ADHD In Children...., - Picayune,MS

My son was diagnosed at the end of 2nd grade - ADHD inattentive type. In addition he also has some other learning challenges related to math and reading. We were very surprised by the diagnosis. He is an easy going personality, quiet and introspective. He is kind and sweet. We knew something was going on, but didn't realize how far behind he really was. He's been getting private tutoring for the last two years and gets accommodations in the classroom now. He started Ritalin a few months ago and his self esteem has improved dramatically as his confidence in his own learning has increased. He is now reading at a beginning 3rd grade level, and we are half way through 3rd grade. Lots of progress this year. Every kid is different. Get a psych test for all things, not just ADHD. He is the right age for testing.

Anytime you have contact with the school make sure it is in writing (email). If not write a follow up letter reviewing what was discussed in person or on phone.

Document everything.

This is disappointing to hear about your son's teacher, especially knowing that he is struggling.

I would call to set up an appointment with the principal since you have already tried the teacher and gotten know where.

Have a list of your concerns that you want to discuss. Bring his written work that you have concerns about to show them.

If you can bring a friend or relative to document the meeting. Or record on phone.

Before the meeting, have an idea how these issues can be resolved and what you want out of the meeting.

I would (put in writing) request that the school test him for ADHD and a psychological evaluation. If the school cannot meet your son's needs you may have to get him tested privately (expensive) and bring results to school to accommodate him or find another school.

Good luck

ETA:
After reading your SWH, all I can say is, UG! How unbelievably frustrating! I am so sorry.

You do have some academic concerns, but it is almost impossible to tell whether or not any of these could be easily addressed. Please keep in mind that many of them actually could be easily addressed if you were able to communicate with the teacher. Sometimes all kids need is a little bit of extra help to get over a hump and they are off to the races with learning. This really could be the case with your son, but if he is frustrated and school and not getting any help with it, he is definitely not going to want to do homework. He may or may not have ADHD or any other concerns.

Right now I think you have to call the principal. I hate saying that. I really do. Because I am a firm believer that you should always try to address things with the teacher and not go over the teacher's head. But in this case, you've already done that. I think you need to go to the principal and say, "Help me! Help my son!"

Please don't worry about him "failing." I don't even know why some schools still use grades at this level. I am very thankful that my 4th grader still does not have actual grades. Our district doesn't use letter grades until Middle School. Letter grades don't quite reflect what a child is learning or what he/she is capable of. They reflect whether or not that child completes assignments and turns in homework. That's very important in middle school and beyond, but not so much in second grade.

What you what to focus on is whether or not he can read at grade level and do math at grade level. He should be receiving speech services through the school (which means an IEP). His progress there should be a part of his report card.

I could go on and on, and right now I don't even know that you'll see my edits :-)

I encourage you to speak with the principal and set up a meeting with you, the principal and the teacher. These concerns need to be addressed right now! I'm not too worried about your son. He has lots of time to catch up on any areas that he is struggling with. But the longer he struggles, the harder it will be for him to have fun at school and like learning again and the easier it will be for him to be discouraged.

Call the principal now and start there.

Original Answer:
My son was almost 6 years old and in kindergarten. But he doesn't just have ADHD. He is also on the Autism spectrum.

If you suspect something is off, you need to consider a few things: does he need more sleep, is he eating well, does he get enough exercise, does he get enough down time and play time after school or is it just homework, is he expected to do too much homework.

Have you discussed your concerns with your son's teacher or with your pediatrician? If you truly believe it's more than just diet/exercise/sleep, etc, I would suggest asking the school for an evaluation and talking to your pediatrician. We did both.

We had our son evaluated by the school. He did qualify for resource time and more speech time.

We also talked to our pediatrician who referred us to a psychologist. Our son first saw a psychologist when he was 4 years old. He wast diagnosed with ADHD until he was almost 6 and diagnosed with Autism when he was 7.

It could be ADHD, but it could also be many, many other things. If you are concerned, talk to someone who can do an evaluation.

Schools can evaluate for educational needs, but they can't do medical diagnosis. For that, you should see a pediatric psychologist, psychiatrist, neuro psych, etc. Someone who specializes in brains. Some pediatricians will diagnose, but unless they are specialized, most are not properly qualified to do so.

