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[quote=Anonymous]Here's a description of DS. Help me figure out what kind of help (if any) he needs.

The good:
 - young kindergartner (birthday within a month of the cutoff). Preschool teachers had no qualms about his readiness for K.
 - Academically advanced - Reading, writing, and math skills probably in the 2nd grade range
 - only child
 - articulate and a great conversationalist, strong vocabulary
 - generally gets along well with his peers, though he seems to do better with older kids. We don't have kids knocking down our door for playdates but both parents work outside of the house so there's not a ton of time.  
 - has varied interests - is really interested in all sports (playing and watching), board games, phone games, likes sitting down to do school work/workbooks, etc. 
 - he's a great sleeper, usually lights out by 7:30 and he wakes up around 7.

The not so good: 
 - off and on since he was about 2, he has gone through phases of unprovoked hitting and pushing. We've had him evaluated by an OT twice and both times they said it was behavioral and further therapy was not recommended. This had been less of a problem for the past ~1.5 years but started again recently. 
 - His K teacher and others have commented that he's having trouble listening and takes many reminders to do stuff. They have indicated that he is "clearly the youngest," squirmy, etc. 
 - while he does seem to do ok with friends, he also seems to prefer to play by himself (and will say at a playdate, "I don't want to play with Larla. I'd rather play by myself.")
 - this year more than in the past, he gets upset easily, has trouble coping if something doesn't go his way, etc. It can be emotional (tears) or can be aggression to us (parents) and friends. 
 - he is terrible about taking responsibility for his actions and always blames others, even when he hits (like they deserved it for something they did)

For the most part it feels like he's a normal, slightly immature kindergartner. He's mostly happy at home with occasional defiance and argumentative behavior. He doesn't complain about school though sometimes if I dig he'll say, "I don't know why everyone tests me." He also doesn't talk too much about close friends. But the hitting is a problem. Yesterday I got a call from school that he basically started pounding on another kid for cutting in a line (this is not a regular thing but he's also on the verge of getting kicked out of his before/after care for hitting.)

Note that I brought it up proactively with the teacher (i.e., she did not raise red flags) so I feel like there wasn't an obvious problem. I do think he's either gotten worse over the course of the year or his peers have been maturing more quickly so it's now more obvious he's lagging. We're trying to involve the guidance counselor for some 1:1 support as well as hopefully a social skills group after spring break. I also am hoping to do a behavioral consult with his Ped in the next couple months.

Wondering if anyone has BTDT and has suggestions? I do believe we can make some adjustments at home and have been working on more positive parenting techniques. Should we be talking to the Ped about a developmental ped? child psych? Should this be within the realm of what the guidance counselor should be able to manage within the school?

thanks in advance. 
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