My 6 year old son can't sit still - teachers raising concern (sorry is bit long!)

[PerryGo]

My 6y 3m old son is happy and well adjusted. He's an only child. Just started Y2. but after speaking to his teacher this morning I'm getting worried again about something we've looked in to before. Any thoughts/advice gratefully received.

I should say first of all on the basics

• he was a late talker - at 2y 8m was still not speaking sentences. he had speech therapy and by 3y 5m he was speaking fluently. the speech therapist was amazed at his progress and signed him off
• It took a while for reading to 'click' but by the end of Y1 it did and improved massively in the summer holiday just gone - he's now just about at the level he should be
• his writing is poor and he just hates doing it. teacher says she has no concerns about his literacy/learning ability - she thinks its a physical issue
• he's v tall for his age, tallest in class despite being one of the youngest, has always been +95 percentile for height and weight

The issue is that he just cannot sit still - can't stand still either. I watch him at football/rugby/tennis club sometimes and cringe because, while the other kids stand/sit in a circle listening, he'll be at the back fidgeting, hopping from one foot to the other, looking at the sky, the floor - basically looking like he's not paying any attention at all. Although I actually think he is listening because he then does whats been asked.

We had him assessed last year and both a private peadiatritian and then NHS Occupational Health said he has upper body muscular weakness (although you wouldn't think it to look at him) and some muscular weakness in his hands. He's was signed off by them after a few months of doing the recommended exercises -although I admit we havent been great at continuing them, mostly because of all the sport he already does.

He has a wobble cushion for school which he sits on for tabletop activity but it does seem to have got worse again suddenly this year.

has anybody any advice about how we and the teacher (who's great btw - she's worried she's "torturing" him by requiring that he sit still for long periods) help him with this?

Wobble cushion would have been my first suggestion :)

2nd suggestion would be omega fish oil

Can he concentrate for normal periods of time?

3rd suggestion is retained reflex therapy - but that's quite expensive and takes a year or so to complete.

Thanks for the suggestions - will definately try the fish oil, and look up retained reflex therapy, not heard of that before.

He can concentrate. He'll read me a book, he'll watch two half hour Deadly 60's back to back if he's allowed (and then go on about all the animal facts he's learned), he'll play games, he learned to ski last year after two lessons. But he can do all that stuff while still moving around. He can be restful sometimes, usually after sport when he's wiped out he will sit still and relax. The one thing he refuses to do is sit down to write, is constant battle - with myself as much as him - how much to push before he really starts hating it.

Gave you look up sensory processing difficulties. So children have difficulties with regulating they sensory stimuli (including movement). I think this because I have sensory processing difficulties. Sounds like he needs to learn to regulate appropately. Teachers don't understand this. You might needs some assessment by an OT (there are some amazing blogs out there).

Suggestions:

1. Fidget boxes help us to fiddle appropriately. Fiddling isn't bad as it helps us feel calm and alert so we can concentrate. Digits Fidgets are good because they are small so other children will not always know he is fiddling www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00E40WZKK

1. Make sure you engage your son is stretches and relaxation exercises such as yoga. It really helps m

1. Weighted blankets may help too

1. Think about sitting - what is best for him. Maybe standing instead of sitting, or sitting on a computer chair instead of a wooden chair.

Hope this helps :)

is he particularly bendy? Are his fingers & wrists very bendy, can you bendy his fingers back more than average.
Hypermobility as well as making writing a real chore can also mean it is harder to sit or stand still
A combination of less stable joints & proprioception (sp) difficulties so the brain cant properly guage where the body parts are & therefore is often overcompensating appearing fidgety etc.
is he clumsy?
When he is sitting make sure his feet are able to be firmly planted flat on the floor & his seating is well supported, it may all help him be less squirmy

mymate - hayles seems to be resurrecting a lot of old threads, tonight.

Oh yes, hadn't realised, thanks

I woul be looking into dyspraxia and sensory processing.
DS has fine motor dyspraxia and is sensory seeking.
A lot of what you describe is my son - he had a speech delay, which is apparently related to sensory and dyspraxia. Also reading took awhile - knew the sounds, could "sound out" a word - but couldn't seemingly make the Jump from the individual sounds in sequence to a word.... This is because of his sequencing issues.
Key for us has been a fantastic OT.