My son is being tested today
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion Archive: Archive February 2006:
My son is being tested today
I usually don't ask for thoughts or prayers, but I am today.
My son has been having problems focusing at school. It's a long story, but it started in the 1st grade with a teacher who was having many problems in her class. He's now in 3rd, and he has been struggling ever since.
His dad (my dh) has dyslexia, and there may be some cognitive issues stemming from that, as I know dh has some problems with reading comprehension and focusing. But I truly don't think he has ADD or ADHD. He focuses well on things that interest him, and he isn't hyperactive. Full of energy, yes, but hyperactive, no.
Anyway, the school social worker is giving him the TOVA test today, and I am apprehensive about what the results will be.
Please keep us in your thoughts.
about the TOVA here
Thoughts and prayers, Lisa. Does he have a high IQ? Some of the things you describe - full of energy and focusing well on things of interest can be signs of giftedness as well.
Is he struggling - or just disinterested?
Good luck!
Ame
good luck ur in my thoughts and prayers today. No matter the outcome the test will be a building block to help him learn.
Lisa thoughts and prayers are with you. I'm going thru something similar with my 2nd grader and am also in MI and would like to know the results when you get them. My DS goes to private school and my insurance does not cover the testing so we are trying to work through it. He sounds so much like your son. His last report card was all B's and two A's but what a stuggle. We work at least an hour a day on homework and unfinished work. His teacher does not think he has ADD or ADHD nor do we. We even started drum lessons hoping this will help with the math. Does your son have problems in all subjects or just certain ones? Good Luck!!
My prayers are with you, as well.
I will keep your son in my thoughts and prayers today.
Thoughts and prayers from here too. Jewlz said it very well, i agree with her.
((((((Lisa))))))
No matter what the outcome, you're doing the right thing by recognizing his weak points, and seeking help. A LD is no different than a physical disease, and is nothing to be ashamed of.
Best Wishes! Ame might be onto something. He may be bored or he's not challenged enough.
Mary- Your tax dollars probably pay for the testing. I know in my state (NJ) they do. I just had to fill out a form at her school and they sent the paperwork into the department of education. I had concerns regarding my 9 year old. Her concentration was below the other kids in her class. The evaluation team told me that she entered school earlier than most kids (she turned 5 on the first day of school)that her maturity level was appropriate for her age. They did all sorts of tests including an IQ test. The IQ test confirmed what we already knew- she's a smart cookie (okay, mommy brag). Try to look into it.
My son is in 3rd grade reading at a 4th grade level. He scores 100% on all his spelling tests. His teachers tell me that he is smart and capable, but isn't doing the work. His issues are with abstract things like math and science. The reading material for science is hard for him to grasp, as well as the fact that he still uses his fingers to add and subtract.
There may be several issues going on. He plays video games, and is in love with the characters in Sonic the Hedgehog and other Nintendo games. But he doesn't spend all of his time infront of a screen. He frequently turns off the TV to go outside and play. He even drags his friends out with him when they come over.
He is easily distracted when he should be listening to the teacher. Could be b/c a friend is talking, either to him or to someone else. Could be he is thinking of something more interesting or daydreaming. Whatever it is, he gets home and can't do the homework b/c nothing he didn't retain anything he heard in class.
This year, the teachers at his school are trying team teaching. There are four of them- two were 3rd grade and two were 4th grade. This year, tho, one teaches math, one social studies, one science, and the other language arts. In addition, there is also gym, music, art, and library. Gym is twice a week, the others only once. So, every day, the students rotate between all four teachers and on the appropriate days go to the other special classes. My son has expressed frustration that he doesn't have enough time to ask questions or get going on the assignments that are handed out before he has to pick up and go to another class or get out a different book and start on the next thing.
Those are just a few of the things that I suspect. I didn't hear anything from the school social worker today, so I hope I will tomorrow.
Thanks everyone!
I just got an email from the school counselor. (Funny, the email says she sent it at 2PM this afternoon, but it didn't get delivered to my email program until now.)
She said that he is struggling with some aspects of attention control. And that one thing that is quite obvious from how he approached the testing is that he gets very anxious and has a difficult time with any new or novel situation.
