3 1/2 yr old having trouble in preschool and at home

[mommyto jed]

My 3 1/2 yr olds son who will be 4 in May is having diffuculties in preschool.  My son has a hard time keeping his hands to himself at preschool and has had problems w/ impulsive behavior.  The preschool teachers has suggested to move him into an afternoon class which consists of 14 children rather than going to the morning class which has 24 children.  They say they it might be that he is too stimulated.  They also stated that if this does not work that they suggest calling the pediatrician for help as it may be a developemental issue or a learning disability.  I am very concerned....my son seems very bright and has talked very well since the age of 1 1/2 and use to pick up on things very quickly. As a mother I do notice something about him  
that is different...as in when I talk to him he just seems that he does not hear what I am saying and I get down to his level and have him look me in the eye but that does not even work.  My husband and I try to discipline him by giving him time outs because he just does not listen.  There are good days and bad days.  Other times he can be so good.  When I try to talk to him and tell him the correct way of doing things like for example....be nice to the dog it just seems like it goes through one ear and out the other or he just says I know mom but then he goes back to doing the same thing over again.  He has always been an active child but not to the point where I can't control him.  We have also tried spanking him but of course that does not work and that makes things worse so we have stopped doing that.  
Should we seek the advice of a pediatrician???

Please help!!

Thanks!

[momtocassie]

This sounds familiar...my 3 year old daughter has trouble keeping her hands to herself as well and her daycare is concerned about her "odd" behaviors and her sometimes being uncontrollable because she doesn't want to participate with the other children and she throws tantrums and they are unable to calm her.  She also doesn't hold conversations she just repeats things.  She curretly she's a neurologist for her epilepsy and he suggests that she could have, ocd or some type of autism.  I have made her an appointment to see a pediatric psy. doctor who if there's something wrong he would be the one to diagnose her and she will also be visited at daycare by a team from the public school system (consisting of a behavioral specialist and a speech therapist).  So now I just wait and see what the outcome is of these elvaluations.  Hang in there and definatley seek all resources to help your son and get hoom the help he needs.  good luck to you!

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

From the information you provided, I'm not immediately struck by the probability of learning disability (unless it's in the area of auditory processing). What's more striking is possible attentional deficit coupled with hyperactivity syndrome. But remember - he's not even four yet. Three- and four-year-olds are famous for being quite active and impulsive, and for displaying limited attention. They are young, after all. Now, even in some very young children, the degree of overactivity, impulsivity and inattention can be beyond the norm. The move to the smaller class sounds very prudent, and it is worth having a talk with the doctor and gain his/her perspective. ADHD can be diagnosed in pre-school children, but be careful to go about the evaluation in a systematic, thorough fashion - don't jump to conclusions or rush to a premature diagnosis.