How do you get a child to concentrate better?

[Shaketurn]

Parents evening for ds, age 6 and the main issue she has with him is that he doesn't concentrate enough. She says he daydreams, looks anywhere but the paper or the board he's supposed to be looking at. He seems tired all the time. He's progressing but slowly and needs a lot of input from the teacher to keep him on task. I don't know how worried I should be about this and what if anything we could do to help. He is very bright and curious and can be very focused if it's something that interests him. He just doesn't seem well suited to a classroom environment. I do wonder if there might be adhd? Although he's not really hyperactive at all. He does seek sensory stimulation, always wants to touch everything, chews his clothes, loves to hang upside and all that sort of thing. It worries me that he's falling behind when I know he is bright. Is there any changes in the classroom I could suggest or anything we could try at home to help?

drama and music classes help a child learn to concentrate because they have to coordinate with others. especially group music rather than solo music.

sport and physical exercise help too.

Little kids are not meant to spent all day sitting at a desk, so if you have the option to find a school with less desk-time and more interactive activities, that might suit him better.

My son has very poor concentration skills due to SEN, he's 18 now but the one thing that helped him was dance. Having to memorise routines really helped him in school.

Is he in year 1 - some of them find the jumper from EYFS to year 1 really tricky because there's less opportunity to move about (my DS1 did).

DS1 is very sensory seeking too and I've found that if he gets enough exercise the rest of the week he is much better at sitting and being calm when he needs to. It is tricky in winter with bad weather though.

His previous teacher never mentioned there was a problem but it was much more active and play based last year. Dance and drama is a good idea. He has recently started learning to play chess and he has excellent concentration when doing that.

It might be adhd inattentive type - sometimes called add. Basically adhd without the hyperactivity,

Possible things you could do:

You said he might be tired. How is his sleep? Tired kids do struggle to concentrate whether ND or NT.

Exercise.

Help with academics at home - do 1:1 reading with him at home, maybe do some maths.

Get an eye test - can he see what is going on in the classroom?

Get a hearing test - he may have blue ear and struggle to hear.

Any activities together really - a range of board games, cooking etc where there is something to stick to with a defined end point. Great that he likes chess but expand that to things that are not just his number one choice, and that he has to stick at so that you get to finish the game too .

Keep in mind that hyperactivity isn't always a physical thing, but mental too. I'm diagnosed with full ADHD and my brain is so busy, it's difficult to focus and concentrate unless it's something I'm really interested in. Might be worth having a chat with the school senco.

My 6 year old needs a lot of physical activity to be able to concentrate. A LOT, as in several hours a day. breaktime doesn’t cut it.
For him it’s dance, he has dance lessons 4 times a week (minimum 1 hours, most days more) and swimming twice. all on top of outdoor play, walking to school, school pe etc.

My 9 year old was just like that.
it actually sounded like you were describing her when you wrote!
she has just been diagnosed with autism and ADHD. She has been started on medication and it has made a huge difference to her ability to focus and contribute in class (while the meds are working anyway- she is still being titrated up on the dose and they currently wear off about 1 pm, after which time the change is noticeable)
we had tried so much over the years prior to seeking a diagnosis but nothing really helped.
The team that diagnosed her ADhD said that there are non medication things we can try to help ( I can’t remember the term they used) but until she can concentrate it would be futile trying them.

My DS age 9 is just the same... We have just submitted forms for an ADHD assessment.

It doesn't hurt to enquire through school/GP about the process for ADHD assessment. However they may just say to give it time, 6 is still young.

As you say he seeks sensory input I wonder if there could be any way this could be incorporated into the classroom even without any kind of diagnosis - for example, a wobble cushion to sit on? Chewable pencil toppers. A spare piece of paper for doodling so that he does not fiddle with his school books?

And you could look at incorporating some kind of after school activity, or "heavy work" in the morning if there is time.