Expert: Tim Runner - 9/14/2011

Question
We have 5 year old son who just started kindergarten this year.  We are only 3 weeks into the school year and the teacher sent us an email about some "questions" with our son. I will paste the email onto this post in a minute.  First I just wanted to say that our son is advanced for his age.  He is already reading and doing math at a 2nd grade level.  We haven't notice any of the behaviors mentioned by the teacher at home.  We are thinking that our son is not being stimulated enough in school, we think he's bored.  We don't think its ADHD, but thought we might get some insight from this website. Any information will help. Here is the email sent from from his teacher.   "We have noticed some behaviors in Jack that were not noted in his preschool narrative and that Katelynn also said were new since preschool. While I feel like Mason is getting most of the important information we are delivering I am concerned that some of the changes we've noticed might be affecting Mason's social interactions with students.

The main things we are noticing is a lot of movement and sound from Jack as well as difficulty with boundaries. He seems to be in motion and making sounds or talking whether he is sitting at circle, having lunch or doing a math or reading activity. He has also been having a hard time refraining from touching objects (anything that is around him) and people. His friends and teachers remind him but he seems to have a hard time and I am concerned about how this is affecting his friendships. Is this something you see at home? We are unsure whether it is stress, fatigue or something else but it seems to happen throughout the day and often will increase as the day progresses."

Answer
-- James,

There is no way anyone can diagnose ADD/ADHD via internet. It is challenging to assess in person. You have two choices. You can set an appointment to visit the class a couple of different days and times to observe what is going on. Another is to ask in writing that the school assess your son for special education in the areas of ADD/ADHD and sensory issues as well as social skills and pragmatics. When they conduct this assessment they always measure the cognitive ability of the child as well as the academic level. You would have to pay a couple thousand dollars to have these tests done privately. This can give you more information to use in making your decisions. If you son qualifies for special education it may not involve changing classes but rather making some accommodations for him in his current class. It might also involve some social skills and pragmatics training to help him build and maintain friendships.

Within 15 days of receiving your request for assessment, the school must give you an Assessment Plan listing all the areas in which they intend to assess your son. Once you sign this, the school has 60 days to conduct the assessments and report the results back to you.

I wish you and your son the best,
Tim Runner, Advocate
Advocates for Kids
Email: timrunner@gmail.com
Phone: (949) 582-3601
You can learn more at my web site:
www.special-education-answers.com