I have to agree with Diane, it sounds like both. I also think there is a lack of structure at the school and they have pegged him as a problem child, so they overrecord his behavior.
You might try some diet modifications, like the Feingold diet, to see if that helps. Some people have had great success with diet adjustments, we did not. We did find out my son is very sensitive to chocolate, which I try to limit.
Another thing that points to the school environment is your comment about your son not doing those things at home. My son's behavior was pretty much the same everywhere. He was wild everywhere, (home, school, church, doctor's office).
Argh. A frustrating day at the school district peer-model/needs preschool for our 5-year-old who is considered borderline for ADHD so we're in a wait and see mode. Here's my question: Did/do any of the behaviors below, which he exhibited in school today, look like any behaviors you see/saw in your children with ADHD?
Told one boy he didn't like him Grabbed a magnifying glass from a girl at his table because it was his favorite color (as opposed to the one he was given) Refused to stand for the pledge "Fell" on top of another girl in circle time (same one who had magnifying glass) then kept touching that girl and another after they told him to stop several times (don't ask me why the teacher didn't put an immediate stop to this ... a whole other tangent I could go off on) Tried to be the first in line after recess and cut in front of a girl, sassed back at teacher when she told him to go to the end of the line All the boys were knocking down each other's block towers. Son did again after teacher told them to stop.The good periods of the day were computer class and making an art project, which were the only structured activities of the day. He is very smart (can already read above his peers and probably on a gifted track).
Here's my constant back-and-forth struggle: Are these just boy behaviors that need stronger discipline at school OR signs of ADHD? (Son wouldn't do this at home.) If son has ADHD, I'll be OK with that so that's not my issue ... it's more do I need to do more for him now so he doesn't have problems down the road. (Psychologist, who we visited 6 times said school seemed inconsistent and over-recording every action he made and that she wanted to wait it out and see how he did in a different environment once he starts kindergarten.) Do I continue to wait it out or should we be talking to our doctor about medication or are we overanalyzing these things? Appreciate anyone else's opinions.
yes they sound like ADHD behaviors and yes they sound like typical 5 year old boy behaviors...............
sorry, thats how it is. Part of when/why you look at an ADHD possibility is that they dont outgrow these behaviors by age 7. Stronger discipline, a good behavior plan at home and school, lots of structure are only going to benefit him whether there's something going on or not. If he's learning and obviously he is and not getting in any real trouble, getting diagnosed young is not going to be any more beneficial than waiting. Read some parenting books and books on "spirited children" those kinds of things, all these tools will help all children/
i have one adhd and one non-adhd child. these don't sound like adhd behaviors to me, at least not at this age. things become clearer with time. at five, i would say that you have a child with a strong personality. nothing more. please do not jump on the adhd bandwagon.
try a reward system. basically you have: be nice to your friends, follow the teacher's instructions, follow the class rules. pick one of those. then every day when you pick him up, ask the teacher how he was in regards to that one thing. if he did fine, he gets an immediate reward, like ice cream or literally hand him a toy in the car (for example, if he was nice to his friends and ignored the teacher's instructions, he gets the reward). when he masters it, move on to two days in a row and a slightly larger reward. if he messes up the 2nd day, he has to start over again to get the reward. at some point, you switch to the next undesirable behavior. also, go to the library and check out all of those kid books on Kindness, Politeness, Understanding, Problems with Friends, Teasing, --- and read one of those every night and follow up with a discussion on the topic.
Jessica N39533.8585185185