Really worried about DS's very short attention span and concentration. Please help me with ideas?

[TinySocks]

DS is 4.1 years old and is delayed in all areas (due to brain injury). He has extremely slow processing of spoken language. Very delayed receptive and expressive language.

I am extremely worried about his very short attention span. He spends on average 2 to 3 minutes on tasks initiated both by him or an adult. He will move from one thing to the next without completing things and needs plenty of encouragement to do something.

He is always moving, fidgeting, for example, if we sit to read a book he will look at the book and seemingly pay attention but if I ask him a simple question it becomes clear that he has not really taken the information in. He is constantly touching his clothing, legs, moving.

I think he is a boy with lots of potential but his lack of attention and concentration is really holding him back.

I know there is no magic solution, but could some of you please share with me ideas on how to help him? Those of you who have children with short attention span, what sort of coping strategies do they implement in school?

Thank you

sounds like there may be something sensory to it - that if he had a fidget toy or special seat etc that might help. DS's attention is OK now - so no particular problems at school (yet!). the advice I had on here about increasing joint attention was to rope him into some sort of joint task - either play - e,g. doing a jigsaw - or housey - helping put washing away, then reward him for staying with it for a certain amount of time.

SALT has fairly recently advised me not to let him flit from one activity to another without at least putting away the discarded activity first - on the grounds that kids with language problems tend to have organisation problems too (both in terms of physical items such as toys and scattiness)- and so it's best to avoid clutter/confusion as far as possible.

is this sensory integration problems? Someone mentioned this webiste (I think it may have been Tclanger on mumsnet mentioned ing smoehting on her blog??), www.incrediblehorizons.com/sensory-integration.htm have a look and see if anyy of it matches up with your ds...

My ds's school introduced an egg timer set to 10 mins for numeracy and literacy tasks ... also had 'very special' chair (almost throne like ) to encourage him to sit for longer periods. He's ADHD 6.5years old. In the classroom environment things improved so much that he no longer needs either.

Thanks for your replies.
Yes I do think he is under-sensitive to movement and touch. But I do as much as possible to her with this. Don't know what else to do.

ICANDOTHAT: It is so encouraging to know that the classroom env has helped your DS. I am constantly wondering if DS has ADHD or just very bad attention and concentration. Do you know what is the difference?

Going swimming with my DSs now, but will come back later... if you have anymore ideas please post them. Thank you xx

Back from swimming.
I think DS's problem is more than sensory related.
For example: when we go swimming, like today, he will get in the pool, swim for 2 minutes, get out of the pool, take a ball through the ball, go to a smaller pool, get out of the pool, run to some steps, jump in the pool. You get the idea. It is exhausting.
If it was just sensory seeking, wouldn't get enough sensory feedback when swimming? He loves being in the pool. Why does he have to change activity so often and so soon.

Really interested to hear from other parents whose children have similar behaviour and what has helped them. (and what diagnosis they have).

bumping...in the hope that someone takes pity on me and gives me some hope.
I really am seriously worried, 2-3 minutes at most is what he concentrates.

You know reading your OP, I just think that the concentration issue may just be a 'by product' (for use of a better phrase) of the brain injury. ADHD is a form of 'brain damage' I was told by paed. Blood flow is restricted etc etc and this causes lack of attention, concentration along with impulsivity. I think it's def possible for someone to have crap concentration end of! I often question my ds's dx and am currently in the process of having him assessed, once again, privately. However, many kids dx with AS, ASD, ODD etc are often given a dx of ADHD as a 'co-morbid' (god, I hate those two words) simply because their conditions may be showing symptoms of it ... I don't believe they all actually have it. Then again, who am I ?

This may sound obvious to you, but I dramatically changed my ds diet - no additives, preservatives, colours or artificial sweetners. It was not that hard, really.

Thank you for coming back to me ICANDOTHAT.
The reason for me questioning ADHD is that if medication can help him then I think I am prepared to try it. I was always dead against medication, but now it is becoming more and more apparent how the lack of concentration is impacting and I am having second thoughts.

Regarding the diet: I stopped giving him cows milk and yogourt. We have a really healthy diet in our house, always cooked from scratch, he only gets treats when he goes to someone's party, so I really don't think the diet is the problem.

Thanks again.

Sometimes more sensory input can help, for example having a chair where your feet are firmly on the ground was suggested for ds (he had borderline issues on AD type issues, most of which he has grown out of). At school having a "fiddle" helped my ds and his teachers (it's a special thing you put on a pencil so that kids who have to fiddle can do it without disrupting everyone else quite so much). At home he has a "shushie" which is basically a comfort blanket, when he has it he sucks his thumb and becomes much calmer (then he is happy to read stories, or watch a film). Are there activities that your son does engage in? ds had major problems with maths if he had to sit at a desk, but could do floor type activities when he could move things around for example.

Hello nooka. DS is not in school yet (starts in september). (he has great difficult with numeracy due to his brain injury, cannot even count objects yet). But he goes to a montessori creche, I have been told that he is always drifting from one thing to the other (totally unlike the montessory style where you always complete a task and put it back).

