My 6 year old, year 1 DD and being observed by SENCO ?

[ahwhat]

We’ve been informed our DD struggles to concentrate. She doesn’t interrupt class and behaved very well and is trying very hard to do her work. But focus is an issue for her.

she forgets sentences as she’s writing and often asks for instructions to be repeated.

anyway the teacher suggested having her observed by their designated senco.

my DD goes to private school.

anyway she’s academically not doing too badly and is on track for reading, getting there with her writing and generally seems to be doing okay. Friendships great, effort is great.

it’s lack of focus that has prompted all this.

can anyone help me here ? Should we get her to be observed ? Does this sound like adhd ? I feel like the teacher is trying to ‘ get the ball rolling ‘.. but she’s only just 6. Maybe she just needs a bit of time ?

any help/ experiences appreciated.

It's best getting on top of these things early. Maybe it is just age and her focus will improve, no harm in observations if it is. If there is an underlying cause things are likely to get more difficult as she gets older and early identification of need and early support will make a huge difference.

Let her be observed.. At 6, my son couldn’t write a sentence- he couldn’t remember all the words by the time he’d written the first couple down, despite being good at reading and excellent at spelling. He had major meltdowns, crying and outright refusing to write. His lovely teacher let him use an iPad to record what he wanted to say, then play it back as many times as he needed to write it down.
This helped him build confidence and he gradually went from ‘working towards’ in Y2 to borderline greater depth in his Y6 Sats. Now diagnosed with autism, he’s thriving at secondary school. The autism diagnosis highlighted processing difficulties- what we saw as refusing to write age 6.

Hi op. My child is diagnosed with inattentive adhd subtype. I didn't realise there were subtypes until the day he was diagnosed and to be honest I think he gets it from me.

I wish someone had noticed me at 6 years old in primary school. Inattentive type is more likely to be overlooked, because as you say children with it are not disruptive and girls are also more likely to be overlooked. From that perspective I think it's really positive school are trying to assess your daughter.

Get her observed. Why wouldn’t you want an expert to spend time and resources on finding out how your child learns best?

If you don’t do it now, you’ll probably find yourself having this conversation every year or two.

I was late found dyslexic, my husband is dyslexic but differently. I see my traits in our eldest who is not old enough to be tested yet but private school have been treating as dyslexic since year 1 , just in case, it helps her in class with the teachers being more understanding.

Sorry, I missed this post from you before replying. Please share this with the teacher/sendco during feedback. Often professionals might assume you have been googling yourself for a few years as often a lot of parents harbour suspicions, sometimes accurate and sometimes completely wrong. Knowing your starting point will help them.

The one thing I always say to parents starting this journey is that nothing actually changes. Your daughter is the same person she was and will grow into the same person she was going to be anyway. All the happens is a diagnosis is given, which acts as a sign post to all current and future professionals working with your daughter for the best ways to support her. It saves everyone starting over at square one, and prevents unofficial / euphemistic labels like “away with the fairies” or “in her own world”