4 year old that wont sit on floor without wriggling around or laying around? How can i help?

[pomegranate1975]

I attend the speech therapy social group for my 4 year old son and at every single session when the kids are sitting on the floor with their legs folded and with their mum, my son wants to lay down or lay on me or sit on my lap, or wiggle around. All the other kids are sitting up straight and my son is having laziness posture and going on his side etc. The speech therapist keeps saying "oh he seems tired". My son is not tired, that is the way he is. The last 10 mins of the session i threatened my son with no ipad when he gets home and then he sat straight up.
Is there a reason for a child that cant sit straight up. I presume he does this at childcare. So what can i do to help him sit up straight?

Does he "only" have speech problems? Sounds like he might also have problems with muscle tone or sensory integration. DS2 is hypermobile and had low tone at that age and was like custard - could not stay sat upright for long periods, at all.

He would probably be better with some back support - a small chair or well stuffed beanbag.

thanks ouryve, Yes he only attends the speech group and has 2 sessions left then no more speech therapy.Yes my son has low tone as he saw the occupational therapy for 6 visits and they said he doesnt need to see occupational therapy anymore. When he sits on chair he is fine but tends to want to put his head down on table.
Does your son outgrow this? if he did when did he outgrow it?

He will always have hypermobile joints and tend towards low tone, particularly when tired (takes after his mum, here) but his standing posture is a lot better than it used to be. He still needs either a supportive chair, if he needs to sit for long periods, or the chance to get up and bounce like tigger on speed move about and reset all his sensory switches, so to speak.

Another thing with the need to sprawl can be an under-sensitivity to touch. He will feel a lot better balanced if as much of him as possible is touching a surface.

My DS1 has the same problem so we got him an inflatable cushion to sit on at school. It's called a wiggle cushion or a wobble cushion - something like that. You can get one on Amazon for less than a tenner. It provides the opportunity to fidget and move about without being disruptive. It worked wonders.

may help explain his need for movement.

You can get cushions specifically to help with sitting still. They can be used on a chair and the floor. Give your OT a ring and ask for the name of them. They do help. They are made of rubber with small bumps on them which switch on the senses in your buttocks and legs making you aware that you are sitting. They are also slightly wobbly so your brain has to focus on sitting. They are worth giving a try.

We have one of these for dd2 who is hypermobile, and struggles to sit still, it really helps.

Ds has low tone however, and flops and lies down on the floor, he does much better in supportive seating, and if I am sat with him on the floor he will sit between my legs and lean on me.