Meeting with the 1st grade teachers and more

[rachelfran]

I had a meeting with-my sons teachers (he's in inclusion so there is a gen ed. teacher & a Special Education teacher) and I'm told that he has a lot of trouble getting through the morning and afternoon routines in a timely fashion ... these basically consist of getting their book bags hung up or together, starting the problem of the day, etc....

Also - he has a habit of calling out inappropriate things in class... like if the teacher says its time to come to the rug - he'll roll his eyes and loudly say --- why do we have to go to the rug again?!

The teacher is going to start having him put down a tally mark everytime he does this and if he has five at the end of the day he will have to stay late as this is the only punishment that seems to have an effect on him.

He's receiving Occupational Therapist (OT), PT, Speech & Play therapies already though the Occupational Therapist (OT) and Play therapy haven't begun yet due to a lack of therapists in the school. I think the morning & afternoon routine issues could be due to his gross & fine motor skill problems.

I'm just wondering about others thoughts on this ... Are these typical ADD behaviors? My son doesn't yet have any diagnosis - Weve just started the process.

During the summer he started some serious ODD tendencies so we've been seeing a psychologist who is trying to get a read on him but a test that normally takes an hour is taking several - over the course of many different visits - because my son won't participate fully.

Since then, he seems to have lightened up - at least on the physical responses to things - i.e. kicking, pinching, hitting and is a bit better to deal with ... though he does take a lot of cajoling to get anything out of him.

Thanks for reading if you got this far... I'm interested in any responses or reaction to his behaviors.

 

[smallworld]

Rachel, has he ever been evaluated for an Autistic Spectrum Disorder? Rather than a psychologist, I'd seek an evaluation with a neuropsychologist or developmental pediatrician. From your description, your son could have a variety of disorders, and it will take a good professional to sort it all out.

Good luck.

 

[rachelfran]

The psychologist I'm seeing is doing this as a favor to me and not charging... Honestly - I can't afford the $4000 required by the best evaluation centers to have him looked at and at this point - noone seems to think he's on the autism spectrum and he's had a fair amount of therapy since he's three.

The psychologist is the head of outpatient child psychology of a big metropolitan hospital so I can't imagine he'd miss that...

Thanks,
Rachel

 

[TiredSoul]

Also - he has a habit of calling out inappropriate things in class... like if the teacher says its time to come to the rug - he'll roll his eyes and loudly say --- why do we have to go to the rug again?!

The teacher is going to start having him put down a tally mark everytime he does this and if he has five at the end of the day he will have to stay late as this is the only punishment that seems to have an effect on him.

Will staying after school really help him make an effort the next day to not blurt out inappropriate things? I know for my son it would not. I think sometimes it can be more of an impulsive thing rather than them being able to control it.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Rachel,

I agree with small in that there could be a miriad of things going on and the only way to know for sure is to have a complete evaluation.

In the meantime, I can tell you that transitioning is very difficult for the add child (since you specially asked that question). ADD kids also are famously disorganized. My son, now 12 and in middle school, had trouble through 5th grade (haven't heard feedback yet this year!!) with the transitions between coming in and getting settled and doing "journal" work or "problems of the day" as well as transitioning from electices, lunch, and recess. He seemed to need a little extra time to absorb and acknowledge the changes before "getting with the system."

We did have issues when he was younger with the physical impulsivity that came with his ADHD. Some of this included the pushing and shoving things. But his physical reactions were purely impulsive and frustrated rather than vindictive and mean. There was always remorse (and always consequences).

I certainly hope you are able to get some answers soon. Have you checked with your insurance company to see if they would pay for testing through a local teaching hospital or children's hospital?

Good luck.

Sharon

 

[Wiped Out]

Just wanted to ask why not a reward if he can keep the tally marks to less than five?