ADHD Problems?

Question

I have a 9 yr-old son who has been diagnosed with both ADHD and Cognitive Language disabilities. He is very intelligent, but he's having serious difficulties in school this year. One of his problem areas involves working independantly; he is unable to concentrate at all with any kind of outside distractions. He tries to focus and tune out to the point of giving himself headaches.

Has anyone found any tools that might be helpful? I am thinking about trying noise-canceling headphones, but I don't know if they actually do work.

Joseph's teacher is willing to try any viable options to help him, and any advice would be much appreciated!

Answer 1

my son is a down syndrome, he is attending regular therapy. i also saw children with ADHD attending therapy to train them to focus. their threrapy could be a 1 on 1 or by a group. that would be discussed to you as the need requires it.

Answer 2

Uh, worry.......

Answer 3

well, it kinda depends on how self-conscious he might be. With many kids in my classroom I use the OLD school style headphones (really big, bulky, like for tape recorders, etc). I cut the wire & they wear tehm during work time. But in my class, ANYONE can use them (that requests a pair)...so that no one is really singled out. Because a lot of the kids have un-diagnosed attention problems and need the extra noise blocked too. I guess you could try those tiny ear plugs they use on construction sites, etc. You can get the ear muffle headphones at a tool shop for pretty cheap. We got them when my son went to a "monster truck show"...we couldn't hear a thing!! I would give them a shot - and maybe the teacher can offer them to others - both to help them & not to single out your son (in case he's reluctant). Good luck!

Answer 4

If he has a real problem, you should bring him to a therapist.

Answer 5

If the headphones don't work then you might want to try a smaller classroom size that is sometimes helpful.  Many school systems have a school that has smaller class-sizes and they generally only have about 6 children in them and are attached to elementary schools.  You might be able to request that he be placed in that kind of school and if your school district doesn't have a school like that than they maybe able to send him to a close by district with a special school.  These schools do all the same work the only difference is its more one-on-one instruction and they cut out the distractions.

Answer 6

I am glad you are satisfied with the job your school is doing.  Wish all schools were like yours.

Try the headphones, my daughter uses her ipod.  Smaller classroom size might help also.

Answer 7

My brother has Autism and this sounds very similar, I have also worked with ADHD children and I feel for you I really do.

Get as much help with him as you possibly can as soon as you can so that he has a better chance of controling this before he gets to 'big' school.

It does not mean you are a faliure of a mother if you get help infact I would say that its the Mums that go it alone that are being a little selfish as they are not getting the full support they need for their child.

Trust me you will appreciate the help! Good Luck and dont forget to tell him you love him and realsie that he loves you back and will love you more when he understands himself more.

My love and best wishes to the family!

Flic x x

Answer 8

It sounds like Central Auditory Processing Disorder may be something to look into. This is when a person has difficulty processing information they receive auditorily. It could be responsible for the ADHD as well as the language delays or difficulties. Since language is learned by hearing it and extracting meaning from what is heard, he may have missed valuable information by no fault of his own or yours. Also, ADHD/ADD is often a behavior or symptom of this disorder and not the underlying problem. This disorder title encompasses so much and is extremely complex but the treatments would none-the-less solve his current problems.

There are several subtypes but they can be diagnosed by an audiologist. Also, the audiologist is the best person to talk to for suggestions on how to overcome the distractions. Even though he has problems working independently, this could be the result of having trouble understanding what he is supposed to be doing independently because of interference during instruction time.

Along with problems blocking out sound distractions, it could be a problem of auditory memory (which are both common sub-types of CAPD), where he has a hard time transferring verbal instructions to memory so that he can carry forward and perform at the level he is capable of. In other words, it could be as simple as not knowing what he is supposed to be doing.  These children typically will pass a hearing test with flying colors because its not an acuity problem. It is a problem of appropriately processing what they hear, and again, extracting meaningful information.

Although this may not be the cause of his frustration and difficulty, it is definately something to rule out. The treatment and management of this disorder is very typically one that doesn't have to include medications of any kind. There is a wealth of information on the internet so you can read up on it and see if you think it may be something to look into. If you feel like you need more information please feel free to contact me and I will give you some valuable resources to look into on your journey to solving this. I hope this helps and good luck!

