ADD & Kindergarten

[nicolewi]

Asking for a friend (really). 

Someone we are close to has a kindergartener who is having trouble with her behavior at school (not academics). I feel terrible for the kid. She's getting tons of negative consequences for behavior like not remembering to raise her hand, not being able to sit still, constant fidgeting/motion, not being able to remember to social distance, not staying on task. Her brand-new last-minute Covid hire teacher has no idea what to do and keeps asking the parents for advice! 

They are wondering about ADD. I know this kid and I totally think she has ADD and have thought that for years. She is smart, funny & caring but has never been able to control behavior at all and is frequently in trouble/plays too rough/is too loud/doesn't listen/can't stay engaged in something. 

What do people do for kids at this age who have ADD? How do schools usually handle this in a positive way? Can it be diagnosed already? They are going to talk to their pedi but meanwhile they are really struggling with school. 

[vtdiamond]

One of my kindergartners has ADHD and ASD which was just diagnosed this year so I’ve been in her shoes.

We ended up requesting an evaluation from the school district to determine if he qualifies for services which he did. We also saw our pedi who did a 10 question eval to diagnose for ADHD. In addition to the pedi we also did a neuropsych evaluation with a psychologist which confirmed the adhd diagnosis and added the asd diagnosis.

He qualifies for an IEP which provides him with support. In school now he has a special Ed teacher assigned to him. He has a visual calendar on his desk to help stay on task and know what’s next, he gets fidget toys that he’s allowed to play with during certain times which helps him to sit in place. He gets movement breaks, and also earns additional breaks with good behavior. He also will get help from an aid or the sped teacher for longer tasks that require a lot of concentration.

He has had a great school year thus far with these supports in place.

[dcrunnergirl52]

DS1 was diagnosed in kindergarten. He was 5.5. He had behavior issues all through daycare, preschool, and pre-k due to impulse control challenges. And then in kinder, he had an amazing teacher who gently told us that she was doing everything in her toolbox to help him (and she seriously was--she loved DS1 so much and saw his awesomeness even when previous teachers had given him negative consequences), but she thought we should talk to our pedi.

We took him to the developmental pedi at our pedi office, and he was easily diagnosed after we and his teacher filled out the Vanderbilt forms. We started meds right away, and they were a total game changer. He didn't qualify for an IEP for his ADHD until second grade, after I begged for two years, because his grades were always at or above grade level. But, I finally convinced them that with additional supports, he could be doing even better and he tested as being twice exceptional, and finally got some additional supports, which have also been awesome.

[undecidedowl]

Yes, kids can absolutely be diagnosed in kindergarten and I would highly recommend a specialist evaluation. DS was diagnosed by the local children's hospitals center for adhd. They provided so many resources and recommendations including stuff to provide to the school and teacher for how best to support.

DS1 was very fortunate to have a fantastic K teacher with endless patience. He required frequent redirection but she never made him feel bad about it. We implemented something called a daily report card for him which allowed him to get feedback on how he was doing against his goals about every 45 minutes. He had noise canceling headphones, fidget items, and preferential seating (near or with teacher and away from distractions). He was also given special tasks during the day to keep him moving, busy, and feeling valuable. He thrives on lots of praise so catching him being good and ignoring less desirable behavior works well. DS wasn't medicated in K so lots of supports were needed just to keep him functioning. After starting medication in 1st grade, the supports are still good but not as critical.

[nicolewi]

Nov 14, 2020 19:06:42 GMT -5 undecidedowl said:

DS1 was very fortunate to have a fantastic K teacher with endless patience. He required frequent redirection but she never made him feel bad about it. We implemented something called a daily report card for him which allowed him to get feedback on how he was doing against his goals about every 45 minutes. He had noise canceling headphones, fidget items, and preferential seating (near or with teacher and away from distractions). He was also given special tasks during the day to keep him moving, busy, and feeling valuable. He thrives on lots of praise so catching him being good and ignoring less desirable behavior works well. DS wasn't medicated in K so lots of supports were needed just to keep him functioning. After starting medication in 1st grade, the supports are still good but not as critical.

These are the kind of supports I'd like to see for the kid I'm writing about. Thanks. 

I'll try to share some of this with the parents if/when she brings it up again!

[estrellita]

We're getting E evaluated. He's doing great academically, but he has always had major trouble listening, keeping still, and keeping his hands to himself. He's also very forgetful. Currently, he's been working with a social worker at school and his teacher has been trying different rewards to help motivate him. We also have been working with a therapist at the pediatrician's office. They will formally evaluate him in a few weeks.

So far the suggestions have been having him do more physical activity to help burn the energy, and to give him melatonin at night to help him go to bed. We're also looking into occupational therapy to help both us and him calm down more at home and at school. We talked to his teacher and she said they can give him breaks to do more physical activity, and I know she's tried various fidget toys also.

[hocus2]

K was a terrible year for my ADHD kid. While ADHD kids are never going to process stimulating situations exactly the same way as neurotypical children they also often have delays in how they can manage such stimulating environments with so many demands on them from an executive functioning aspect. Time alone will shows some improvements and the school should be helping with supports and modifications.

First grade was much better even though  the year started with less supports. Being older and having a great teacher really helped. Our teacher understood that my kid needed more support and structured her class so he was closer to her, seated between supportive peers and when she was working with small groups checking in with him more often. Other modifications can be having a service provider (each school is different some use speech, others use OT and others use the counselor for this) work on the planning processes. Executive functioning can be taught explicitly. Ideally the person who helps can do both small group sessions AND push in to address skills and see how they are translating into the classroom. They might support various fidget tools like a special cushion or a kick band on the chair. One of the things I did was flag every school supply because it help them actually return to his desk. Previously they would be all over the classroom but never make it back to his desk. Finally I hope the classroom is offering reports (vs. punishment) to draw out the best behavior the student can achieve. My kid was totally motivated by the reward cabinet he earned shopping privileges weekly.