Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New profile posts
Latest activity
Internet Search
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Parent Support Forums
General Parenting
Waving the white flag RE: school
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="soapbox" data-source="post: 493106" data-attributes="member: 13003"><p>Before you throw in the towel... I'd be asking more questions.</p><p></p><p>Others have mentioned attachment issues... and I'll second/third/nth that.</p><p></p><p>On top of that... </p><p>Has she ever had a comprehensive evaluaton? neuropsychologist, or child developmental team, Occupational Therapist (OT), Speech Language Pathologist (SLP), etc.?</p><p>Who gave the ADHD diagnosis?</p><p></p><p>You see... these kids of ours with challenges often have to deal with MULTIPLE challenges.</p><p>And some of these challenges just aren't recognized. They get other labels - or hide behind other labels. Or get written off as something they will grow out of (they don't).</p><p>The whole homework struggle? Its the "children do well if they CAN" motto from The Explosive Child. Too often, teachers (and many parents) fall into the "children do well if they WANT to" trap. </p><p>So, bear with me... just in case this is PART of your difficult child's challenges...</p><p></p><p>1) how are her motor skills? sports, control of personal space, riding a bike, tieing shoes, handwriting, dressing... Gross motor skills issues are a major target for bullying at school, AND make things like PE class a major drain. Fine motor skills are so absolutely essential for academic success... because even when confronted with severe motor skills issues, schools on general do not really know how to adapt school work to a non-pencil-and-paper format. By grade 5, the quantity and quality expected for written work goes through the roof. If you aren't producing the output, most teachers assume its because you don't want to - not because you can't. If motor skills are of any question at all, please get an Occupational Therapist (OT) evaluation done - for gross and fine motor skills, and throw in sensory testing too, because prioperceptive issues really mess up motor skills as well. And then... check out info on Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and see if it fits (one good place to start is <a href="http://www.canchild.ca" target="_blank">www.canchild.ca</a>). And on top of all that, even when these kids do master motor skills, it still takes significantly more effort than neurotypical kids put in... fatigue is common.</p><p></p><p>2) Serious ADHD issues may not be ADHD at all - or may be ADHD plus additional dxes. One in particular that overlaps very strongly in symptoms, is APDs. Auditory processing disorders make it so the child doesn't do well with verbal instruction in a classroom... and guess how 90% of classes are taught? It starts with verbal instruction... if you don't get the instructions right, you can't DO the hands-on stuff right, and soon you're a really messed up student. Hearing problems alone can cause these issues. But the APDs are less obvious. Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) affects verbal language processing, and therefore is frequently "obvious". However, problems with things like auditory figure ground do not affect language... this issue is a challenge trying to comprehend/follow the "important sounds" in a noisy environment.... like, teacher's voice in classroom. These kids do well one-on-one, but terrible in class. Normally, Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) screening would flag this, perhaps for advanced audiological testing. But you have to raise the point - and push for specialized testing - if you want auditory figure ground to be tested. One major side effect with this challenge is mental fatigue, from putting so much effort into trying to listen. Trying to do homework on top of extreme fatigue? guaranteed recipe for meltdowns, anger, and all their co-horts. been there done that.</p><p></p><p>3) sleep issues. Good old generic problem.... too often overlooked. Quantity of sleep is important, but so is quality. Unless she is getting enough of both, the sleep deprivation will either <em>cause</em> significant behavior issues where none otherwise exist, or <em>significantly add to the severity</em> of existing problems. </p><p></p><p>If she's dealing with any of these - or with un-diagnosed learning disabilities - or with other stuff that I'm not so aware of... she needs accommodations, interventions and possibly medications - but NOT just being tossed to the clutches of a school system that is NOT, ever, going to put the effort in to get to the bottom of the real problem(s). Because, for the most part, school systems and teachers still believe that kids "do well if they want to". So... its going to be up to you...</p><p></p><p>{{hugs}}</p><p></p><p>It really stinks that some of these problems - that should be caught between grades 1 and 3 - are left hanging out there until the kid is going crazy and driving the parents and teachers insane... like, often, into the teen years where hormones complicate the whole thing!