Possible inattentive ADHD advice please

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possible inattentive ADHD any experience ? We are waiting on official diagnosis but are pretty sure it is inattentive ADHD doctor thinks ADHD or possible aspergers but I don't think its that . What help is there available if it is add ? dd is doing OK at school she struggles to concentrate and has severe anxiety I appreciate it must be hard for her teacher but I disagree with her methods of "helping" the latest one has cause nothing but stress. Dd behaves very well at school its simple lack of concentration and making simple mistakes, she hasn't settled at all though and its complete nightmare getting her in to school , once she is in she calms down very quickly and is fine. how is add diagnosed and how long does it take doctor is seeing dd next week but what happens next ?

In my experience it has taken 6 months to get an ADHD diagnosis, but it could vary depending on how many people are on the waiting list etc

Thanks for replying TheUniverseIsInfinite, thats bot too bad hoping to get one asap having a lot of issues with teacher and hopefully official diagnosis will affect her approach to dd.

If you describe some of the school issues MNers in similar situations may be able to suggest solutions.

What is the teacher currently doing that's making things worse?

Goldmandra great idea , the teacher thought a chart would help her , but its made her even more anxious she is terrified of doing something wrong , I mean things like making a mistake with her work, yesterday the note on the chart was to dd , "please make sure you do the work correctly after i take my time to show you" dd was upset all night because of this , I do appreciate it must be hard for the teacher but surely its her job to help a child who is struggling. Dd says teacher shouts a lot in class , and when she asks for help is told she can do it herself , 4 kids have left since the start of term. I have considered moving shool but dont know if it would be benificial or back to step 1.

I can completely understand why that chart is making your DD more anxious. What I can't work out is what the problem is that the teacher was trying to address of how she thought that sort of instruction would help.

Teachers shouting can make children who are on the Autism spectrum very anxious. They struggle to deal, not only with the sensory assault of such an event, but can also find it hard to know whether the shouting is aimed at them or will be shortly. The teacher needs to be made aware that this form of behaviour management will be causing harm to your DD's well being and ability to learn.

If the teacher refuses to help your DD, does she then go and manage the task herself or does she just fail?

I would suggest asking for a meeting with the teacher and the SENCo t discuss your DD's support in the classroom. At the meeting I would explain the effect of the shouting and also ask to see any IEPs or other support plans they have for your DD. You can then either go through and express your views on how they plan to support her or participate in writing a plan if one doesn't exist. Both are completely acceptable and recommended in the SEN Code of Practice.

The things teacher is trying to tackle with the chart are going in happy which right now seems very unlikely dd is fine as soon as she is inside but the waiting in playground has her upset , rarely that bad but always some tears and whimpering, other things on it are about concentrating and making sure her work is done correctly. She has only had it for two weeks but the change in her has been terrible she has trouble sleeping at best of times as she worries about everything, this is just adding to it.

She had a task yeterday which dd was capable of doing but she struggled with the instrictions, the teacher didnt help so dd didnt complete it and got a bad mark for that afternoon .
The chart itself has 20 different boxes and too "pass" it dd has to get 16 smiley faces , problem is teacher gives out "straight" faces and unhappy ones very easily it just seems so unrealistic , especially since most of the things dd cant control.

Sorry to sounds dense but what is senco and ieps ? Completely new to all this.

Sorry. The SENCo is a Special Educational Needs Coordinator and every school has to nominate one.

An IEP is an Individual Education Plan which the school should have in place detailing the support they are offering to any child with Additional needs. Parents should be involved in writing them.

The chart doesn't sound helpful. Placing demands on children on the Autism spectrum in this way usually serves to increase their anxiety and make it harder for them to process information and instructions.

The teacher's approach should be to try to work out what is making things difficult for your DD and minimise those obstacles to her learning.

The school should be requesting advice from your Local Authority's Autism Outreach service who should have specially trained TAs or teachers who can come into school, observe your DD and offer more appropriate strategies for supporting her.

A chart that rewards a child for "concentrating" (and, in this case, punishes them for failing) isn't going to magically help a child to concentrate - but you know that, of course. If motivation was enough to help her, then a chart that slowly filled up with happy faces would be far more constructive than one rapidly filling up with negative marks.

What would be more helpful is to have larger tasks broken up into smaller steps, with a chart, or other tool, to keep track of those. Her place in the classroom might be too visually busy - a quiet workstation in a corner may be helpful here.

Even though DS1 was already in the system, it took the best part of an academic year to get DS1's ADHD diagnosis, as we had so many delays due to staffing and organisational issues within CAMHS. DS1 is severely hyperactive and impulsive, as well as highly anxious, so we were offered non-stimulant medication for him. Medication may or may not be appropriate for your DD. Her classroom environment sounds incredibly stressful for her, though. Does the rest of the school appear to be worth sticking this year out for?