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[quote=Anonymous]For what it is worth, we have had very good results from a self-monitoring technique that has helped our 10-year old son focus and stay tuned-in at school.   He has behaviors consistent with the ADHD framework (impulsivity, difficulty staying on task etc.).   We had been having major problems with him 'checking out' in class, to the extent that the school was intimating that we might need to consider a different school.  The situation has turned around 180 degrees since we started with this approach and we feel it may be the primary cause.   We are in the no-meds camp, by the way, although I do not want to get into a discussion of that.  Just full disclosure.

We instituted a system in class with three elements:

1.  A checklist of five behavior goals (Tuned In; Listening to the Teacher; Participating in the Discussion, Not Talking to my Buddy; On Task).     He needs to score himself on a scale of 1 to 4 at the end of class, 1 being laser beam, 4 being mentally in outer space).   The teacher then scores him and they compare notes.  His "tuning out"/attention problem was only in his English/history type classes, not in math or science, so we only rolled this out in the humanities.  
2.  A vibrating watch that goes off (with a vibration not as beep) every 8 minutes (in our case) to "bring him back" to the moment if he was wandering away.  Casio makes a nice one.  It restarts the cycle automatically.
3.  Positive reinforcement before and after school.  We've been emphasizing that he IS IN CHARGE - IT IS HIS LIFE AND HE HAS TO DIRECT IT.    The score sheet comes home at the end of the week (although we monitor daily) and when it is all 1s and 2s, he gets a small prize.

After two months, we have seen major, major improvements.  Most days now, his teacher scores him 1 or 2.   MY son is MUCH happier and feels successful.  Most of all, he feels in control and is taking responsibility, and self-monitoring seems to be becoming habitual, which is of course the goal.   In his teacher's words, "there is a new kid in my classroom that I had not met before we started with the watch thing."   The situation at school seems completely turned around.  It is really a wonderful feeling for our son and I hope this is sustained.

I should add that the school had been doing a lot of push-in/pull-out with him, to keep him on task.  But from what we could see, he was becoming 'prompt dependent' and the problem of checking-out was worsening with the interventions.  So we rolled out this alternative approach and asked the school to call of the dogs/educational specialists for a while.

I am not suggesting this is a panacea, or that we are super parents, etc. etc. but just that this approach could be something to consider if you are struggling with similar behavior issues.

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