How can I help my son learn to concentrate and focus better?

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,
My son is 5. He is very bright and articulate. But he has an inability to concentrate and focus on many things. For example if I ask him to dress himself in the morning and lay his clothes out on the bed for him, he won't. I will remind him ten times, but he gets distracted very easily. If I tell him to eat his breakfast, he won't. He needs a reminder literally for every bite. He goes to tae kwon do class and he is the least attentive kid in class. He can concentrate and focus for long periods of time IF it's something he totally enjoys doing. If it's even the list bit unappealing, he's totally distracted and can't complete the task. I am concerned about how this affects his learning. He will start KG in September. I checked out a KG class at our public school and I was amazed at how those little 5 and 6 year old kids were sitting there at their desks for 30 minutes and doing pages and pages of their workbook quietly. How on earth will my son handle sitting calmly and doing worksheets?
He has been dx as having a mild case of sensory integration disorder. The doctor, however, wasn't overly helpful in giving me a solution though. He does not have ADHD btw, this has been ruled out.
Please - does anyone have any suggestions on how to improve concentration and focus?

[Anonymous]

Have the doctor prescribe a patch, called "Daytrona", that he'll wear on his thigh from morning until evening.
It is fantastic !!!!

[Anonymous]

First, Daytrana is indeed fantastic...a fantastic delivery system for Ritalin!! You wouldn't want it prescribed unless your DC has an attention disorder.

Second, how was ADD ruled out? He sure sounds like a good candidate for that diagnosis. If he wasn't evaluated by a clinical psychologist or a child psychiatrist, I would not consider it truly ruled out. You may need to do further investigation.

Either way, many of the non-medication techniques which help kids with ADD are effective with kids who have problems with focus for other reasons. I recommend The ADHD Book of Lists as a good source for lots of strategies to try.

[Anonymous]

I agree that this sounds like ADD. I call it 'ADD' rather than ADHD, when it is the inattentive type. I know some psychs will argue that it's all ADHD, but I disagree. OP, find a good child psychologist who has a wealth of knowledge on ADHD/ADD and attentional disorders.

[Anonymous]

OP -- this definitely sounds like ADD (or ADHD-inattentive if you prefer). If so, you are good and early in identifying a potential challenge for your child, so no need to panic. Our son has this very thing and we discovered it during his kindergarten year. The first thing is to find out if it does indeed affect his ability to learn during the school day. If so, there are lots of non-medical accomodations that can be tried such as providing a quiet part of the classroom for doing individual work, lots of small breaks (preferably outside in the fresh air), placing a yellow sheet of paper under his worksheet to help draw his eyes back to the page, etc. Another possibility is to carefully choose which kindergarten he attends -- one with a small class size, lots of outside playtime, and a less traditional teaching style that does not require him to sit quietly doing worksheets for large amounts of time!! If half a school year goes by and none of these types of intervention help ... do not be afraid of the medication. Our son takes the lowest dose available (5 mg) of dexedrine -- a stimulant that has been around for decades and is also used in diet pills. It makes an enormous difference and has no side effects at this dosage. Good luck, and remember, all small boys exhibit the attention/focus issues you describe to some degree so the teachers will have lots of ideas on how to help him learn!

[Anonymous]

11:17 again. Despite my lengthy response, I have one more thought to share. Trying to encourage a child with ADD to concentrate and focus more on his schoolwork without medical assistance is a bit like trying to encourage a child who is nearsighted to just try a little harder at seeing better without glasses. If ADD is indeed the problem (which it may well NOT be), even a very motivated and eager to please child cannot make himself achieve focus and concentration without medicine. The stimulants target that part of the brain that simply will not function normally on its own -- willpower and good intentions don't help!

[Anonymous]

Have you tried supplementing his diet with fish oil. I also got my CC "visual timer" to her her organize herself within a timeframe, which has proven to be very helpful.

Diet and behavior modification prior to drugs

[Anonymous]

I agree you must change your child's diet before trying drugs. I would give drugs only at the last resort. You might consider having your child checked for allergies. Our child was allergic to dust and mold, and had a terrible time concentrating, particularly during circle time in kindergarten while sitting on a carpeted floor. We started him on weekly allergy shots, and that problem disappeared (it took a while, drugs are faster, but I worry about side effects). DC also had food allergies, and we took milk, wheat, citrus, eggs and berries out of his diet, with fantastic results. It took forever, but the results are worth it. You don't know what long-term effects giving stimulants to a child can do to his body. If there's any alternative, I would try that first, even though it's slower and harder.

[Anonymous]

OP, you say the diagnosis is sensory integration disorder. Before pursuing ADD-related cures, can you get the doctor to write you a prescription for an OT evaluation? Occupational therapy is designed to help sensory integration disorder (among other things).

Also, do try the fish oil!

[Anonymous]

Ditto fish oil.