My nine-year-old son is a very bright and creative boy. He has low muscle tone, numerous inhalant allergies, and Sensory Integration Disorder (primarily in the area of Vestibular function). He receives weekly O.T., Speech, and Sensory Integration therapy along with P.T. every other week through his school. He may use the classroom computer, dictate, and modify writing assignments to accommodate his low muscle tone. Two different psychologists have determined my son’s full-scale IQ scores to be 126 and 129. He is often inattentive in the classroom, particularly when assignments require written work. He sometimes requires 1:1 attention to focus on class work. When focused, his retention and performance are excellent. My older daughter, who has tested as Gifted, has had a tendency towards inattention in the classroom, but has managed to excel anyway without accommodations. My son’s inattention is so inconsistent and situational that ADHD doesn’t seem to fit. His problems do seem magnified by his indoor allergies this winter and an allergist treats him regularly. He is not on any sedating medications. My son does have a history of ear and sinus infections, which have made me wonder about the possibility of a processing problem. What avenues can you recommend to explore to help shed some light on my son’s situation? I’d appreciate any advice you can give me. His teacher and I have regular contact, and the school has been open to evaluations and modifications of his IEP. Thank you.
Re: My nine-year-old son
With an IQ that is that high, I suspect that any processing issues he has may be fairly minor. At any rate, the psychologists should have addressed that in the reports. Have you had his achievement tested? If not, do that first.Very bright children are often inattentive in class because they are a bit bored with the level of repetition that the rest of their peers require. Frequently they understand concepts and processes the first time through, while the rest of the class may take five or six shots at it. This makes it difficult for the child and very challenging for the teacher.The combination of low muscle tone and Sensory Integration Disorder may have a lot to do with his inattentiveness. SID creates a lot of internal agitation and while the sensory diet and therapies may help control the manifestations, the internal stuff is still there. Low muscle tone, as I am sure you have been told, makes the physical parts of writing , even with a computer, very fatiguing. For a child who is very quick, they rapidly lose interest in doing activites that are tedious in the first place, and then they don’t do them well, which is frustrating.Sara’s suggestions are good ones for accommodating. If you could get achievement levels, I might have a few more. Good luck!Robin
:If you have had two sets of testing done as your post implies, you’ve done what’s usually done. You’re also having this child receive remediative work with several therapists and see his allergist regularly. It sounds as if you’re very much on top of his issues.What else concerns you? His need for one on one to focus on class work? It sounds again as if you’re doing what you can to make progress in that area. If writing is difficult for him, it stands to reason that all our attentions drift when we’re doing what we dislike and what is hard for us. Much of school is written work done at one’s seat so he may be often inattentive during the school day.Would his school offer him a one on one aide? That might help but they can be hard to wrest from a school district. Could his seat be close to the teacher’s desk?Your suggestion of a processing problem could be redirected to the psychologists who tested him but if his inattention is greater during written work, that doesn’t fit the picture of a processing problem. Inattentiveness due to processing problems occurs usually during those times when the teacher is speaking or giving directions or reading outloud, not when kids are writing.You might also consider speaking to your pediatrician. Ear infections correlate with speech and language difficulties, true, but I’m not sure they correlate with processing problems. Any good pediatrician, though, should be able to answer that for you.My nine-year-old son is a very bright and creative boy. He has low
: muscle tone, numerous inhalant allergies, and Sensory Integration
: Disorder (primarily in the area of Vestibular function). He
: receives weekly O.T., Speech, and Sensory Integration therapy
: along with P.T. every other week through his school. He may use
: the classroom computer, dictate, and modify writing assignments to
: accommodate his low muscle tone. Two different psychologists have
: determined my son’s full-scale IQ scores to be 126 and 129. He is
: often inattentive in the classroom, particularly when assignments
: require written work. He sometimes requires 1:1 attention to focus
: on class work. When focused, his retention and performance are
: excellent. My older daughter, who has tested as Gifted, has had a
: tendency towards inattention in the classroom, but has managed to
: excel anyway without accommodations. My son’s inattention is so
: inconsistent and situational that ADHD doesn’t seem to fit. His
: problems do seem magnified by his indoor allergies this winter and
: an allergist treats him regularly. He is not on any sedating
: medications. My son does have a history of ear and sinus
: infections, which have made me wonder about the possibility of a
: processing problem. What avenues can you recommend to explore to
: help shed some light on my son’s situation? I’d appreciate any
: advice you can give me. His teacher and I have regular contact,
: and the school has been open to evaluations and modifications of
: his IEP. Thank you.