Help My son is having problems in school again!?

Question

My son 7 now has ADHD and well the teacher says that she will have to hold him back if he does not start paying attention. I very frusterated. Im sick of her calling me all of the time telling me this. I know ! but He has this problem all his life. The teacher refuses to say its his ADHD. He had behavioral problems.

He had this same problems at the other school. But the teacher said that he just needed some "one on one " he passed with flying colors! she said he is a wonderful student!

Help! please. learning disabilities do run in our famiy and mental illness. look at my profile.

Answer 1

As a retired teacher, and now a substitute teacher, I am sick and tired of parents and counselors telling me a child is ADHD, and that these children should be accorded special attention. How convenient for the child and the parent. Just say your child is ADD, ADHD, or mentally ill--even find a physician who will diagose your child as such (easy to find one).

Your son will never be expected to achieve anything, and you can always say, "It's not my fault--he's mentally incompetent!

Answer 2

So maybe you should try and help the teacher out, try home school with him and see if that helps, and if not get a letter from his doctor telling the teacher that his Adhd has a lot to do with his learning and behavior problem.

Answer 3

If I were on a team, working with you to support your son, we'd hopefully be working toward an independent future for him. We would want to give him supports he needs to be successful in school without making him dependent on those supports. It's like putting training wheels on his bicycle. We know he needs them right now, but we also know the day is going to come when we have to take them off and let go of the bike.

ADHD does impact your son's impulsivity, which in turn impacts the behavior choices he makes. At the end of the day, he needs to be able to make good choices in life. We don't need him to be exempt from learning good behavior choices the same way a kid with a bad knee is exempt from running laps. Let's assume that this is where your son's teacher is coming from.

For any kid who has got ADHD and is having problems at school, I would recommend sitting down with the school team to draft a plan to support the kind of behavior you want from your son. Generally, this will mean agreeing with the team that a target behavior will not be acceptable at school or at home. There may be positive or negative consequences set. These have to be done consistently. For ADHD students, the consequences are more successful if they are immediate, not deferred for some point later in the day.

I'm not a psychiatrist. It's not up to me to suggest or prescribe medication. I have seen them work very well for several kids. I have also known some families who flat out refuse to consider them, and spend months at their wit's end, not knowing what to do with the kid. I've seen a kid stop taking their medications for months, and nobody noticed, because they were doing just fine.

I have a couple of good friends with severe ADHD who took medications as kids. One is a Lieutenant Colonel, who agrees with the army's policy of not accepting recruits who have taken ADHD medications within a year. His own life may depend on a soldier remaining alert at odd hours of the night when cut off from supply lines.

My other friend with ADHD is president of a company that makes computer games. Both of them still have ADHD, I'll testify to that. But they both reached a point where the disorder was no longer a disability.

Answer 4

Sounds like your child would flourish in a class that is more catered to his needs. Is there a Special Education class that you can enrol your son in? Or, perhaps you could arrange for some private 'one on one' tutoring for him outside normal school hours to help the day's lessons sink in. Take him to a development specialist to get assessed - once you know how he learns best, you can see about making it happen. Ask the specialist to help you draw up a plan to help your son get the most of his schooling, and then bring the teacher in and let her know what your son needs. Seeing a professional and identifying your son's needs can help you come up with a strategy to help improve his behaviour and see his learning needs are met.

Answer 5

You need to call a meeting with the school and see if an IEP can be established for him.  There are things that can be implemented so that he can concentrate.....sensory integration therapy is a great tool for children with ADHD.  Check it out................AND to BABY POOTS thank god you are a retired teacher!!! You are the type of teacher who should never be in a classroom with any child let alone one with special needs!