where to start with first grader and issues in school

[Anonymous]

Someone please help me out here. My son is in first grade and struggles in school with staying on task and following directions. No diagnosis at this point. He is the youngest in his class . I wish I had held him back but that ship has sailed. He has a behavior chart which helps but he still has occasional issues. He has talked to the school counselor once.

What is the best way to navigate with the school and/or private evaluations to get him the help he needs? This is MCPS. Academically he is on the low end OK, meeting targets for reading/math but certainly not above grade level. He does have some self confidence issues which I can see after being at back to school night. Other older kids are able to work much faster, write better and behave. He is pretty perceptive so I bet he picks up on this and how the teacher is pleased with those kids and not with him. I do like his teacher and she does try to praise him when he does well. Help!

[Anonymous]

Define youngest. Someone has to be youngest, so that doesn't have to be huge problem.
Did he attend the same school last year? Is his K teacher still there? Maybe you could arrange for a meeting with both the K and 1st grade teacher, voice your concerns and see if they have suggestions. I think their perspective would be very valuable. It 's only been a few weeks, it may be he just has to get into the groove of 1st grade.

[Anonymous]

Well, if you suspect SN, you have a few options. You can ask for an evaluation at your school. You can do this by sending an e-mail to your child's principal. Most times, if you e-mail the counselor or teacher that will suffice, but not always. You can also contact your pediatrician for direction. Finally, you can seek private evaluations - neuropsych or psychoeducational. From your post, it's not clear as to whether you suspect SN or whether he is just still having the effects of being young and not yet proficient with school behaviors.

I would suggest that you meet with the teacher, but my guess is that she would tell you that it's early in the year; he's within the realm of normal; she's trying to accommodate him with preferential seating and behavior plans, which is best practices; or something of the sort.

[Anonymous]

OP, I have talked to both teachers and the pediatrician already. I mentioned "youngest" because teacher/ped mentions this and it makes it hard to tell if parts of his behavior are normal for his age, but I do suspect some kind of SN.

Pediatrician said its waste to do a full workup on a 6 year old, but we could pursue counselling.

Just wondering where to start first. With the school first? Privately first? I'm sure someone out there has navigated this before.

[Anonymous]

Did he have issues in K or preschool, or are these new symptoms?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have talked to both teachers and the pediatrician already. I mentioned "youngest" because teacher/ped mentions this and it makes it hard to tell if parts of his behavior are normal for his age, but I do suspect some kind of SN.

Pediatrician said its waste to do a full workup on a 6 year old, but we could pursue counselling.

Just wondering where to start first. With the school first? Privately first? I'm sure someone out there has navigated this before.

OP, We had long suspected LDs in our kid and got a neuropysch evaluation at age 6 that basically confirmed it. Dysgraphia and executive functioning issues that definitely impact staying on task, completing work in a timely way.

Counseling is fine unto itself, however if you're kid isn't having any behavioral issues at home or school, then counseling won't do anything if he has an undiagnosed LD. (I'd seriously consider switching pediatricians.)

You can ask the school to test or go privately, which will be pricey. You may be eligible for insurance reimbursement. I'd get the ball rolling on making an appointment either way, b/c everywhere usually have weight lists. GL

[Anonymous]

Agree with PP. You said he is on low end academically. His behaviors could be strategies to get himself out of situations where he feels he has no chance of success. Get a complete picture with a neuro-psych eval.

[Anonymous]

Also, what if he doesn't have special needs but would just plain old do better in Kindergarten? Not to be the gifted one, but to be on track developmentally which will eventually lead to being on track academically? Is there REALLY no way you could discuss having him move to Kindergarten? I know this might kill his self-esteem even worse, but on the other hand if he's really struggling then maybe he'd prefer it, especially if he gets a chance to either have the same teacher or a different one.

I don't know.... I hate to have him lose so much self esteem in this year when he watches others do so much better (faster, neater, more efficiently) and he won't catch up because as he gets older so do they. OR seriously consider having him do Grade 1 again next year (of course this you won't decide until May next year) if the year progresses. Of course, remember that this is only week 2 or 3 of Grade 1, but your instincts are good - always listen to your instincts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have talked to both teachers and the pediatrician already. I mentioned "youngest" because teacher/ped mentions this and it makes it hard to tell if parts of his behavior are normal for his age, but I do suspect some kind of SN.

Pediatrician said its waste to do a full workup on a 6 year old, but we could pursue counselling.

Just wondering where to start first. With the school first? Privately first? I'm sure someone out there has navigated this before.

OP, We had long suspected LDs in our kid and got a neuropysch evaluation at age 6 that basically confirmed it. Dysgraphia and executive functioning issues that definitely impact staying on task, completing work in a timely way.

Counseling is fine unto itself, however if you're kid isn't having any behavioral issues at home or school, then counseling won't do anything if he has an undiagnosed LD. (I'd seriously consider switching pediatricians.)

You can ask the school to test or go privately, which will be pricey. You may be eligible for insurance reimbursement. I'd get the ball rolling on making an appointment either way, b/c everywhere usually have weight lists. GL

+1000 Your pediatrician is wrong. 6 yrs old is not too young for a full neuropsych workup. If cost is an issue, you can ask the school to evaluate and if they flag any issues, you can decide if you want a private evaluation.

Staying on task and finishing his work is my 7 yrs old's biggest issue. He has ASD/Asperger's. He is also the youngest in his class but above grade level across the board at his mainstream school. He has an IEP and since this is the start of the year, his Sp Ed manager and I have been in daily communication (several times a day actually) to find ways to get him to do/finish his work.

We are using a behavior chart and rewards where the behaviors are further rewarded at home. But knowing what is causing the problems is a first step. Good luck!