Ds1 is on School Action Plus for dire attention span, an inability to concentrate on the task in hand if it bores him remotely, and a moderate speech delay.
I already play games, read books, have lots and lots and lots of conversation, but he still cannot or will not look at me when I am trying to talk to him - his eyes dart around, his legs start jiggling up and down ets.
He has a speech delay, and can't make the L sound because he struggles to keep his tongue still while he is trying. It rolls back and sideways in his mouth, back into a Y sound - I have exercises from the SALT which he can only do when tired.
He volcanoes out of school, runs the 25 minute walk home, and crashes for 11 hours a night. He has NO table manners, makes more mess than his 18 month old brother and is actually less adept at using cutlery. He is learning to read using jolly phonics, getting along nicely. He can count to about 100 with some prompting.
Why is his behavior so strange sometimes? Why does he still out like a sore thumb from the other children? Why does he compulsively wander off, take things to pieces, roll on the floor, hang off my arm? Why does he not learn from discipline, talking, persuasion, gentle argument, confiscation, naughty step?
He is actually quite clever but he will fall behind so bloody quickly once he gets beyond my ability to teach him, because he just does not listen to anyone! I would have been shamed to be told off by my teacher - he is in time out almost daily. he has only cared once - when he thought it was because he went to the toilet but was in fact because he wandered off to a different part of the building without telling anyone he was going.
Why is he so hard to get through to about appropriate behavior? He still walks up to complete strangers in the street and cuddles them, he has NO natural caution. He is scared of NOTHING.
Please explain to me why this is normal and if it isn't normal, what is causing it and how I can fix it? He is 4.6.