concentrating in class

[Eva]

Hi all,

 

need a bit of advice!

 

My son is 6 (AS) and he's in the first year of school (we call it Prep). He's doing quite well, managing the writing side of things, (he's not the worst in the class anyway!), and he's streets ahead in reading. The main problem is his lack of focus. Once the teacher sets a task he spends ages fiddling around getting ready, then he'll write one letter and look around and fidgets and then with a prompt he'll do another letter then fidgets and mucks around, and with prompting he'll do another letter...I know this because I'm a parent-helper in the classroom a couple of mornings of a week and I end up doing the prompting.

 

Are there any strategies that can be used to encourage him to write a word without losing concentration after (virtually) each letter?

 

The question of ADD has been raised but the teacher and my son's OT don't think he has it, but I'm not sure.

 

Thanks for any advice!

 

Eva

[Guest Lya of the Nox]

soemtimes having something to fiddle with while listening can help , like a mini tangle, dunno if that would work for writing too

does he need more help to put the story together? woudl word on cards help him to put things together?

kinda like a bank of voacabulary? maybe with pics?

best i can think of soz

x

[cmuir]

Hi

 

Could your son be given lots of short breaks? My son is 5 and he's given short breaks to help. That could mean he does a task, then goes with his LA to collect registers or do an errand for the janitor, etc. It does help, particularly when he becomes stressed and find it hard to concentrate.

 

We've also found that we have to make deals with him. I've purchased sand timers which are fantastic. They're colour coded according to time (2, 3, 5, 10, 15, 30 mins, etc). It's a case of telling him that he can choose an activity if he does a task within a given timescale. He's then able to guage how long he's expected to do a task easily as his concept of time/watch is poor. At least he can 'see' time pass.

 

Caroline.

[jb1964]

Hi Eva,

 

Can't think of anything to improve concentration other than fish oil supplements etc.

 

The only other for my daughter is that distractions cause her lack of concentration - for example she finds it difficult to concentrate if she's near an open door - it really stresses her.

 

Take care.

Jb

[Ian Jordan]

two major causes of concentration problems are diet and visual processing

 

You need professional advice from someone that knows how to recognise and differentiate

[zaman]

Thanks for this thread Eva, I've been thinking about starting a similar one, as my son sounds very similar. He is also 6, and has poor concentration. He gets distracted by the slightest thing. For example leaving him to get dressed in the mornings, I leave him with his uniform layed out. Go back to check on him after 5 minutes, and he'll be playing with a toy, being no further forward in doing what he was supposed to. I watched him at swimming lessons and he is the same - doesn't pay attention to the teacher as he's messing about.

 

My son't diet is good, and he has fish oils every day.

 

Ian: could you expand on why visual processing might be an issue? What kind of professional could do that?

[lisa35]

Hi, maybe auditory processing is an issue too, we think it is for our son?

Lisa

[Ian Jordan]

We did a series of EEGs (which measure brain arousal levels) which show that lighting / illumination can put the brain into a pre sleep stage. Auditory processing problems are often a consequence.

Both can be treated - and very successsfully (in trials with a Scottish LEA we improved reading age by an average of 1.33 years in a week! 28% improved by over 2 years). Educational interventions are a waste of time if the brain is unable to cope with sensory input.

 

There are only a few people in Britain I would go to for these types of problems - send me private message and I wil suggest closest.

You may have to pay privately though.

But the other options will ultimately cost a lot more

[Eva]

Hi everyone and thanks for your replies!

 

Hmm, my son's diet is pretty good although I don't give him fish oil - I can't tolerate it anywhere near me and as my son won't swallow a capsule, I'd have to use the oil, (have done this in the past). I do give him Flaxseed oil though - not quite the same but better than nothing I suppose.

 

My son does have an auditory processing problem so he could possibly have a visual processing problem as well. Ian, don't suppose you know of someone in my part of the world ??

 

Your idea about using the coloured eggtimers is a good one Caroline! That could help so I'm going to go and find some, (I've never actually seen any around here!).

 

Getting dressed in my house takes forever too, Zaman! My son forgets what he's meant to be doing halfway through taking off his pyjama pants because he's busy doing or thinking of something else. Have you ever thought your son might have ADHD? I'm just curious because it has been raised with mine, but how do you tell the difference between ADHD and AS-type inattention?

 

Lya, my son is very tactile and a squeezy object could help. The thing is, he knows exactly what he's meant to be writing because the teacher gives all the class a copy of the words to have in front of them, so all he has to do is copy them. It's this process which can take ages. (Mind you, he learnt our metropolitan tram route system by heart in one evening - he has already learnt our metro train system, so he is capable of concentrating...).

 

Cheers,

Eva

[Ian Jordan]

Sorry, instrumentation that is good is only available in UK at present - and training is required too

 

However, there is a "watch this space" for later this year

[cmuir]

Your idea about using the coloured eggtimers is a good one Caroline! That could help so I'm going to go and find some, (I've never actually seen any around here!).

