A statement was made in my son’s educational assesment by his special ed. teacher that has me really curious. Here it is:
“I believe he is distracted by his own thoughts. For example, even when he is writing a paragraph or doing spelling, he constantly wants to discuss or ask questions pertaining to unrelated topics rather than what he is working on.”
I have to agree with her, as he does this all the time at home as well. What is this indicitive of, if anything? He has been dx with CAPD, SID and has shown symptoms of NVLD.
Any thoughts you could give me would be a great help
Re: Question on ed. assessment....
ARGH!!! YES! My son has been evaluated THREE times for ADD or ADHD and it was found NEGATIVE!! Sorry…don’t mean to vent all over you, just sick of people always assuming my son has ADHD and my having to defend him.
Actually, the teacher and my son’s cub scout leader (who is a sped teacher) as well as some others have said that even though he appears to not be paying attention, he is still on task.
Re: Question on ed. assessment....
The statement on your son’s assessment could easily apply to two of my sons. Both have ADHD. I think it’s a very common trait and there really isn’t much you can do about it. These are just people with very active minds.
Re: Question on ed. assessment....
Michelle,
I can certainly understand your frustration in trying to help your child. You stated that your child has been evaluated twice for ADD and the tests were negative. I’m certainly not a doctor and I wouldn’t begin to second quest one however, sometimes ADD is missed dx. If your son was tested by a medical coctor or someone that does not specializes in treating this disorder it is a very real possibility that he does have ADD and it was missed. I understand that you have trust in your child’s teacher but she is not trained to dx ADD. Her training is in another area.
Your son’s distractibility refers to the inability to concentrate or inattentiveness, which is a characteristic of ADD. He is also exhabiting a lack of impulse control, which is also another characteristic of ADD. He is unable to contrate on just one task at a time because his brain is constantly processing stimuli. If your child has been dx by a medical doctor, please ask him to refer your son to a neurologist. A neurologist is very well able to dx your son and will be able to suggest to the medical doctor how best to treat him.
Edna
Re: Question on ed. assessment....
Michelle,
I can certainly understand your frustration in trying to help your child. You stated that your child has been evaluated twice for ADD and the tests were negative. I’m certainly not a doctor and I wouldn’t begin to second quest one however, sometimes ADD is missed dx. If your son was tested by a medical coctor or someone that does not specializes in treating this disorder it is a very real possibility that he does have ADD and it was missed. I understand that you have trust in your child’s teacher but she is not trained to dx ADD. Her training is in another area.
Your son’s distractibility refers to the inability to concentrate or inattentiveness, which is a characteristic of ADD. He is also exhabiting a lack of impulse control, which is also another characteristic of ADD. He is unable to contrate on just one task at a time because his brain is constantly processing stimuli. If your child has been dx by a medical doctor, please ask him to refer your son to a neurologist. A neurologist is better able to dx your son and will be able to suggest to the medical doctor how best to treat him.
Edna
Re: Question on ed. assessment....
Well, let’s see. I can read a Stephen King novel in one day, while watching tv, my kids and making dinner on time. I also believe in the idea of thinking (and talking) about subjects in a wheel or web fashion as opposed to linear thinking or talking. Supposing the subject A is the hub, all lines lead to E,G,B in an equal fashion as opposed to A leads to B leads to C etc. Sounds like your son is able to do this as well. Although it can be confusing to a listener who has no idea how you went from A to E in one jump ;o). I am add inattentive. Possible nlvd but haven’t pursued a dx (my abbreviated Wechsler, 121 verbal, 80 performance, couldn’t figure out the patterns to save my life :o)
Definitely not saying your son has add, it could just be part of the other stuff, you know your child best. If it isn’t causing a problem I wouldn’t worry about it. I did just fine in school.Have a BA.Wasn’t dxed until 2mos ago, I am an adult.
On the other hand, my older son is also add inattentive, he had a terrible time learning to read, I don’t blame it all on add, TX school had some to do with it too I believe. He has caught up now but the way one reading teacher explained it is that he is interrupted by his own thoughts and loses where he was and the whole thread of what he was reading. He still has poor comprehension. His dad who also has adhd (workaholic, can’t sit still,etc) also has this problem with reading. He can only read in a quiet place, marks pages everywhere, and has to reread paragraphs to understand them. He has an A average in his master’s degree classes, it just takes him a lot more effort than most folks have to put in. Obviously we don’t see much of him during the semester between work,school, and study.
And as you can see, I probly didn’t answer the question but thought you might be interested in the viewpoint of someone who maybe thinks in a similar manner to your son.Hope I helped some. Best wishes.
I am not a medical professional or an educator, just a mom, but what your son is doing is kind of like my daughter. She has ADHD, along with CAPD and LD. The attention deficit disorder seems to make her brain work overtime and sometimes, it seems as if she is doing several things at once. Or, that she is not concentrating on anything at all. ADHD often comes with other stuff, like CAPD and LD. Has your son ever been assessed for ADHD?