7yo can't stand still/pay attention while talking

[ecuse]

My 7yo girl can't stand still when she's talking at length. Not simple 'can I have a drink' things but longer stuff. Say she's telling you about what happened at school or asking questions or explaining things.

It's like watching a cat on a hot tin roof. She'll start normally but quickly start wandering around in quite a manic, aimless, disjointed way: pick something up, put it down, start pedalling the exercise bike, fiddle with her clothes, blow a balloon...anything, but constant motion.

She also has just been assessed for speech disfluency which is like a stammer but she mostly doesn't get stuck on a single word or sound, she loses sentences halfway though, restarts, repeats segments or whole words. She says it feels kije she cant find tje words she needa (although she has a bigger than average vocabulary).

I feel like the two things may be somehow linked but the speech therapist didn't remark on it and we don't have another appointment for months.

I'm not sure whether the fidgeting is a cause (she wanders, does other things, loses her train of thought) or effect (sometimes it seems like she needs to compulsively move in order to assemble her thoughts) - in which case maybe it's part of the speech impediment?

Sometimes I hold her hands and make eye contact (kindly!) to try to get her to stand still and let her know I'm engaging with what she's saying. 100% of time she ends up pulling away and starts biffling around again.

I'm not asking for diagnosis by internet, I guess just wondering whether anyone else has had this experience and whether this is normal 7yo distracted behaviour, or just part of the stammer, or whether it's something else like ADHD.

She's not hyperactive all the time, its just when explaining/recounting (she is perfectly capable of cabbaging in front of the TV!).

Her speech therapist thinks the stammer is anxiety related and I would describe her as anxious.

Her teachers have noted that she's bright but her ability to concentrate at school is holding her back from her full potential. They say she's not naughty or disruptive just drifts off. They also said they weren't overly worried, though, so I don't want to over egg it.

I guess I could raise ADHD as a question with the teacher but don't want to be silly or overreact if she's just a bit dreamy. Before I do, just interested in views on whether this is a normal variant of 7yo behaviour or something to take action on.

[ohamIreally]

Look up ADHD inattentive type on the Internet- there's usually a checklist. See how many your DD ticks off - it may help you decide whether to take it further.

[arista]

A lot of it sounds like ADHD and I am talking from experience. The drifting off, dreamy, fidgeting and unable to keep full concentration during class. I would investigate more to find out.

[ecuse]

Both helpful viewpoints, thanks

[RayRae19]

I think always follow your instincts - if this feels off or part of a bigger picture then keep following it up.
However, I would say that my 8yo SS is quite similar to this, he will amble around whilst telling you a story about something that happened at school or a dream he had and just so random stuff like roll about on the floor or fiddle with everything that isn't tied down!
He's not been diagnosed with anything so I think to an extent that's normal excessive energy/inquisitiveness coming out.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

I don’t think you are being over cautious. I would raise it with the school and ask if their SENCO could assess her.