Right now, turn your focus towards getting medical answers for your son. Once you know if there is a diagnosable issue or not, you will better know what kind of help he needs in regards to school.

Since your son's teacher hasn't talked to you about this, you really don't even know what's going on (not that that's your fault). That's where you need to begin. You have to find a way to talk to this teacher. I agree with other that it is time to get the principal involved. Right now you don't even really know what's going on, and that is absolutely not ok!!!.

Set up a meeting with the teacher and the principal and ask tons of questions. Do not leave without a plan in action. How are they going to address your concerns? Why is your son struggling? Does he needs extra help? Does he have a learning disability? Is there a social concern? What is going on? How do they plan to evaluate the problem?

Before you leave, make sure they have told you how they plan to evaluate the problem (because they will probably need sometime to actually answer your questions). Also, do not leave until you have a followup meeting scheduled. They might need time to collect data and decide whether or not your son needs to be evaluated. They need to have a meeting with you to share their findings.

Did the school evaluate his speech? If not, they need to. Schools are required by law to provide speech services. If he has been evaluated, he should have an IEP in place for speech and should be pulled out for a certain number of minutes each week. You should also have progress reports with every report card and an annual IEP meeting to discuss his needs.

Kay,
All the problems with the school aside, here's what we did...
Talk to your pediatrician. Tell them the situation and ask for a referral for an evaluation. I strongly suggest getting a medical dx as opposed to the evals school districts provide.

The 'symptoms' we were seeing were things we'd seen for a long time; Kiddo seemed to be 'in his own world'; horrible difficulty focusing on things which he was not interested in/learning about; immense ability to hyperfocus on things he was interested in (you could talk to him and he wouldn't even know you were there); no awareness of social cues/classroom transitions; takes a while to 'get into' a task (which caused problems at school because by the time he was ready to focus, the rapid transitions of the class day meant that he then had to move to the next activity); and a development of task-avoidance behaviors toward things which he wasn't interested in, most esp. homework.

*Yes, it is stressful.* If I'd had the knowledge I do now, I would have put my foot down and said "no homework" as part of his modifications for his IEP. We (son and I) spent nearly 4 years having our relationship stretched thin due to stupid amounts of homework in the evenings and his hatred of it. 6 hours a day of work at school is enough for youngsters. He developed a terrible self-perception, thought of himself as 'stupid' because the challenge of doing boring work was HARD for him. We also had to (and sometimes still need to) close the curtains on the windows and find as much of a distraction-free place to work as possible. If he doesn't like the work, any distraction easily pulls him away. It's frustrating for everyone, most especially him.

We took our son in for a 3 hour eval with clinicians... it was basically them playing games and some age-appropriate schoolwork thrown in. We told our son that this was to 'find out how you learn' and kept it light. We discovered that, along with ADHD-inattentive type, our kiddo has some powerful strengths in certain areas we weren't regularly seeing, and also has some profound processing delays (which can, at times, make him seem 'slow' or can frustrate others if they are impatient and think he's not paying attention. He is, he's just taking the time he needs to process the information given). For some,private testing can be expensive. We worked with a great diagnostic clinic and had the evaluation 'to rule out ADHD' at the request of his pediatrician. Our insurance covered a good portion of it through their behavior/mental health carrier; we paid copays for the eval and subsequent visits with a good psychologist.

The eval helped us, incredibly. Because of the school he went to, their lack of interest in understanding ADHD, and a very bad teacher last year (she was mean, a yeller, and degraded the special needs kids in the class), we pulled him out and are homeschooling. Tailoring his educational needs to his learning style was essential for rebuilding this self-esteem and confidence. We are still on that path. Our family also attended a weekend workshop on "Paying Attention to Attention"; this really helped my husband, who knew less about this than I did, to know that we had to alter our expectations a bit AND that we had to also change our parenting to help our son develop much-needed skills.

Check out ADDitude online magazine. They are a fantastic resource for helping families with tips and ideas and explaining different facets of ADHD. I love learning about how I can continue to help our son.

