School worried that dd has attn problem

amother

Babypink

Wed, Sep 06 2017, 4:06 pm

My dd's school is worried about her. They don't believe she is paying attention properly and is sort of spacing out during class and not learning the material, although they do say she is bright.
This might all be true. However, we do not want to necessarily diagnose her with ADD/ADHD quite yet. The school is recommending a personality test.
We do want to get to the bottom of anything (or nothing) thats going on with her. However, we do not want to make any rash decisions. What's the best way to proceed? How/who would most help in such a situation?

LittleDucky

Thu, Sep 07 2017, 11:40 am

How would a personality test help? What do they hope to gain from it? Those typically don't show reasons why someone is inattentive. Just what characteristics their personality might show- introverted, narcissistic or other personality disorders etc. did they give the name of the test?

May I ask why you don't want a diagnosis? How old is your daughter? If the diagnosis is correct- you can learn (and help her learn) how to accomplish academically with her challenges instead of just trying random solutions. And maybe it is the wrong diagnosis- "having trouble mastering material despite being bright" could be from dyslexia or other learning differences. Or a vision/hearing problem- if you can't hear the teacher well Or see the blackboard well, it is easy to space out. Once I got glasses my grades jumped!

I would suggest getting her hearing and vision tested (covered by many insurance plans especially if you meet with the pediatrician for a referral). Then if those are negative, ask for a referral to a pediatric neuropsychiatrist to rule out other diagnoses.