Kindergarten girl ADHD question

[Anonymous]

Im at the beginning of this adhd journey and seeking help from those who have been down the path. My 5 yo dd has severe behavior issues in school that started last year in preschool and are continuing in K. Before starting K she got an IEP through childfind for social/emotional delay. We just finished up a neuropsych and she scored cognitively advanced and academically at or above grade level. Neuropsych thinks anxiety and/or adhd are leading to the behavior issues at school (defiance, purposely answering questions wrong or answering with gibberish, not completing tasks, along with having trouble with keeping hands to herself and resisting redirection from teachers). She bombed the Dibels and kindergarten readiness testing at school even though she easily did the math and reading exercises for her age level at the neuropsych. At school she has been grouped with the kids who are not at grade level for math and language art instruction, which on one hand makes sense since there is something about the classroom environment that is blocking DDs ability to do the exercises, but on the other hand I know that outside of the classroom she knows how to do the stuff that is being taught so it seems like a disservice to keep her from being in the standard range level for instruction so she can build on what she already knows. Should I be advocating for her to be placed with the kids that are at grade level based on the neuropsych testing results, or leave her be in the "behind" group due to her behavior struggles?

[Anonymous]

With ADHD, being bored will exacerbate the behavioral problems, not help.

[Anonymous]

How many kids are in the class? Often a smaller class is less distracting and overwhelming.

[Anonymous]

18 or 19 kids. For math all the kids in kindergarten get grouped between the 4 kindergarten teachers so kids are grouped based on their level. My kid is with her regular teacher fom math as she is the teacher for the group of kids who are not at grade level in abilities based on her subpar performance at school. But based on neuropsych cognitive testing and her abilities outside of class, she should be in the meets or exceeds math standards class.

she had the same behavior issues in preschool last year with just 12 kids in the class.

[Anonymous]

Does she have these behavioral issues at home? Have you had a school observation from an outside source familiar with your child, like someone from your home team?

[Anonymous]

Who usually does school observations? Didn't happen with the neuropsych, but we are trying to get a developmental pediatrician, so maybe they would do that?

[Anonymous]

Can you place her at McLean or Newton Schools? Or hold her back a year?

[Anonymous]

What I would want is the teacher who best meets her needs not the peer group she does in academically. A good teacher will challenge her regardless of the peer group. Thinking about this might
Help you think about a plan. When mine was young I could always tell which teachers would make him shine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you place her at McLean or Newton Schools? Or hold her back a year?

No to holding her back. The kid is academically advanced. She’d be even more bored causing even more acting out.

OP, yes to advocating for at least trying a higher math group. Share the test results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What I would want is the teacher who best meets her needs not the peer group she does in academically. A good teacher will challenge her regardless of the peer group. Thinking about this might
Help you think about a plan. When mine was young I could always tell which teachers would make him shine

Thanks for this feedback it is definitely a helpful way to look at it.

[Anonymous]

I would homeschool for a year, work on problem behaviors, then try Public again in 1-2 years. These issues will only get worse unless you address them both in and outside the home.

[Anonymous]

She has some emotional regulation issues at home, but nothing extreme and she has some social anxiety that usually just manifests with her being extremely shy. But School seems to be the only place she becomes completely overwhelmed and displays extreme behavior issues. When we try talking about it with her she shuts down so its hard to know what is going on inside her that is triggering all this (anxiety and/or adhd).

[Anonymous]

Give the test results to the school immediately, and get her into ADHD treatment, including meds if warranted, so that this can be turned around before she has internalized that school is a mess for her and that she is “bad.” She may need placement in a school that is focused on emotional regulation and has small classes. ADHD meds may be trial and error to combat anxiety. Be upfront with the school, start a behavior plan with them, and have everyone keep in mind that this sucks for the kid and her behavior is no “on purpose.” Any school testing should be done one on one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She has some emotional regulation issues at home, but nothing extreme and she has some social anxiety that usually just manifests with her being extremely shy. But School seems to be the only place she becomes completely overwhelmed and displays extreme behavior issues. When we try talking about it with her she shuts down so its hard to know what is going on inside her that is triggering all this (anxiety and/or adhd).

Clearly she’s not ready for school, I would pull her and find other arrangements. And work on the emotional regulation at home, don’t use diagnoses as an excuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She has some emotional regulation issues at home, but nothing extreme and she has some social anxiety that usually just manifests with her being extremely shy. But School seems to be the only place she becomes completely overwhelmed and displays extreme behavior issues. When we try talking about it with her she shuts down so its hard to know what is going on inside her that is triggering all this (anxiety and/or adhd).

Clearly she’s not ready for school, I would pull her and find other arrangements. And work on the emotional regulation at home, don’t use diagnoses as an excuse.

The diagnoses aren’t excuses; they’re guides to why she’s dysregulated and what sort of help/accommodations/treatment she might need.

OP, request an EMT meeting and provide the neuropsych report to the school. Partner with them to find a solution before you do something drastic like pulling your dd out of school.