what can I do to help my 5 yo listen and pay attention?

[enjoyingscience]

My DS1 has just started year 1. He's always been in his own world a bit, and struggles to listen to/follow instructions, especially in a group. His teacher and TA have both commented on it this week, that he needs a lot of coaching to stay on task and follow instructions.

I'm so worried for him. He is a bright boy, reading ahead of his age and great with numbers, but his writing is poor, because he just can't sit still and actually concentrate to build up his skills. He is able to keep up at the moment, but I can see him being left behind really quickly.

Are there any strategies that can help him? He is generally ok 1-2-1, but in a class or group he gets lost and forgets to listen. Is there anything I can suggest to the teachers? I'm taking him for a hearing test next week just in case, at his teachers recommendation, but to be honest I'm pretty sure he can hear fine!

Interested to see what replies you get, my dd is the same, she's nearly 4. I've heard making sure they regularly listen through a couple of bedtime stories and taking them to structured activities at weekends/after school where listening is required is useful.

Oh my! Sounds exactly like the double of my dc who is now 7. I couldn't have written it better myself. Slight problem is, 2 year in (school) and attention has not gotten any better. I was thinking about going to the Doctor too to ask firstly about a hearing test and go from there. His reading is advanced and he comprehends what he reads and gives amazing insight into the possibilities of storylines but his writing is not great even though we practice a lot.

I will watch this thread with interest.

Ha, well at least we have the beginnings of a support group!

I've been asked to work on doing longer activities with him at home, jigsaws, boardgames etc. They are also doing more advanced bits in class with him, one to one, to see if he's being challenged enough. We'll see if it works...