8 year old “struggling with focus”

[ApoodlecalledPenny]

Hello,

I had an end of year catch up with my Y3/ 8 yo dd’s class teacher, who says she wants to refer her to the send team as she thinks her lack of focus might be “something more”.

She has always struggled with focus at school so this is not a total surprise. She’s v dreamy/ away with the fairies, struggles to get started on class work, then struggles to stay on task. We see similar at home tbh, she’s up and down from the table like a yo-yo at meal times, can’t focus on reading for very long, rarely hears us first time, etc.

Is it likely we’re looking at ADHD, or could it be something else and are there any things we could do to help while we wait for cogs to turn at school? It sounds like school want to try some interventions before pursuing a diagnosis - any idea what they might be? And does that sound sensible to people further down the path, or should we be trying to push to get her assessed asap?

Sorry for so many questions - it all feels so opaque from this side. My oldest has a recent ASD diagnosis, so we’re not totally new to the send team, and I think we ended up at crisis point with her before the school took it seriously, which is why I’m wondering if getting assessed sooner might be sensible.

thanks!

There are lots of things that can cause difficulties in focusing, so although it might be ADHD, there are lots of other possibilities.

There's lots of things the school could try, e.g. look at placement within the classroom, movement breaks, other sensory adjustments (e.g. band on chair, wobble cushion, standing desk, noise cancelling headphones), they could given written instructions broken down step by step, give a whiteboard (some find this helps with getting started with writing)… It depends on DD’s specific difficulties.

There’s lots the school could do, but if you suspect ASD or ADHD, I would get the ball rolling now for a referral given the waiting lists.

They have moved her to the front of the classroom, which I think is linked.

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what they suggest in September. I’m not very good at waiting!

School may have assessment packs of strategies to work on before making referrals, or whilst children are on the waiting list. This means things are being out in place without delay and by the time the child is assessed there is a bank of evidence as a starting point.

First thing is check her hearing and eyesight. Only once you’ve eliminated issues with these, should you look for other possible causes.

When school re-starts, make an appointment with the Senco and find out what is being put in place and which referrals have gone or are going in.