Our son's symptoms were so extreme at three that he was kicked out of preschool. He has ADHD-combined type, so we saw hyperactivity, inattentiveness, impulsiveness, aggression. Well beyond typical preschooler. Life was miserable. We really thought we were terrible parents and invested a lot of time reading up on parenting strategies, raising boys, etc. We were already working with a child psychologist at the time he was kicked out, trying to help fix the behavior issues and taking parenting classes. He started treatment for ADHD at four (stimulants) because he was a danger to others and finally received the diagnosis at five. Our son was a neon sign for this condition -- every major symptom to the 100th degree -- but it still took a long time for a diagnosis.

Talk to his pediatrician and ask for a referral to a child psychiatrist or neuropsychologist for an evaluation. He needs to get in with a specialist for an assessment. Don't be shocked if it takes many months to get in. There's a shortage of mental health professionals. The assessment process can take a while, too. It's a real misconception that there's a rush to diagnose. We found it to be extremely thorough, so if it's not ADHD, you will learn that, too.

Check out the websites for CHADD and ADDitude magazine. If you think "I've found my people," you're on the right track.

At this point, the school is running you ragged. Email the district office and put in a request for a formal assessment of your son for potential learning disabilities. They have to do this if you request it. They will send out professionals who can evaluate your son. You won't get a diagnosis if it is ADHD since these professionals aren't doctors, but they can help identify areas where the school can provide added help, particularly if there are learning disabilities involved.

If it is ADHD or any other condition, look into 504 plans and IEPs to see which one would apply most to your son's situation. You'll want to get the school system to comply with the necessary accommodations to help him succeed in school. Some schools are better than others at offering help. It sounds like you may have a fight at your school. Find out who is the 504 plan and IEP coordinator. Every public school has one.

Good luck! Be persistent and don't give up. For now, the IDEA is in place and you can get help for your son.

My children don't have adhd.

But I do have experience in education. My son has a late July birthday we had him start kindergarten when he was a new 6 instead of sending him when he was barely 5. The gap narrows starting around second and third grade. So that is why I'm thankful he was really ready.

The speech issue is a huge red flag to me. That makes learning language / reading harder. Getting help for that early can make a huge difference.

It won't hurt for you to have him tested for adhd. But there is so much more you can change too,amount of sleep he gets, the healthy foods he eats, exercise and limited screen time and time you spend connecting with him too might make a big difference if it isn't a brain chemical imbalance.

He needs further evaluation.
He may just be acting out due to frustration. I would be to if I had a teacher that negligent.

He may have speech delay, language delays and will need IEP to help. I would bring this up to the Superintendent. Schools are obligated to do further testing when a child is showing that they are struggling.

It doesn't sound like you have had an actual face to face meeting with the teacher. I would start there. Set one up to meet with her and ask the school psychologist to attend that same meeting as well. Ask the teacher what SHE believes is leading to the low grades. Honestly, it could be a million things - from sitting next to a kid who is picking on him to ADHD.

The school is responsible for setting up a system that allows your child to be successful in school. You are responsible for making sure that not only is the school doing their job, but also that your son is doing his. I think that medical intervention should only happen when the school has provided the needed tools for success and the parent has provided the needed support at home. When that has failed, it is time to start looking at other issues like ADHD or other neuropsych issues.

Finally, what does "failing" actually mean in 2nd grade. If he fails English are they REALLY going to hold him back? Honestly, it isn't like he is getting credits to graduate at this point and the maturity level of kids in 2nd grade is still so all over the map. Before you start making yourself crazy about his grades (which your kid is picking up on) find out what those grades actually mean. Getting behind this early on isn't good, but is usually pretty solvable with a little extra tutoring or summer skills class.

Good luck!

if there was not an issue with the teacher in first grade and all these things surfaced with the second grade teacher i say your kids fine and the teacher needs an evaluation.
BUT talk to the pedi about your concerns they can refer you to the proper specialist to get the child evaluated.its better to know so you can help your child.
and i would pursue this teacher and see why shes so negligent about working with parents. my kids teacher will respond to an e-mail question within a few hours... and if it warrants a face to face she will arrange it.