 

Cheers,

Eva

 

 

Hi

 

See following weblink:

 

http://www.commotionstore.co.uk/index.php?...roducts_id=8738

 

They're called Tickit Timers. I think they're great. Good thing is, I've had them thrown at me numerous times, but they're robust and are shatterproof!!! Wee bit pricey if you're buying a few of them, priced at �9.95 each. I've found them to be invaluable.

 

Caroline.

[mum23]

Hi,

My kids use coloured lens glasses to help them focus on written or reading work, this has helped a lot with their processing problems, you need to find some one that does a specialist eye test though, I belieive some teaching hospitals do this test.

About actual figgiting and going off task, my son's OT suggested doing some little hand and upper body excercises before starting any written work, when done as a whole class thing it works best it gets the circulation moving good for all the kids and secondly it becomes a learned responce, when we excercise I do my writting. The OT uses this methode in her school which is a school for kids with movement disorders and the kids love it. Unfortunatly my kids school did not like the idea, so had to put up with my son moving around all over the place!!

Anna

[summertime]

Is it possible for the school to set up a work station for him, I have set up one in every class, they are very basic 3 sided partitions that fit around the childs desk, they are a plain colour and cut out all visual distractions around them so they can concentrate on what they are supposed to be doing and not (for example) the suns rays that are dancing on the table in front of them or the child next to them with the bright ribbons or any other visual stimulus that they find hard to block out.

 

we also use sand timers and rewards. if want a child to do a work sheet we would give the child the work sheet and everything else they need in a tray including pencils, crayons etc (cheap plastic seed trays are ideal) and then in the next tray would be the reward, favorite comic, toy car etc whatever rocks his boat

 

we would use the sand timers so maybe 5 minutes to do the sheet then five minutes for the reward

[Eva]

Hi,

 

I'm thinking now of taking my son to a vision specialist - if he works better with coloured lenses then that would be great.

 

Today my son was really good in class and hardly needed any prompting - he's very inconsistent! When he stops work, it's not always to fidget, sometimes he's thinking - he has a faraway look on his face and looks very peaceful. If I ask what he's thinking about he usually answers, "nothing". Summertime, using timers and rewards is a really good idea, not sure about the partition, although I can see how it would be helpful.

 

My son's OT wrote down a whole list of suggestions for the teacher to implement but although she has made a vague effort, (such as getting him to help put the chairs down and fetch things), she hasn't really followed through. She forgets he has auditory processing problems and she relies on his hearing alone for understanding, (I've asked her to write down instructions for him but for some reason she's resistant).

 

What do other teachers do for their students with auditory processing difficulties? My son is made to sit up the front when the class is having mat time, but he often tunes out or sometimes is messing around right under her nose, and because he's so close, she doesn't actually see it!

 

Thanks for replies,

 

cheers,

Eva

[Ian Jordan]

The level of knowledge needed by the optician is much greater than just using reading tests

 

Before goung ask whether they address synesthesia - if you get a blank or waffle reply - go somewhere else

 

There are methods of addressing apd using visual stimulus - but most opticians that use colour have limited instrumentation and testing facilities. It can make a massive difference

[Eva]

Thanks for that advice Ian - much appreciated.

 

If you ever decide to pop down here for a holiday and you happen to bring all your instrumentation along, please contact me! Or I could go to the UK - which would be fun if there wasn't a 24 hour plane flight involved first...

 

Cheers,

Eva

[mum23]

Hi Eva,

Not sure if this will be of help but you might want to try contacting the special Education centre at the University of Newcastle, university Drive Callaghan 2308 AU. I believe they did some research into Irlen syndrome and the use of coloured lens. Or possibly the Autisum behaviour intervention unit, at the university of Melbourne Parkville VIC 3010 they also had some stuff on net about coloured lenses. Pop Irlen testing Melbourne into your search engine and see what comes up, hope it is of some use.

Anna

[Ian Jordan]

things have moved on a long way since irlen methods

[mum23]

things have moved on a long way since irlen methods

 

HI there Ian,

That does not supprise me one bit, the last time my boys went to see someone about coloured lenses they went to a natianal chain opticians, that used some type of machine that had lots of colour fillters(I think). My boys found that there glasses really do help though, and they can work for longer and read with more fluancy. J my AS son finds they also help him calm down somewhat, he has lots of sensory problems so I guess they might help him reduce the input load!

Ian I wonder if you might be able to PM me with some info on latest colour lens stuff and where to get tested. Sorry new to this board, I've no idea how to PM peps.

My daughter has lots of processing problems visual and auditory her hearing is also down at the moment due to some weird and wonderful autonomic nervouse system disorder and I have been trying to find some one to take her to re coloured glasses as the afore mentioned opticians no longer does those test.

Ta

Anna

[Eva]

Thanks for that Mum23 - the Uni is a good place to start!

 

Ian, do you have a website? I'd like to learn more about the work you do.

 

Regards,

 

Eva

[Ian Jordan]

my websites are out of date -

www.visualdyslexia.com

sorry but too much happening -

 

but we integrate vision with all other senses - the difference is massive - ask the site

 

videos out end of year - they will shock you

[wishingwell]

Ian

 

Keep us posted on when the video will be available.

 

wishingwell