Inattentiveness and HFA???

[mrsbaffled]

Hello, just got the results of DS1's (suspected AS/HFA, 9) observation in school through the post.

In summary he spent a lot of time fiddling, never looking up at the board, looking around and standing up over half the time (when everybody else was sat down).

There were lots of other comments about other things too, but I had no idea he was so inattentive and distracted in school. At home he is never still, so it's not a big surprise, just never been told that before about school :(

Is such behaviour part of AS/HFA? Or could it be something else? (We know he has SpLDs already.)

Oh I hate this waiting game!

Yes. My ds doesn't understand who he should be listening to and why. Rarely is it more rewarding for him to engage with a confusing lesson than flick his pencil under the table. Where others are keen to please the teacher or not get into trouble my ds has no such social awareness.

My DS appears to be unattentive, but if you ask him he can talk about what was being discussed. He just doesn't sit looking at the speaker, giving them feedback etc.

I think DS is a bit like that too. He basically follows what is going on, but never still and standing up :/

My ds is 9 ( HFA dx) if he is not motivated by the subject he will disengage and needs regular prompting to sit appropriately, to sit still, to listen. I am thinking about getting him a cushion, he is skinny and I wonder if he gets uncomfortable. He needs but does not get 1 to 1 support, so I am not surprised that he does not engage, is disruptive and refuses to participate in class activities - we are trying to change this but feel like banging my head against a brick wall would be more useful sometimes.

just going through assesment process....paed says ASD, but latest questionnaire from CAMHs is Connors for ADHD. No doubt there is )innatentiveness, fidgeting, distractability....but not entirely clear if these are sensory based responses, aprt of ASD or comorbid ADHD..........not much help to OP apart form...its quite common!

Yes, definitely. We are still in the waiting game, too. School have always noted that dd2 (aged 8?ASD) needs constant refocussing to task and is a dreamer. She has always had difficulties with attention in school. We have filled in four Connors questionnaires now. But paed says more likely ASD (though as I say, we are still waiting for ADOS).

So the inattentiveness could be sensory? He definitely has sensory needs (mostly sounds, but also touch), but they just aren't being met at all in school....I need to speak to the SENCO again. I thought it was just being played out at home (in that he had had enough at school and played up at home becuase he was coping so well in the classroom), but if he's not even concentrating there, they must have to do something, surely?!

I do have a wobble cushion, but we used it for a very short time at dinner times to stop him falling off his chair. I gave up using it after he did some RRT as part of vision therapy (as he stopped falling off his chair). Perhaps he should try it at school?

I think he is taking it all in. Well, at least some of it. He isn't disruptive and he does react when the teacher says something like "put your pen down", but doesn't look at the board, stands a lot, and will pick up something else within seconds. Apparently he stared at the paed for 10-15 minutes when she came in the room, whereas everyone else ignored her (they all thought she was OFSTED, who happened to be in on the same day).

He is very bright, but not reaching his potential. The teacher says that is because he is too distracted.