How do I find out what the problem is with my second grader??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were told by his teacher:

That he can't concentrate.
That he jumps out of his seat all of the time. Even if it's just to get a pencil.
He has a very hard time sitting in his chair and that he's always kneeling or squatting on the chair.
He is always talking and telling stories.
At recess he would rather talk to her and tell her stories.
He has a high vocabulary, but his behind on his reading and he's good in math.

This seems like attention seeking stuff but at home DH and I give him attention and the class size is very small. I'm not sure what's going on. The teacher hasn't been teaching for very long. I kind of got the impression that she doesn't know what to do. When we talked to him about it, he said it's hard for him to sit still when he's happy. He doesn't seem to pay attention for very long either.

I'm not sure what to do. How do I find out what going on? I don't want to jump the gun and say ADHD, but I have no experience with ADHD. Is there a way to test him?

I would request an evaluation that included more that testing for ADHD. If he has a large vocabulary and is behind in reading, possible dyslexia should be investigated too.

That's what jumped out to me too. The other thing is that if he's not paying attention, he could have missed the instruction that he needs to do his best in reading. Even spacing out/daydreaming one minute out of every 5 -- which wouldn't be particularly noticeable -- would have a big impact on his learning. My child started reading a week after starting ADHD meds.

You can get evaluated through the public school system, but you'll get a far more thorough evaluation (though pricey) privately. Many people recommend Stixrud, in Silver Spring, although if you post in the SN forum, you'll get lots of recommendations.

[Anonymous]

It could be ADHD. Or he could need more physical activity. If he has any low tone issues, it can make it hard for children to sit upright, still, and concentrate because it requires more energy than a typical child to engage in those activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were told by his teacher:

That he can't concentrate.
That he jumps out of his seat all of the time. Even if it's just to get a pencil.
He has a very hard time sitting in his chair and that he's always kneeling or squatting on the chair.
He is always talking and telling stories.
At recess he would rather talk to her and tell her stories.
He has a high vocabulary, but his behind on his reading and he's good in math.

This seems like attention seeking stuff but at home DH and I give him attention and the class size is very small. I'm not sure what's going on. The teacher hasn't been teaching for very long. I kind of got the impression that she doesn't know what to do. When we talked to him about it, he said it's hard for him to sit still when he's happy. He doesn't seem to pay attention for very long either.

I'm not sure what to do. How do I find out what going on? I don't want to jump the gun and say ADHD, but I have no experience with ADHD. Is there a way to test him?

Do you agree?

[Anonymous]

There's nothing to diagnose. He's a boy. Sorry but many teachers do not know how to teach boys. Read Peg Tyre's The Trouble With Boys. Maybe give a copy to your teacher.

[Anonymous]

another option is find a school for your child - single sex is known to be best. I know a top boys school where when a child gets a little silly in class, they make them run a few laps - not punish them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were told by his teacher:

That he can't concentrate.
That he jumps out of his seat all of the time. Even if it's just to get a pencil.
He has a very hard time sitting in his chair and that he's always kneeling or squatting on the chair.
He is always talking and telling stories.
At recess he would rather talk to her and tell her stories.
He has a high vocabulary, but his behind on his reading and he's good in math.

This seems like attention seeking stuff but at home DH and I give him attention and the class size is very small. I'm not sure what's going on. The teacher hasn't been teaching for very long. I kind of got the impression that she doesn't know what to do. When we talked to him about it, he said it's hard for him to sit still when he's happy. He doesn't seem to pay attention for very long either.

I'm not sure what to do. How do I find out what going on? I don't want to jump the gun and say ADHD, but I have no experience with ADHD. Is there a way to test him?

Do you agree?

I see it.

[Anonymous]

OP,

If he is always talking and telling stories and would rather talk to the teacher than play, it sounds like he is draining the teacher's time away from the other kids. It also sounds like he may need additional help making friends.

I taught school. The kids that run up to you and share something are fine--but I would be concerned if this is a daily activity at recess rather than playing with the other kids. Do you have other children? Is it possible he needs to be the center of attention? Is he comfortable with other children?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It does sound a lot like ADHD. You can get an evaluation at Inova Kellar in Fairfax or Children's downtown to name a couple of places. My dd was diagnosed in 2nd grade and got services through a 504. We got her an IEP in 3rd grade. We finally started medication at the end of 3rd grade, and it is helping her a lot. When she doesn't have her medicine, she says that she tries to pay attention but that she can't. It upsets her when she can't focus on what's going on in class. It has raised her self esteem taking the medicine and being able to keep up with her classmates.

