Add or just immature

[Crazycrazylady]

Hi everyone.

Looking for some advice on Ds1.
He is 8. I've thought for a while that there be something going on with him. Getting on ok in school , would be a good average. Teachers call him bright but would say that he needs to work on his listening skills (would say they have no concerns about him though) he is very innocent and naive compared to his peers and his concentration skills are definitely poor. We often describe him as away with the fairies. He loves sport and is decent at it. Shy and Struggles a bit with friendships but appears not to notice. not as 'with it' as some of his peers . Very competitive.
I've wondered for a while if he might have Add or is he just a little
Immature Do his symptoms sound familiar to anyone . Bit stressed about it all to be honest . Any advice would be appreciated

Hmm difficult to say. The poor concentration, naivity and being 'away with the fairies' does sound familiar. I have ADD and on top of the things you've mentioned I've always been hopelessly disorganised, leave everything to the last minute, start a million things at once and don't finish anything, start something with huge enthusiasm but drop it once it gets boring. Interrupt and blurt things out as soon as they come to mind. What's he like when he's doing homework? Can he focus or do you need to keep him on track?

Thanks for the reply😀
Re homework it's difficult for me to judge as he is my oldest. He does it but does have to be called back to attention a couple of times while doing it.? I couldn't describe it as an ordeal though??

I have to keep prodding ds when we do homework or if he's having to do anything a bit boring (to him) otherwise he just zones out which is apparently very typically ADD. Your ds sounds a bit dyspraxic but surely being good at sport rules that out? Sorry, I'm not much help!!!!

I know. He doesn't fit any definitive mould.. flighty and a bit clueless so I was thinking if there was something it was probably ADD but I'm really not sure. Teachers don't have any concern but I think that could be because he is bright and has kept up well. Maybe he's just immature

My boy is 8 also. He has always had issues with concentration, but is a top reader/speller has great imagination etc. He does well at school but doesn't try at all. He is always in a different world and I have always put it down to immaturity. We changed schools this year and he has been already watched for ADD etc. I do not think he has it as his behaviour is generally good - so I questioned everything. He had some more observations last week and the new SenCo thinks he has 'intense' sensory issues. Needs to fiddle, can't sit still for long, needs to have strong hugs etc. I am still concerned but she has suggested things like a weighted cushion, a tangle toy, a squishy ball to help him in school. He will also receive a block of ELSA support to explain things to him and for him to use a 5 point scale so he can describe how he feels. In my eyes it feels quite over the top, but I have only one child and cannot gauge it at all. I think he is 'normal' - they described him as 'quirky'. Not really sure what they mean...but the best bit is that he was being told off for fidgeting/fiddling with pens. Now part of the plan is that he won't get told off for it as he can't help it. They will monitor him over 4 weeks. I will have to see. But does that sound familiar? Look up the sensory processing checklist. My boy hit more than I thought when I broke it all down. Good luck.

iron

Thanks for reply. I don't think he is does really have any sensory issues. (Not that I noticed anyhow) Now that I really think about it, he sounds completely like she described ie disorganized , no staying power etc.
I wonder since he is doing ok at school , is there any point in seeing someone as I believe there needs to be significant issues there also before they will assess him.

I honestly didn't think mine had sensory issues either. He was just distracted during class, if he gets bored he is worse. The new school flagged it up (the old one never would have). I didn't notice anything until I looked at the checklist.