I can attest to this from when he was very little. He put up a great deal of resistance being told to do something if it meant it had to be done immediately. I have always had to give him time to prepare. Like I couldn't just say, "Okay, time to brush your teeth!" I had to say, "Okay, when the big hand gets on the 9, then you will brush your teeth."
We will meet with the social worker next Monday. She will be out of town until Thursday, and then she goes to a different school building. I'll let you know what happens.
Okay, he has an attention issue because he is hyper-attentive. He focuses so strongly on one thing that he isn't aware of what may be going on around him (like the teacher trying to get the attention of the class and giving directions above the din of the room) and he gets anxious about switching from one task to another.
We aren't sure what to do, but we are going to try to give him extra specific directions, like a schedule at home, so that he knows what to expect for the day or evening. We may get his hearing and vision tested, tho the teacher didn't say she noticed any problems in those areas. We could also see what our insurance will cover as far as any other evaluations.
The four teachers are going to get together and discuss possibly going to a block-type schedule, such as not meeting with all the kids every day, but alternating days so as to allow the kids more time with each teacher in the classroom.
My son has a friend like this. I know one thing his mom says really helps is getting a five minute warning before the teacher switches activities. And when the warning is given (and when it is time to switch), it makes a huge difference when the teacher actually touches him on the shoulder and says, for example, "D, in 5 minutes it will be time to put away your spelling".
Good luck. 
My ds has this problem, too. His teacher is very structured and is great about giving him a warning when it's nearly time to change activities. We've also spent a LOT of time working on his "peripheral" listening skills and coping with sudden changes. It's not a fun road but it's certainly manageable. It sounds like the teachers are willing to work with you and him. I hope it all comes out well.
this is actually my first time really writing on here, so bare with me. My son is 4 years old and has been diagnosed with adhd/odd (which often accompanies adhd). His doctor put him on strattera and this has helped tremendously, but he is still flying around all the time, won't do his schoolwork, won't listen to his teachers and argues all the time. It's a nightmare just trying to get him to brush his teeth or even put his coat on so that we can leave. So, his doctor prescribed him another medicine (paxil) which i am not going to give him. I am soo sorry about your son and I know what you are going through. good luck.
Welcome,Leah. Glad you decided to jump in.
I'm curious - why don't you want to give your son Paxil. Yes, all of these drugs have problems, but is there something in particular about Paxil?
I don't know much about the ADHD, ADD, etc. drugs today. My son was diagnosed as Hyperactive and pre-Autistic in about 1964, and the only medication then was tranquilizers, and he was prescribed Valium. It did help, but one of the long term side effects, according to a couple of his doctors, is that he would probably be 2-3 inches taller if he hadn't had to take it. I only know what I read and what is said on this site about the modern drugs.
Hi Marino!
Well, there are several side effects of course, but there are also side effects just for trying to get him off of it. This medicine is supposedly not addictive but cause things like sensory disturbances(electric shock). and that is from the paxil website. So, I'm not sure if the ends justify the means. I think that I'm going to try one of those special diets. It can't hurt to try and it's better for him then medicine I think.
Leah, you are doing the right thing in researching the meds, but I will just say this - I have been on Paxil for almost 6 years for panic/anxiety attacks. My dosage has never been increased, and I've experienced no side effects at all. However, I have no clue if they are different for a child.
I too am concerned about going off of the drug, but I'm not ready to do that anyway. But when I started taking it, I started at a lower dosage and over a few weeks increased to the dosage I am on now. When you stop taking a med like that, you do it the same way, by reducing the dosage you take.
And there's a difference between addiction and physical dependence, though, if you want to split hairs, they are mostly the same. The difference is, addiction is often associated with not only a physical dependence, but a psychological dependence as well.
You have to weigh out the pros and cons though, and do what you think is right, trust your gut feelings.
When your son was diagnosed, was it by a therapist or by his pediatrician? I would suggest having him evaluated by a licensed therapist specializing in childhood disorders. There may be more you can do for him as far as behavioral therapy and diet.
The school social worker told us that, although they are not supposed to discuss meds with parents, meds would only make my son's issues worse. Drugs like ritalin are stimulants that help kids with add/adhd focus, but my son is on the other end of the spectrum- he hyper focuses, so he doesn't need a drug that helps with focus.
The medicine was prescribed by a psychiatrist. He's got an appt. w/him tomorrow so I will talk to him more about it then. I just want to do something other for him than medicate him, ya know.
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