17:05 here. Told you.
Op please ignore this. Just because this poster can't resist the lure of Big Pharma, doesn't mean she knows what she is talking about

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP,

If he is always talking and telling stories and would rather talk to the teacher than play, it sounds like he is draining the teacher's time away from the other kids. It also sounds like he may need additional help making friends.

I taught school. The kids that run up to you and share something are fine--but I would be concerned if this is a daily activity at recess rather than playing with the other kids. Do you have other children? Is it possible he needs to be the center of attention? Is he comfortable with other children?

He has a little sister at home. She is very demanding of us, but we make sure that he gets a lot of our attention too. I thought he was friends with the other kids in his class. These are good questions to ask his teacher the next time I talk to her. How do Would she have a better gage on if he's getting along with the other kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's nothing to diagnose. He's a boy. Sorry but many teachers do not know how to teach boys. Read Peg Tyre's The Trouble With Boys. Maybe give a copy to your teacher.

PP I am so sick of hearing "He's a boy" used as an excuse for behavior. Yes, all children need to have physical activity, but they also need to learn what is situationally appropriate behavior. We don't know if this little boy has a challenge such as ADHD, we can not assess him here. It is people like you who make parents feel ashamed and not feel like they can ask for help. She should have her son assessed, there is no harm in gaining additional information.

OP Do you go to church? I am curious how he functions in that setting or others that require inactivity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's nothing to diagnose. He's a boy. Sorry but many teachers do not know how to teach boys. Read Peg Tyre's The Trouble With Boys. Maybe give a copy to your teacher.

PP I am so sick of hearing "He's a boy" used as an excuse for behavior. Yes, all children need to have physical activity, but they also need to learn what is situationally appropriate behavior. We don't know if this little boy has a challenge such as ADHD, we can not assess him here. It is people like you who make parents feel ashamed and not feel like they can ask for help. She should have her son assessed, there is no harm in gaining additional information.

OP Do you go to church? I am curious how he functions in that setting or others that require inactivity.

And I'm so sick of people stating that every young boy who would rather play or chat than sit still in school needs to be "assessed." If OP is looking for a "diagnosis," I can promise you she will find some one who will provide that.

[Anonymous]

Please don't request a medical/psychological evaluation just because one teacher is annoyed by your child. If your child had a genuine special need, it would affect every area of his life. It would show up in virtually every arena of interactions with adults. It would make learning impossible in all educational arenas.

If this teacher is unable to deal with your child, ask her how she plans to adjust. Your child may be different in six months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please don't request a medical/psychological evaluation just because one teacher is annoyed by your child. If your child had a genuine special need, it would affect every area of his life. It would show up in virtually every arena of interactions with adults. It would make learning impossible in all educational arenas.

If this teacher is unable to deal with your child, ask her how she plans to adjust. Your child may be different in six months.

That is absolutely not true. There are different levels of severity, plus at home we often unconsciously accommodate our children. For example, my child cannot have a conversation unless he is running around in circles. Fine at home, not fine at school. That doesn't mean the problem doesn't exist, just that we accommodate at home.

Learning is rarely "impossible" in "all" areas. For example, my child loves math and soaks it up without really trying. So his attention problems don't affect him as much. Reading is a much bigger challenge (he also has dyslexia), so not being able to focus on reading instruction is a big problem.

[Anonymous]

I have a Master's Degree in Special Education and it is my philosophy that getting a MDT assessment is NEVER a bad thing. An assessment provides the parents with information about their child. Asking for an assessment (which the school is legally obligated to provide) does not obligate the parents to anything. For example, the WISC V test not only provides full scale IQ, but the sub-tests provide information about:
Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), Visual Spatial Index (VSI), Fluid Reasoning Index (FRI), Working
Memory Index (WMI), and the Processing Speed Index (PSI)

I think it is wrong to assume that practictioners just want to diagnose and label children, nothing could be further from the truth. We want to help children and do so by assessing their strengths and weaknesses. When their is a clinically identifiable problem, we identify and seek to remediate it so the child can be successful, not only in the educational arena, but in life.

[Anonymous]

SLANT sounds like something they would teach in business school. I've seen articles about how all this morning meeting, feedback jazz is really about running schools like a corporation and teaching kids to behave like corporate employees. This seems like more of the same.