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="soapbox, post: 493106, member: 13003"] Before you throw in the towel... I'd be asking more questions. Others have mentioned attachment issues... and I'll second/third/nth that. On top of that... Has she ever had a comprehensive evaluaton? neuropsychologist, or child developmental team, Occupational Therapist (OT), Speech Language Pathologist (SLP), etc.? Who gave the ADHD diagnosis? You see... these kids of ours with challenges often have to deal with MULTIPLE challenges. And some of these challenges just aren't recognized. They get other labels - or hide behind other labels. Or get written off as something they will grow out of (they don't). The whole homework struggle? Its the "children do well if they CAN" motto from The Explosive Child. Too often, teachers (and many parents) fall into the "children do well if they WANT to" trap. So, bear with me... just in case this is PART of your difficult child's challenges... 1) how are her motor skills? sports, control of personal space, riding a bike, tieing shoes, handwriting, dressing... Gross motor skills issues are a major target for bullying at school, AND make things like PE class a major drain. Fine motor skills are so absolutely essential for academic success... because even when confronted with severe motor skills issues, schools on general do not really know how to adapt school work to a non-pencil-and-paper format. By grade 5, the quantity and quality expected for written work goes through the roof. If you aren't producing the output, most teachers assume its because you don't want to - not because you can't. If motor skills are of any question at all, please get an Occupational Therapist (OT) evaluation done - for gross and fine motor skills, and throw in sensory testing too, because prioperceptive issues really mess up motor skills as well. And then... check out info on Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and see if it fits (one good place to start is [URL="http://www.canchild.ca"]www.canchild.ca[/URL]). And on top of all that, even when these kids do master motor skills, it still takes significantly more effort than neurotypical kids put in... fatigue is common. 2) Serious ADHD issues may not be ADHD at all - or may be ADHD plus additional dxes. One in particular that overlaps very strongly in symptoms, is APDs. Auditory processing disorders make it so the child doesn't do well with verbal instruction in a classroom... and guess how 90% of classes are taught? It starts with verbal instruction... if you don't get the instructions right, you can't DO the hands-on stuff right, and soon you're a really messed up student. Hearing problems alone can cause these issues. But the APDs are less obvious. Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) affects verbal language processing, and therefore is frequently "obvious". However, problems with things like auditory figure ground do not affect language... this issue is a challenge trying to comprehend/follow the "important sounds" in a noisy environment.... like, teacher's voice in classroom. These kids do well one-on-one, but terrible in class. Normally, Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) screening would flag this, perhaps for advanced audiological testing. But you have to raise the point - and push for specialized testing - if you want auditory figure ground to be tested. One major side effect with this challenge is mental fatigue, from putting so much effort into trying to listen. Trying to do homework on top of extreme fatigue? guaranteed recipe for meltdowns, anger, and all their co-horts. been there done that. 3) sleep issues. Good old generic problem.... too often overlooked. Quantity of sleep is important, but so is quality. Unless she is getting enough of both, the sleep deprivation will either [I]cause[/I] significant behavior issues where none otherwise exist, or [I]significantly add to the severity[/I] of existing problems. If she's dealing with any of these - or with un-diagnosed learning disabilities - or with other stuff that I'm not so aware of... she needs accommodations, interventions and possibly medications - but NOT just being tossed to the clutches of a school system that is NOT, ever, going to put the effort in to get to the bottom of the real problem(s). Because, for the most part, school systems and teachers still believe that kids "do well if they want to". So... its going to be up to you... {{hugs}} It really stinks that some of these problems - that should be caught between grades 1 and 3 - are left hanging out there until the kid is going crazy and driving the parents and teachers insane... like, often, into the teen years where hormones complicate the whole thing! [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Parent Support Forums
General Parenting
Waving the white flag RE: school
Top