7 yr old never stops talking

[thumma]

My granddaughter, whom I am rearing, will not stop talking. Her grades are A-B. She is very bright but the teacher is ready to tape her mouth shut because she will not stop talking. We have tried positive reinforcement (which lasted 2 days) and negative reinforcement that just doesn't work. I have wondered if she might be slightly ADHD, but get no feedback from the school along that line.  She is beautifully behaved other than the talking. She has three brothers, 10, 5, and 4. None of them are big talkers. Any suggestions?

[damesdad]

I hear you, my son talks none stop.  He asks questions too to make sure you're listening to him so he can continue his story.  Like " do you remember the green guy in that game I played?" If you say yes he continues with an elaborate story about the green guy.  If you say no he just continues to explain the green guy until you say yes I remember.  He talks over top of the tv and radio.  If you turn it up he just talks louder or ask you to turn it off so he can talk.  Its so bad that if you say ill be right back, he will just continue talking with no one in the room!  Its driving me crazy and it worries me because he doesn't make friends at school because he doesn't like the games the other kids play so he'd rather play on his own. Which is really unlike how I was as a kid.  I'm worried that my child is growing up to be a loner that talks to himself... help!

[Encephalomalcia]

My step-daughter is the same way.  She talks continuously and it actually give us headaches.  She also talk very loud.  She has done this all her life and is now 12.  It might just be the personality.  She also is getting straight A's in school.  We have her now interested in music, so she is playing her violin a lot now which helps with the talking.  She also listens to music and sings, which is actually better for us to hear.  

[thumma]

Thanks for all the good suggestions. It gives me hope.

[Hopew32]

My son is 17 and he was the  same way...my son now has a 4.0 gpa and a full scholarship to the university of Alabama... I have worked with children for 14 years...it looks like you just have a extremely smart child .....I always just tried to talk alot with my child try to let her talk as much as possible at home so that at school...she might be less likely to want to talk as much.......my son`s teachers found that he was bored in class the classes may not be as advance as they need to be for her....smart kids get to bored ..they need to be stimulated...good luck!!

[Sally44]

I think it would be worth asking for a referal to a developmental paediatrician because at this stage you don't know if she can control it or not and therefore you don't know if it is appropropriate for her to be punished for continual talking.  Being asked to stop and being punished at school has not stopped her, so I think you have every right to start asking from questions from the right professionals.  I think a Developmental Paediatrician would be a good starting point.

[RockRose]

Have you asked her what happens when she stops talking?

My son,  who is now 14 and doesn't do this anymore,  went through a period of time where he talked all the time.  It was exhausting.  

He said it felt like his brain kind of went to sleep if he wasn't talking,  that he talked to keep his brain "awake".

I wonder if she feels the same way?

[thumma]

Every thought that enters her head is verbalized. If she has a meal she tells everyone about every bite. If she reads a story she repeats every detail. There are times when she is obviously talking to herself out loud because no one is paying attention to her.Her teacher is at the end of her rope. She actually had my granddaughter write "I will not talk. I will not disrupt." about 25 times. I really don't blame the teacher with her frustration. Her brothers will tell her "Susie, my ears are tired, please be quiet." I've been around big talkers before but I have never seen anything like this. She gets plenty of attention from us, her grandparents, and her aunt and uncle. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Sally44]

When she is talking what is she talking about.  Is she asking questions all the time at school, or is she talking about things she is interested in and is talking at people rather than trying to hold a conversation.