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**Also, you are entitled to ask that your child be evaluated for special education if his teacher hasn't already put in a referral. Under special education he will be entitled to receive speech-lanuage therapy to help him fill in the gaps he may have missed due to CAPD.  I dont know what type of resources your school district may have in the way of audiology in schools but an audiologist would be a key professional if he did indeed have this disorder. Because until the underlying cause of his missing information is addressed, he wont be able to benefit from language therapy.

***okay sorry for the HUGE amount of information but I just wanted to add that from what you described, there is nothing that points to autism. Autism is a much more pervasive disorder that would effect virtually all aspects of his development, not just attention and language. Also, one of the key signs of autism is if the child seems to be virtually unaware of anyone around him which is the opposite of the problem your son is experiencing. Autistic children rarely have problems concentrating and quite contrastingly, have difficulties shifting their focus. They just have problems concentrating on what someone ELSE wants them to concentrate on....not concentrating in general. Even children with high-functioning mild forms of autism will do what is called perseverating (focusing exclusively on one topic).

Answer 9

wow, I see you have lots of long in depth answers,

but here's my real life story. I have a son he is 27 years old.

he had pretty much the same symtoms to make a long story short.

he never went past the 10th, grade. Itried all the tricks in the book.

home schooling special schools, medicine , everything.

AND TODAY.

he is 27 and  has 3 beautiful, wondeful children. he has worked at the same job for 10 years, he is the best mechanic anyone could ask for, their is nothing he can't fix. he is marvoulous and could have been a  rocket science if he had the learning abilities., but he didn,t. he is who he is.

the best son in the world.

Answer 10

Headphones can definitely help.  My son (who has autism) wheres them at school during assemblies in the gym (because of the echoes) and at the movies (he finds surround sound overwhelming).  He wears normal head phones or even ear muffs...you may want to try those first.  They will muffle the sound without cutting it off completely, so he could still hear the teacher if she is speaking to the class.  Of course, if any sound is too distracting, then you may need the industrial types.

Another idea (and you may want to pair it with the headphones) would be to allow him to move to a desk in a quiet corner of the class when it is time to do independent work and testing.  The desk should face away from the rest of the class, with no windows or open doors in the vicinity.  If this can't be done, then you should ask about using project boards (those trifold boards kids use for science projects) to put up a wall, but still try to set up a desk away from the rest of the class for that period of work.  

This sort of problem is common in many kids, not just kids with ADHD.  If the school has a psychologist or behavioral specialist, they may be able to find other ways to help.  If you find something that works and your son has an IEP or 504, be sure to have them write in these accomodations during his next re-write.  If he doesn't have either, you may want to talk with the school about insituting at least a 504.  While these do not carry the same weight as an IEP, it will help when your son moves to another class.  Without a written plan approved by the school, it may be tough to make another teacher comply.

Answer 11

Your child should  qualify for help thru special ed services (IEP plan) or a 504 plan.

Please know that schools do not have to help a child AT ALL with problems UNLESS the child has a 504 or IEP plan.

They will 'say' they will help. But without 504 or IEP they don't have to. ANd if they stop the help, you can't do a thing about it.

The  teacher  might be helpful and do these things, but next week she might not be. And teachers thru the years might not be. And they will be in their rights to do so.

If you have IEP or 504 plan, however, the school will be bound by federal laws to help your child and if they stop you can take actioin against this.

With your  childs problems, just having headphones will not help. THe cognative language problems should be helped thru special ed (IEP plan).

Answer 12

With the diagnosis of Cognitive Language disability and struggling in school this year, he should be able to qualify for and IEP or a 504 plan.  This is a legally binding document that requires teachers and the school to provide specific accommodations for him.  The turn in special ed is to have the classroom teacher try interventions before he is officially identified with a special need.  In this the teacher must try something and if your son does not respond, try something else.  (the school will know more about this)  This means that he will not be identified right away, but he will be getting interventions and help to see if the right thing can be found.

Some ideas:  noise canceling headphones during work time, allowing him to take a break and "go to the bathroom"  if he needs a few minutes away from the chaos of the room, reducing the number of problems/questions so the task may not seem as overwhelming or stressful, turning his desk away from the other students so it is facing a wall, in testing situations (standardized, state, ect.) individual or small group administration,