At home we do plenty of floor type activities, but I always have to insist on him completing tasks. And yes, activities that involve moving around are fine. For example if I am praciting his language skills with games that involve running and moving, he has a great time and doesn't want to stop.

He can sit for 15 minutes to watch MR. Tumble, no problem (other programs are a problem). He can sit to listen to a story, but he is actually not paying as much attention as it would appear.
He can sit to eat a meal at home for about 10minutes (not in a restaurant).

Has terrible time with fine motor skills, puzzles. It is so hard to explain things on here isn't it? I just feel that what is not allowing him to move on is his poor concentration.

How much professional input are you getting? I wasn't going to tell you to get help, because it sounds as if you should have therapists etc, but if not, then you may need to push for more.

oh and ds went to a Montessori nursery where to be honest he was allowed to get away with murder because they all loved him so (it wasn't very strict Montessori anyway). He did much better with a more structured approach, although he didn't like it much!

Hi nooka, he gets OT and very little SALT. The SALT always talks about his poor concentration, she even told me that he is the most disruptive 4 yrd old she is currently working with. (that sounds horrible, but she is a lovely person and only told me that because I asked how he compares to her other patients).

Given you've tried all the obvious and less obvious avenues and are still concerned, follow your instincts and follow it up with the relevant specialist - neurologist? Paed and rule in/out ADHD.

Yes I think you are very right TotalChaos. I am going to follow up with the neurologist but my next app with him is in april and I think before meeting with him I want to understand more about ADHD.

Who normally diagnosis children? Is it the neurologist or the pead? (ds hasn't had a formal diagnosis yet, the only reason I know he has a brain injury is because I took him to my home country and had a brain scan done).

I've just ordered one of these - a small one

www.quietquilt.com/order.html

I have usually heard of these for ASD children with sleep problems which DS1 does not have but it seems you can use them to improve concentration too - at least I hope so !

That was the wrong site - US one.

This is UK supplier

sensory-direct.co.uk/weightedblankets.aspx

I think it can be either a neurologist or a paediatrician (ideally developmental paediatrician). there's a specialist UK forum for people with/carers of people with ADHD - www.adders.org, that may be useful?

Thanks for that tip cyber. Will you let me know if it helps to improve concentration? I am really trying to spend less, I keep ordering things to see if they work, and it's just all so expensive.

I've been reading on the net about medication and I have scared myself to death now.

Thanks TC. My neurologist has always said that 4 is too young to diagnose. But I think during our next meeting I will insist on DS's poor attention problem see what he can suggest. Had a little chat with DH about this, he doesn't think DS is hyperactive (because he can sit still when he really wants to), but DH does think DS could have ADD (rather than ADHD).

Tiny, when DD was 3.5 she was a lot like your DS. She has improved with age and with structured classroom environment to the extent that she can now sit at a task with her SALT for about 25 mins. In the classroom she is disruptive but reacts well to 1-2-1 interaction from teacher. (She also has sensory issues which we are starting to look into, but so far it's just been suggested that her poor concentration is a function of developmental delay. She also currently gets no help in school 'cause it takes so long to apply for a TA).

Brio, 25 minutes sounds like heaven, honestly. If DS ever gets to that stage I'll have a party with pink champagne and invite you all over.

Thank you so much for giving me some hope.

I know that children with delayed language have shorter concentration than their peers, but my SALT insists that with the level of language he now has his attention should be much better. This is what has got me thinking.

Also, 2 years ago I raised this same question with his OT, she told me that as his motor skills improve and he finds things a little easier his motivation to work will also improve as will his concentration, well, it hasn't happened.

I know what you mean about the constant expense ! I have spent terrifying amounts of money on products/services that might help DS1. I agree about the 'ageing effect'. DS is nearly 5 now and can focus for up to 30 mins (best case scenario) and I'm hoping school in August will improve things again.

You can get a diagnosis kicked off with an ordinary community paed (although our experiences were frustrating). The initial ADD type tests are questionnaire based, and they take a history too. Something heavy on his lap might help with the sitting - our OT told us that ds needed more sensory input than other children to feel secure. Now ds he is nine he has progressed to eating his clothes (it's totally subconscious), his motor skills are still quite clumsy and he is very strong willed about not doing things he doesn't want to. I think he can be a nuisance to have in the classroom at times, but he is also very bright, which I think helps teachers to be kinder to him. Lots of children with attention problems do slow down as they grow up, but it's worth getting as much help as possible to help them get there.

GGRRRRRR. Okay, I am just so fed up with this.

I am trying to play simple games to increase DS's attention.

So I decided to play a simple name the animal game. I say "quack" he has to say DUCK. No problem there.

Next step, I "woof and quack", so the idea is that he has to remember those 2 animals. His 24 month old brother is screaming the answers back at me. DS1 is touching his clothes, looking around, moving from one side to the other and is not able to tell me the two animals.

So I hold both is arms and try to get him as still as possible. He is still moving his trunk from side to side and not listening.

IT IS SO ANNOYING. I think I've lost my patience. How can I get him to stop moving and to just listen to me.