In our case, our son always has had an internal motor. He was reckless and couldn't focus on anything. No one had to tell me. I told them.

It's too bad he has homework. A lot of districts are not doing that anymore. We've been in 3 different ones and none of them had busy work style homework. My daughter has moved 4 times in the last few years, totally different towns and not one of them did busy work homework either.

Spelling words and reading for 20/30 minutes yes, but not "Do the odd problems on page ## and turn it in tomorrow morning by the time the bell goes off". None of that stuff.

2nd grade is a pretty normal year. 3rd grade is a tough year since they go to a much higher level of math and they also have some cognitive growth where they really start doing social stuff. Most of my friends hate teaching 3rd grade. They say they spend most of the year mediating girls arguments and trying to teach social skills.

I think he might have more going on cognitively since he's having speech issues. He might have problems understanding the teachers, sometimes hearing problems are associated with speech issues. Having behaviors can mean a lot of things. It can mean he's completely bored and already knows the material or is finished and needs more to keep him busy mentally, it could mean he is frustrated because he doesn't understand what he's supposed to be doing, and it can mean that he hates that particular subject they're working on and he is going to act out each time they pull those books from the desk.

The best thing you can do is visit with the teacher. If she/he says they think it's this or that please consider that they spend almost their entire day with your child and they have interacted with hundreds of children for hundreds of hours and they know when they see something that isn't normal/regular/out of sync with the rest of the class.

I hope you can take him for a complete evaluation where they'll check him for knowledge and ADHD and perhaps even something that is prohibiting him from learning the material.

There could be many factors in the change of your son's behaviour. How are his peer relationships at school...is he being picked on? Does he like his teacher? Why or why not. Are there any major changes/things going on at home? I was diagnosed with ADHD...but I think the diagnosis was too quick of thing to label without looking at the factors. Has your son's hearing been tested? I am deaf in one year and they found out I was deaf at age six...which explained why I was falling behind with instruction because the teacher had me sit near the back of the class. Also, if you do suspect he could have ADHD try taking out of his diet any foods with dyes in it...like food colouring etc. Kids are affected with colouring additives (google it) and if he does have ADHD, the dyes only exagerate the symptoms of ADHD. Any sugary food - avoid or try and limit them as possible as you can...juices are the worst and so is processed food. I know that anxiety issues go hand-in-hand with ADHD....this may not show up until his early teens if does get an ADHD diagnosis. Vitamin C tends to help with anxiety. If your son has sleep issues (sometimes experienced with ADHD), look into calcium magnesium supplement - that will help him relax before bed (run by this with a medical professional but it worked for me).

Education wise, a huge thing that helped me was learning style. The problem with education, is that teachers can't teach. They tend to only teach with a certain learning style that may help only a students that can learn by that method - and unfortunately, not all students learn by the method the teacher uses. With teaching, they are paid to teach students and this should encompass teaching according to the child's learning style. Is your son hands on at learning different things (not just school concepts) by watching and then doing (hands on learning)? Remember the teacher growing, telling a math problem out loud and me just staring at it. When my Mom sat down with me and did a pie or using change/blocks to help me add or subtract - I was learning and the concepts were sticking. Also, ...when you explain to him school work...it will help his attention span with using diagrams...so, if he gets side tracked when you are explaining him something about a homework question, you can point back to where on the chart he is confused and go from there....The teacher should be doing her job and working with him using these methods (if it is his learning style).

Another huge thing that helped me...was Mom demanding the teacher that I be placed in the front row. That way there is a lesser chance your son will feel a need to turn around and talk to his friends without getting caught (not saying that he does) but he will be more likely to avoid doing this because in the front row...its hard to not get caught.

If the principle and teacher are still not responding, I would go above their pay grade level and report their lack of response to their supervisors (board of education). Record dates and times for each time you had tried to contact the principle or teacher - this will add more credibility to you when they try to justify or say that you did not in fact try and contact them.

Really, I wih you all the best and I hear your frustration. Your son is in no doubt a smart cookie...he just has to find what works for him for learning or maybe it all boils down to a shity teacher or other issues going on with his friends or life that he is focusing on.