My 10 year old son is having trouble focusing in school. I have had meetings with the teacher and we have tried afew things and nothing seems to be working. I'm not sure what to do they had the nurse go in and watch him and now they want me to talk to my pediatrician.
A side note: We recently moved from Naperville, IL and he has started a new smaller school so I am not sure if this my be part of the problem. He loves it here and has made new friends but the work is different and everything has changed.
If anyone has any advise or thoughts for what I could do I would really appreciate it.
Thank you, S.
Is the school work challenging for him?
My 12 year old still has trouble if it gets too easy because he is not challenged and loses interest easily.
Talk to your pediatrician. Maybe signs are pointing to ADD. Schools are not allowed to come right out and say they think your child has ADD, so if they are advising you to talk to your pediatrician, that's what they're thinking. If he's in a smaller school or setting, these signs may be easier to pick up. There also could be nothing wrong and your son is bored, but it couldn't hurt to talk to the pediatrician.
Is he bored maybe? Is he being as challenged at this school as much as he was at his old school?
Hi S.
My son went through the same thing but he was 8 yrs old when we started trying to figure out what was going on. We did go to our pediatrician and he referred us to specialists, etc. Before we ever went to the specialists we started using an optimal nutrition product and after hearing stories of other kids getting off ADD or ADHD meds, etc. using this, we went this route. It has been wonderful. Sometimes it is just good nutrition that makes a world of difference for these kids today since our foods lack so much. Hope this is helpful to you because we want the best for our children :)
Blessings,
L.
I am assuming he is in 5th grade this is where learning disabilities show up more than anywhere. its when my kid started them. 5th and 8th are the hardest grades in school so I am guessing one of 2 things is happening its to easy and he is bored or he really doesnt understand cause they are more advanced than his old school. betting on the second. he may just need a tutor. sylavins learning center told me this is where my sons learning gaps started was in the 5th grade also when I got divorced. so stress on top of harder work they kinda give up. so they filled in his gaps and his grades went way up just my experience
Even though he may have made friends and likes his new home and school, he may be homesick. He may miss is old friends and any family members in his former home town.
Seeing his pediatrician may be a good idea but before you medicate him look for other avenues. He may be dyslectic, ADD, ADHD or simply bored. My youngest is very intelligent and dyslectic, however his dyslectic condition is similar to mine, in math and spelling not reading. I also have left-right dis-orientation, if I am stressed and driving and all directions are verbal I get very confused, turning left instead of right but believing I turned right. I recommend Tae Kwon Do it helped me considerably. The forms help with consentration and the fact that you have to be able to perform each kick and punch with both sides of the body helps to conect the left-right brain energies. Seriously give it a shot before you go the medication route.
Both my oldest (35) and my youngest (19) are dyslectic I have gone round and round with schools and teachers. My older one unfortunately had the same teach for 1st and 2nd grade, this teacher appeared to be a very nice person when my ex-husband and I talked to her. My daughter tried to tell us she was horribly mean when no one else was around. She called my daughter lazy and stupid because couldn't learn to read. When she was in 3rd grade I went back to school and learned a lot about dyslexia and found out the formost authority on learning disabilities worked at the university I was attending, he agreed to test my daughter, free because I was a student. Result: dyslectic. The School Board instead of apologizing and showing concern was insulted and read me the riot act. Her former teacher told me dyslectia doesn't exist and my daughter was lazy and stupid.
The moral of the story: be proactive don't count on the schools or teachers to do the right thing for your child.
It wouldn't hurt to talk to the pediatrician. I think there are some unanswered questions in your post, though: Has he had this problem before? Do you see the same lack of focus at home, too? If so, then those could be markers of ADHD-inattentive type (assuming no hyperactivity). If not, there could be many other reasons for the lack of focus. No harm in getting professional advice from a doctor or a referral to a specialist if there is a chance it could be ADHD or another condition.
Is this the first time a school has noticed this? Try looking back at his previous report cards to see if they mention anything that sounds like lack of focus, difficulty completing work, inattentiveness, etc.
How is the work different at the new school? What have you and the teacher tried so far that hasn't worked?
It certainly wouldn't hurt anything to mention this to his pediatrician. Many Dr.s have parents and teachers fill out rating scales to see common areas of concern and then take it from there. Once that is looked at, you can decide what to do.
Meanwhile, be sure he has protein with every meal, especially breakfast.
HTH,
K.
