wanted to retain him (and he has a high IQ but with ADHD and no one working with him at home during his formative years....well......he was behind) P.S. One good sign in tapping on the head with a pencil while trying to work. I have seen it in NUMEROUS ADHD students. It blocks out other noises and distractions and allows them to see a thought completely through. I have had children who were not medicated and to compensate for their need to MOVE, they would get up, walk around the room, walk by my desk and say something quickly to me, return to their seat, and get right back to work. I called these "drive-bys". :camo: As a teacher I had no problem with this if it meant keeping them off the meds, but for many they need to move constantly and their mind races. They need meds. And it will take some time to find the right one and the right dose so if you choose that route--be patient. My advice is this---see his pediatrician and tell her what you have said here. Ask to have him evaluated by a behavior analyst (do not go through the school as it will take 5 times longer than it has to). If the behavior analyst believes that he has ADHD, have them fax that info the pediatrician. The dr. will then give you something in writing. Take it to the school. Your child will qualify for special services called a 504 plan. It does not mean he will be placed in special education classes. It means that certain modifications can be made for him legally such as having work cut into smaller segments (if it looks like it will take a long time--ADHS kids won't hardly even try), less work required to prove his mastery, a timer to show him how much time he has left to work, a reward system based upon something that works for him like extra computer time etc for when he follows directions and stays focused til finished, allows the directions to be read to him more than once and perhaps directly to his face where he can really "get" it, and many many more.......even chewing gum during work time. Yes, it works for some to have their mouth moving and chewing rather than running around the room or talking to their neighbor ot themselves non-stop. It also qualifies him to be placed into a room with WAY fewer children in it during testing times (and we all know how important those standardized tests have become) so that he has more one on one time with teacher and fewer distractions. With all those things being implemented, your child will be far less likely to need meds to be successful academically. It isn't a guarantee but it is a good start. Good luck and PM if you need to. Also, Get a copy of the parent's rights from your son's school. It will tell you how things go. The special ed teacher will be a wonderful resource as they are often the only one in the building to know how it all works and who qualifies and the legality of it all. P.S. Foster son only takes small dose in the A.M. and it has worn off by the time I pick him up and he is a little more hyper and inattentive to directions in the P.M. but like you said----we have our own two and him and since I am familiar with how to deal with him and we, too, are "on top of him" it is not too bad. We use timers, etc. in the home. Right now with just one homework sheet per night it isn't too bad but I know it will get harder and we may have to do a second dose at lunch.

Sorry it took so long to respond back - we went away for a super fun "sledding" weekend... This gives me alot to think about... As far as his "learning level", I have to say that AJ is doing really well in school - he picks up on things quickly, and has made great progress, according to his teacher. When at home, he gets done what needs to be done without too much interference - when we give him a "task" he finishes it without being distracted... As for school, it seems like this pops up after an extended break (after summer vacation, after 2 weeks off for winter, etc.) It makes me nervous because he'll have a week and a half off for Easter, and I don't want it to start back up again! I've been looking around online at info on ADHD, but geesh - who can say? I think I will talk to his teacher once more, then go to his ped. like suggested and take it from there... Thanks again guys!

Can I just add that since he is still only in 1/2 day kindergaqrten it would not be a bad thing to wait it out and see how he does in 1st grade before considering meds? It is not that I am completely against meds (2 out of my 4 kids are on adhd meds). It is just that at this early in school it is hard to tell exactly what is going on.

I agree that meds can wait (and maybe never be needed) but don't put off the evaluation and diagnosis. By having the school do the 504 plan they are freed up to make modifications for him (in his work and in how they respond to his behaviors) that they otherwise cannot make. They can't have timers for him, offer him gum, reduce his work or break it up, etc. and not do this for every child in the room unless he has a qualifying medical condition and ADD/ADHD is one of them. Sometimes just letting the teacher/school know that he IS diagnosed with this will make them approach the situation differently. This will leave options open and if the modifications are not enough then you will already have the diagnosis and can talk meds when and if his grades and academics start to slip. Also, a plus to meds, is that it keeps things a little more level so that breaks from school and starting back may not be so chaotic for him. He may have some school anxiety and that can be diagnosed as well. IMO I would go ahead with speaking to the pediatrician and evaluator. Certainly won't hurt. Kim

If he's doing well grade level wise and is picking up things quickly etc., is it possible that he is bored? My dd does not have add and she would distract herself all the time in kindy-2nd grade until she got a teacher who saw that she needed to be challenged MORE. I think there is too much expectation these days for kinder kids to just sit there all day and not move around. Kids staying on task at this age...sure, they need to be able to do it but perhaps the way she expects him to do it is not his learning style. Learning styles are not one size fits all, imo. I find a lot of kids need to get up and stretch, have brain breaks etc. and there is nothing wrong with that. The transition of going back to school after a break...that can be true for a lot of kids to re-adjust. I would suggest working on some techniques to help him with that transition. For example, maybe have 20 min. a day set aside for reading time or workbook time. Not homework or strenuous brain work...just activities to do every day. Even building a lego set or coloring etc. can help him to settle back down when school starts.

I agree with Crick. My first thought when I read your post was he is probably bored. My oldest son is completely bored with school. He does not have ADHD, but if some observed him they would probably assume he does. Also, sounds like he's just a typical 6 yr old boy (my son is also 6). Good luck!

