DD is not focused in school please I need help

amother

Thu, Oct 21 2010, 2:18 am

DD is a spacy child. She is not focusing in school and it is becoming a problem. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can get her to be more focused? I don't think she even realizes that she is spacing out. What do I do?

merelyme

Thu, Oct 21 2010, 5:47 am

Age of child? How long has this been going on?

I think both suggestion above are good: first get her eyes tested, beyond the standard test. There's an advanced test that not all eye doctors do that tests if both eyes work together, don't skip letters, etc.
Check her hearing.
Then go for ADD testing, learning disabilities, etc.

amother

Sun, Oct 24 2010, 12:01 am

OP here, where would I go for an eye test? Who doesn't do the standard test? She doesn't have add she can sit still for hours that's not her problem. She doesn't even realize that she is spacing out she just does. At home she has no problem hearing at all so I couldn't see it being a hearing issue.

HindaRochel

Sun, Oct 24 2010, 12:06 am

amother wrote:

Spacing out is ADD, sitting for hours is not necessarily an indication of not having ADD. Children who space out also hyperfocus. That means their attention is called to something and they do not have the normal response of refocusing their attention where it should be when necessary.

Of course it could be other things; she could be in a class which is
1)too hard for her
2)too easy for her
3)something major is upsetting her
4)she is depressed...

The only way to know is to take her in and have her evaluated.

mummy-bh

Sun, Oct 24 2010, 2:11 am

amother wrote:

I have a couple of kids that have ADD, one with the added H (ADHD).
Even my ADHD kid can sit for an hour or more on a project that interests them, in my child's case this is reading factual books and playing with playmobil. My ADD kid will stare for ages out the window (we live on a pretty busy street) waiting for something 'exciting' to happen that he can tell me about.

marina

Sun, Oct 24 2010, 3:01 am

What happens when she spaces out? Has she ever spaced out while in the middle of saying something? Does she remember what happened while she was spaced out?

What activities does she focus well on? How long can she read book or play with toys for?

Focusing on tv, computer or video games does not count.

cassandra

Sun, Oct 24 2010, 5:42 am

My daughter is similar. She had the full gamut of evaluations (including EEG) and she did not meet the criteria for ADD or anything else. It is possible that there are modifications needed in the classroom for her that will help her focus though, my daughter does well in the front seat as close to the teacher as possible, and the further back you put her the harder it is for her to concentrate. She also needs time to move if they are sitting for a long time, so her teachers have agreed to send her on "errands", sometimes even to the back of the classroom, so she can move. Sensory stimulation also helps, and depending on the class rules this could be something like chewing gum or squishing a squish ball under her desk. Definitely get her evaluated, but also know that you aren't necessarily going to get an ADD diagnosis if this is a concern.

amother

Mon, Oct 25 2010, 1:38 am

Where do I get her evaluated? What type of place? I don't think my dh would be willing to spend money to get her evaluated usually it's very expensive. She listens in class but then spaces out but B"H she is still doing well. She just needs the teacher to remind her where the place is or to just get her attention back. The thing is I don't even think that she realizes that she is doing anything wrong that just shows how space out she is.

Mama Bear

Mon, Oct 25 2010, 9:13 am

Do you live in NY? there are tons of agencies that do the evals, for free, for board of ed. first thing you need is a letter from your school stating the child needs an eval, which you send to the board of ed. is there anyonein your school that can help you? We have someone in our school that directly sends the letter to the board of ed.

ora_43

Mon, Oct 25 2010, 9:31 am

amother wrote:

Is the class roughly at her level? Or is she a bit ahead?

Maybe if she can afford to space out but still keep up with material, it's a sign that things are just a little too slow for her, which could help cause the spaciness. Just a thought.

marina

Mon, Oct 25 2010, 12:31 pm

marina wrote:

amother, have you ever seen her space out? What does it look like? Does she do that mid-sentence ever?

shlomitsmum

Mon, Oct 25 2010, 1:02 pm

My friends 8 y/o dd was constantly spacing out and getting yelled at....she has abcence seizures due to a nasty bike fall/crash after all tests were done she was given a cat scan just in case .

she is now getting help for it B'H so just make sure she has had no head injuries ..I'm sharing this cause this poor child almost got expelled as teachers were so upset at her, it wasn't her fault at all Sad

she was suffering so much...

So if all comes out negative think back and outside the box....

cassandra

Mon, Oct 25 2010, 2:19 pm

shlomitsmum wrote:

she was suffering so much...

So if all comes out negative think back and outside the box....

If you have a good evaluation they will recommend eeg to rule this out.

shlomitsmum

Mon, Oct 25 2010, 2:55 pm

cassandra wrote:

shlomitsmum wrote:

she was suffering so much...

So if all comes out negative think back and outside the box....

If you have a good evaluation they will recommend eeg to rule this out.

I stand corrected eeg = electro encephalogram right ? where did I get cat LOL ..blame it on my pregnant brain embarrassed