Hello Dr. K,
I have a 7 year old son, who is an overall amazing little dude. He is funny, very bright and extremely creative. When he is at home with me he listens fairly well, does what he is told with minimal reminders, and even keeps his room clean, I would have to be a fool to have any concerns. The problem is when he leaves me, i.e. goes to school, or the sitters home, he acts like a very different child, his attention span lasts seconds, he completes tasks only partially, and tends to interrupt adults as well as totally disregards what he was told to do; something that he would not do at home. I do impose a lot of rules at home, but I try to balance it with a sound rewards system. Like tallies and a reward box for a “good week” at school. I try to always reinforce good behavior with positive comments; I take any tips any of the other parents I know have to offer.
The problem is that his behavior at school is progressively getting worse; he has started to hide assignments instead of completing them. Although he is looking at the teacher when she speaks to him, I know and he will admit he is thinking about start wars battles or spider-man, pretty much little boy stuff, but it is never-ending. With all this he tends to bring a lot of assignments home to have a second chance to complete them, and when I sit with him one on one he does them fairly easily. I know he would have great days at school if I was sitting directly behind him all day, but that just isn’t possible…
I was concerned about the possibility of him being ADHD, mainly being that I was recommended to be put on some sort of medication as a child. Is there some point of advice you could offer, or some test that could be giving to him to narrow possible reasons why he has no focus at school?
Thank you for your time, and any advice you have to offer.