Expert: Patricia Ireland-Williams - 11/28/2011

Question
Hi Patricia,
I was wandering if you could give me any help and advice on what to do. We have a very happy and rather extravert 8 year old, who just does not work in class.

Since she has started school, all her reports have come back saying that she does not concentrate in school and is slow to pick up on things. We have had meetings with her teachers and they say that she would be capable of staring into space and not doing a bit of work the whole day long, watching when someone sharpens their pencil etc..

The children are set work in the class and if they don't finish it in time, they have to bring it home as homework.  She brings home homework almost every day. I was worried that she may find it easier to bring it home and have mummy or daddy help her with her work, rather than doing it at school on her own, so generally  I make her sit down and do it on her own. When she brings home a good grade (which I'm afraid isn't very often) she gets a special prize... which she gets very excited about.

But working with her on any type of school work is very frustrating and I know exactly what the teachers mean. We can go through the whole of the 6 times table and she will say them straight off, and then you could ask 2+2 and she would put on a serious thinking face and say "ummm"   "'ummm, ummmm I know" "uumm 3?".  And I know full well that she isn't even thinking. Or we will be revising something and I would have repeated the same answer 10 times and she still gets it wrong.

In general, you wouldn't guess that she is having problems at school. She comes across as being bright, always very caring  and diplomatic.

One factor that could influence her learning, as in reading and writing, although I don't believe it has anything to do with her concentration problems, is that we are a trilingual family. Our common family language is Spanish. I speak only English with her, her father speaks only Spanish and in school it is in Catalan and Spanish. She is fluent in all three languages, and has a great interest in other languages. When we go to France she wants to speak, and being so extravert and confident, she is quite happy to go into a shop and ask for things.

All the children in her class are bilingual in Spanish and Catalan and she is not the only trilingual child, but not all of them bring home a "Fail" in almost every subject.

We have sat down with her and told her how important it is to work in class, but nothing we say or do seems to make a difference.

If there is anything you think we can do to help her, or any thoughts on the subject, it would be greatly appreciated.

Regards
Caroline

Answer
Caroline,

Your child sounds like a bright child and certainly talented.  It is fantastic that she is trilingual!  I would suggest that you continue to work with the teachers and ask that an evaluation be done in order to determine if there is a processing issue.  Can I assume that you have already spoken to your pediatrician about this concern?  What about a hearing and visual test?  This could be a developmental issue as well in that young children have a variety of issues adjusting to a classroom setting.  Continue to express your concern about the need to pay attention in class as well as to complete all work while in class..........let her know that it is her job to do her best at school just like it is important for you and her dad to do your work.

You might also set up a reward system at home for good reports from school.  Set up a weekly calendar and for every day she does her work at school, give her points that she can use toward a treat (something she likes but doesn't do often).  


Best wishes,

Patricia