I'm a new principal of a private school.  I have a Master's in Psych. but no direct experience with ADHD.  We have two children in my small school that have learned and mastered the academic material - yet are driving their teachers over the edge or close to it.  One child, 'J', circles his desk all day and often the classroom - he gets overwhelmed with the worksheets (we are getting rid of so many worksheets and changing our curriculum to more hands on).  J will often just not do his work.  He is a nosey child, always noticing what every single person in the class is doing wrong, but often refuses to do his work or sit in his chair.  I watched him all day one day and was astonished the teachers have been able to deal with this for a year and a half.  By the way he is 6 and in first grade.  Extremely petite for his age too - so perhaps this is a factor as he hasn't hit the growth spurts of most students and I have heard the growth hormone oftens brings maturity as well as physical growth.  I could use some suggestions.  I think his teacher is hanging in there, but frustrated.  She is a good teacher and has tried many tricks in her bag - nothing has worked.

The other one is such a concern.  'C' is a boy, 5/6 years old, Kindergarten, African American, but Albino.  His eye twitches to and fro slightly - but his mother says his eye sight is good.  He has outbursts with sounds and physical hits, punches, scratches, etc.  He often hurts other children.  Honestly, his Mom is single and she is struggling.  She doesn't seem like a STRONG person, and he has very little men in his life.  He has always been a problem, you hear his name constantly.  However, the physical attacks on other children is relatively new.  Sometimes it is in response to pain (when he gets hurt) and other times it is just random.  He is able to sit in a chair for relatively long periods, his outbursts are verbal and physical.  His teacher runs a tight ship and is very frustrated with the interuptions.  I honestly think their rapport (teacher/student) is not good.  It just seems everyone around C is starting to give up on him.   I have considered befriending C as a special student and giving him errands to run, etc. to give him something to look forward to every day.  Maybe if he misbehaves he will not be allowed to help in my office??  My son is close to the same age so I thought about inviting him to play so I could observe him in more detail.  I'm not sure how Mom disciplines at home.  I'm not convinced he is ADHD, I think he is possibly neglected a bit.

I was a single mom for my son for 5 years, so I can relate to most of the single mom related issues.  But my fear with C is that his support systems are so weak that if we don't get this to stop - he will be forced to leave our school - and may someday be a juvenile delinquent or worse.  I have faith in him, so much faith.  I feel that he needs to learn other ways to cope with the rush of anger he feels before he strikes out.

I know my heart is in the right place but I could surely use some tips here.  I bought this school - and am new to the field of education per se.  Hopefully a quick study though, with your help.

BTW - neither boy has been diagnosed ADD or ADHD.  I would definitely guess the first child is ADHD.  The second I don't know. 

WOW! As for the first child I'd say that if you can ask for an evaluation be done (more than you already have) I mean as in talking to the parents about having the child evaluated. Give them ALL the things you've noticed, seen and heard. The more info a parent has the better we can deal with things.

The poor second child is being neglected or even HIT. Sounds like he is being abused. Verbally and Physically.

I commend you highly for taking on such a very important task of being a Principal. I truly admire you. And such young one's at that.

I wish I could give you more advice other than what you've already seen and read yourself.......except there is a book called "The Strong Willed Child" I forgot the author but it's from a Christian perspective and pretty good...help me to be a bit more patient.

I would also have to recommend that they be evaluated.  One thing that is really nice for parents to see is a time on task analysis.  Our school psychologist goes in and observes the student in question wiriting down everything he or she does and what the rest of the class is doing.  My poor son was on task a mere 36% of the time compared to the rest of the classes 96%. 

Some kids are movers.  They need to be able to circle the desk.  I make sure I always position those away from anyone else.  I also give them an alternative learning site (such as a back table, or a bean bag chair.) 

One thing that I am using in my class right now for my lovely little active one is a OT seat disc.  I have heard that the balance balls do the same thing.  The slight movement keeps part of their brain occupied and busy keeping balance so that they can focus on their work.  They also have to sit up straight.  I have three in my class so that no one is singled out.  They are hot commodity!  Their are strict rules that are quickly enforced about how to use them.  In our district there is one whole class using balance balls.  I've heard she has great scores!

Just some ideas.

First, as the parent of special needs kid, I want to thank you for not just saying "your child can't stay here."  I have looked into private schools that actually say in their materials, "don't even apply if you've been in  special education."  So, THANK YOU for looking for solutions.

Second, when our son was younger and went to non-special ed activities, such as math camp, etc., I made him a schedule for each class period of the day.  There would be target behaviors (I stayed in my seat, I kept my hands to myself, I raised my hand before talking).  At the end of each class period, the teacher would give him a sticker on his shirt for each target that he met.  When I picked him up from camp, we counted the stickers and gave a reward.  Kids like this need frequent feedback on how they are doing and they need to know specifically what behavior is expected of them.  Work on only one or two behaviors at a time.  I also made it a point to tell my son that I would be checking with his teacher and then I did it.  I found he needed both the positive reinforcement and a strong negative "threat" to make it worth his while to put some effort into behaving.  I also found this has gotten easier as he has gotten older - he outgrew some of the physical impulsivity that was getting on everyone's nerves.
 

I can't speak towards the aggressive issue - we didn't deal with that.  I just wanted to let you know that families with kids with special needs appreciate any effort given to help them.