I Think My Son Have ADD

Have you spoken to his teacher? Do these problems occur in the classroom? You say he doesn't finish his classwork so what have they told you? Are his grades suffering? I'm surprised if there are problems and no one from the school has contacted you about having him evaluated.

ADD is complicated to diagnose at home. Sometimes kids just want their parents' attention, and they've figured out that it's much easier to get the homework done if Mom or Dad sits there and does half the work.

Your son is entitled to services from the school, and if he has a problem, they must design an IEP which is an individualized education plan. Contact the teacher or the guidance counselor/school psychologist.

Sometimes the end-of-week reward helps, but if a child has true ADD or ADHD or a learning disability, the focus is beyond his control. Better diet and better sleep can help but may not completely resolve the problem. There is so much processed food, with chemical additives and genetically modified food. Supplementing can help immensely but you have to find the right one, fully comprehensive, not just a multi-vitamin.

I'm not so sure that leaving a 3rd grader alone for an hour and expecting them to stay on task is age appropriate. Even in 5th grade, if my parents left me alone I would find other things to do. I mean, homework is boring and an hour is a long time.

I was the most successful at my homework when I worked at the kitchen table. My mom loved to listen to the radio, so she bough some headphones so it wouldn't disturb me and she would listen to the radio and get dinner ready while I sat at the table.

I don't think he's ready for you to leave him alone.

ETA - I didn't mean to discourage you from exploring the possibility of ADHD. If you are concerned, I would talk to your pediatrician about it. Pediatrician's can be really good about asking the right questions to see if ADHD is a possibility and an evaluation is warranted. Also, they can ask the right questions to help you decide if maybe there is something to consider but ADHD is not it. Just a thought. Definitely a good place to start.

Maybe he has reading issues. I say this because my daughter has been struggling in class, not doing schoolwork, yet when she is at home and I read the questions to her, or I sit her to read out loud and correct her mispronunciations, she does the homework flawlessly. She also needs discipline and attention, obviously. Her new aftercare teacher sat her down and had her read her math problems and realized the reason she could not understand the questions was because she was not reading them properly. Once the teacher read them to her and told her to break down the numbers into flowers to figure out how many tens and ones there were, my daughter got the problems right, and it made it fun.

She, and your son, are still too young to be trusted to work independently, like Jennifer says. Plus, it's easy for kids to get distracted and talk to other kids, and find schoolwork boring. Maybe your son is bored, or not stimulated enough, maybe he is too smart for what is being taught.

Teachers these days are not creative, and make no effort to make school fun, or to provide feedback to parents. This is something I hear from other parents, including those who run aftercares, and stay-at-home parents. My daughter's grandfather is able to get her attention because he used to be a teacher and knows how to make things hands-on and fun, something he admits today's teachers lack, either due to time, budget cuts, lack of creativity, or school overcrowding.

We are going to work on my daughter's reading, and offer a better reward system than what they have at school, a system which will offer her a small reward like a sticker if she answers most questions correctly and makes an effort, rather than rewarding her only if she gets them all correct. If she gets them all correct, then obviously, she will get a bigger reward, like a weekend at the zoo or something else she picks herself. Sometimes, motivation is all it takes. I suggest checking up on his reading, and also, sitting at the table, even if you're doing something else at the same time like proofreading some of his homework, so he doesn't feel all alone and feels like he's being watched and expected to do his very best. Reward any independent and positive signs of progress in a small manner and make it clear the better he does, the better the reward.

My son is also the same age. I suspected he was ADHD but not really knowledgeable about it. I would suggest that you research it on your own. Knowledge is power. Talk to your Dr. and don't just put him on medication. Some Dr.'s will do that and I just think that is the wrong direction. To have him tested, you will need a psychologist. They will have his teachers as well as you complete a questioneer first. I went all the way back to his day care and even had one completed by his Sunday School Teacher. They interviewed him, Tested him for learning disabilities. Social Interaction, Focusing, Memory. It was a lot of stuff they did and it did take several visits. My thoughts were confirmed so we then looked at things we could do. Sleep and diet though are so so important. My son works really well when on a set routine and I stay very consistent. Don't get frustrated just hang in there. Best of luck

The only way to know for sure is to have an evaluation done. Ask the pediatrician for a referral to a child psychiatrist or neuropsychologist. Only specialists should do the assessment, so you get an accurate evaluation.

Also, ADD is a term no longer used. Mention ADHD-inattentive type when you make the call to the doctor's office.