We have just moved from a school to another school and my daughters teacher has told me that my daughter is having trouble in class keeping up with her classmates. She is getting tutoring in math and so on but my big question or concern is that today her counselor contacted me today and she said that her teacher is also having to keep my little girl more focused on things than others. Idk if its because she was so far behind from the other school but the counselor suggested we do a hearing test. It has really bothered me because I have been getting on to her for not paying attention to her homework and getting off course sometimes. What do you all think about this?
get the hearing test. my older boy had a lot of ear infections that i didn't even know about because he wasn't crying or pulling his ears or complaining. he just didn't listen. boy did i feel bad that i'd been getting on his butt when the poor little guy just couldn't hear me.
khairete
S.
Has she always had issues focusing, or is this new? I know she was doing fine at her old school, but how about at home? Was she able to read a challenging book, or do a complicated puzzle, or did she wander off in the middle? My youngest is currently being assessed for ADHD, and the doctor said that often times, girls who have the inattentive type of ADHD (without hyperactivity) aren't diagnosed until middle school because that's when the schoolwork becomes so much more complicated. The kids can no longer compensate, and their inability to focus becomes a problem. The doctor was saying that typically, kids like this are unable to focus in class (though perhaps they can focus on things that are intensely interesting to them), they will almost never choose to do things like read a long book, they have trouble finishing tasks and will often wander off halfway through, and they often appear to be "off in their own world." However, they're almost always very intelligent.
Aside from that, having a vision and hearing test seems like a good idea.
She's in 5th grade and hasn't had a hearing test? I would say YES. Get her hearing tested. It is required here.
Hearing, vision, yes, of course do all the normal tests. What does her pediatrician say? Don't "get on her" until you know what's going on.
We have had very similiar problems with our 8 year old recently. Luckily, a routine trip to the eye doctor lead to a visit with a vision therapist. We have found he has eye teaming issues and his eyes don't focus properly and this is leading to vision therapy. He was constantly fidgeting and losing focus while reading and doing homework. He always knew the right answer but his grades weren't showing it. A lot of people would see this as a behavior/add issue, but it is a vision issue. He constantly moves trying to bring objects into focus. I had no idea such problems existed, I have learned so much lately! I hope you are able to find answers for your kiddo soon!
Always rule out physical problems (eyesight, hearing) before moving on to behavior. It's too easy to take her to the pediatrician for a complete well-child visit.
Have all the tests done. You may want to work with her at home in addition to the tutoring. My dd also is a little hard to focus...but one thing that has helped is to do an outside math and reading program (Kumon). There's a lot of homework, but it helps them with time management and they really get ahead in reading and math. I find it helps if I sit with her to do the homework. Then she feels like she's getting my attention and associates that positively with her homework.
I have one son with ADD inattentive type and one with ADHD. My Youngest though always got me so frustrated because he was so smart and just not getting it done. He would put it off, get behind in school and went from advanced to behind in many subjects..I did all the tests, vision and hearing first. Then I took him to a neuro-psychologist and did a full battery of testing. He is what is now called 2E or twice exceptional, gifted but has a learning disability (dyslexia and dysgraphia). I felt horrible just thinking he was just not putting in his best effort. He is tutoring now, he is getting some assistance with a lot of advocating from myself at school and he is starting to excel and feel great about himself. I would not feel bad, just go and get the tests, then if you need to dwell into things a little more until you figure out what the issues are.
Could it be changing hormones? If she is 10, that is a possibility.
The two schools may have also been on two different educational paths, which very likely. It doesn't have to be that one school was more advanced over the other, but just teaching things at different times.
I could name off a number of subjects that my 2nd grader has learned and perhaps there are a few things that your daughter has not learned. It is impossible, unless they are using the same lesson plan straight across the board.
I suggest you allow the school to do the hearing test and then continue to meet with the school to find out how you can assist her and what her class needs are. Stay on them and don't let them drop it.
Thank you for your help. I am going to do the hearing test and they said that one reason is that the school that she was at was behind. I am going to stay on the school about this because I feel so bad about getting on to her and now that I think about it I think she does have trouble hearing. When she was a baby she had a busted ear drum and I took her to bham to get tests and they said then she did have slight hearing loss but she would grow out of it. I think I may need to call her doc about this. Thank you all ladies for your help. I am a single mother and it feels good to be able to get help from you all. Thank you again.
I think you need to get whatever tests done to assess any and ALL reasons surrounding the lack of focus.
Do not deprive your child of the proper help, and not looking into any hearing, vision or learning complications is depriving her.
Like the commerical .. the More you know.. the more standard testing you do the more answers you will have.
Good luck