If you haven't already, please take him for an eye exam. Make sure the doctor is someone who sees a LOT of kids. There are a few vision problems that often manifest themselves as "inattention" and "trouble focusing on tasks." These same problems are not usually picked up on regular school or ped office screenings. Given your description I don't see any red flags for vision issues, but it is certainly something to rule out. Keep in mind, kids don't know how other people see, they thing everyone sees like them. They can also have "good vision," but be asking their eyes to do too much extra work causing inattention and trouble staying focused. PM me if you have any other questions. If you makes you feel better, he sounds just like me as a 2nd grader. I spend almost everyday inside catching up on stuff I didn't do in class because I was distracted. Good news is, I totally grew out of it by 3rd or 4th grade. I would definitely look further into the problem, but with any luck he will eventually grow out of it :) Good luck!

Thanks everyone for the great advice. His teacher has been trying some things lately - she reorganized the seating arrangement (which she does every report card marking) and he seems to do better now that he's not around his "friends" ~ surprise surprise lol. He had a vision/hearing screening in October so all is well there. After thinking and thinking, it dawned on me this afternoon that there have been a few changes that I looked past. I wonder if they have anything to do with it... Neither of my boys were eating much of a breakfast, so my DH went out and bought sugar cereal (Cookie Crisp) which they have never had before, figuring that it is better to send them to school with SOMETHING than with nothing (This has been since the holidays). I wonder if it could be the extra sugar in the morning...Does anyone have any suggestions? I've tried fruit, cereal, oatmeal, etc. but it usually ends up sitting on the table with very little eaten. My boys also wake up about an hour and a half before we leave for school each morning (naturally - not by my choice haha). Since they have so much free time, they usually play after they get ready - lately it seems to be "louder" play with their Star Wars characters, etc. I wonder if it gets them too riled up before school...Hmm..things to think of... Thanks again for all the great suggestions. I am definately going to change a few things around the house and see what happens over the next few weeks.

My son is ADHD. But he has many, many other issues. I too would suggest having a CAP eval done. This is a hearing processing exam. I would also suggest a vision processing exam. Neither has to do with hearing or seeing. It is an eval on how the brain processes the information when it comes in. My son has CAPD. He cannot filter out multiple voices. So, when all the other kids are talking, he cannot follow directions from his teacher because he cannot 'hear' what she is saying. He just hears voices, not the words that 1 person is speaking. Visual processing is the same. Reading and/or math can be difficult with a lot of writing on the page. A template that shows only 1 line at a time on the page helps his eyes to focus, my son would never be able to read this paragrah, too many words on the page. It needs to be isolated, or his eyes don't process, they skip around on the page. He has a template to isolate 1 math problem at a time. Or he tries to do them all at once and gets frustrated. He'll add the top # from one problem and the bottom # on the next problem, because his eyes drift. His hearing is perfect. His vision 20/20. His processing is disconnected. On vacation times, try to keep his schedule close to the same as school. Maybe get some worksheets to do through the day. Maybe have lunch at the same time as he does on school days. My son is on 12 month programming, so he goes to school in the summer. Christmas and Easter have been shortened to 1 week in this area with a week for President's week. This actually helps out most of the kids - special needs or not.

Thank you qsmom! I just want to make it very very clear that vision screenings (school and even ped office) are far different from an eye exam by an eye doctor. I see many kids who have passed several screenings with flying colors, but still have vision/eye problems that really make learning difficult. Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now :) I just hate to see kids struggle for a long time only to find out we could have fixed it pretty easily a long time ago :( Good luck!

Oh I should have made this clearer - he didn't have it through his regular school, he had it done where he used to go to speech in preschool...when they aged him out of the program (and he didn't need to go further because his speech was age appropriate) - he passed both parts of a pretty comprehensive exam. It was certainly more than he receives in school or in his peds office... Believe me - if I thought I hadn't exhausted this avenue I would have gone further with it... qs mom - now I don't know if the exams AJ took are the same as a CAP eval - I'll have to dig out my paperwork and find the printout of the results...but I know what you are saying about "filtering voices" - I have the same problem... I don't really think it's ADHD, but then again I can't rule anything out - that's why I'd love to make any changes at home that I can possibly make in addition to further testing if needed. I'm not one of those moms who says "Not my kid", so it's not like a denial thing, but I do have some experience with kids with ADHD, although I'm not a doc so it is limited...

Oh I should have made this clearer - he didn't have it through his regular school, he had it done where he used to go to speech in preschool, which has a miriad of specialists who do special testing...when they aged him out of the program (and he didn't need to go further because his speech was age appropriate) - he passed both parts of a pretty comprehensive exam. It was certainly more than he receives in school or in his peds office... Believe me - if I thought I hadn't exhausted this avenue I would have gone further with it... qs mom - now I don't know if the exams AJ took are the same as a CAP eval - I'll have to dig out my paperwork and find the printout of the results...but I know what you are saying about "filtering voices" - I have the same problem... I don't really think it's ADHD, but then again I can't rule anything out - that's why I'd love to make any changes at home that I can possibly make in addition to further testing if needed. I'm not one of those moms who says "Not my kid", so it's not like a denial thing, but I do have some experience with kids with ADHD, although I'm not a doc so it is limited...Thanks everyone for the suggestions!