Is it acceptable for kindergarten students to receive I.S.S.?

[kelley2002]

Is it acceptable for kindergarten students to receive I.S.S.? I have a five year old daughter who is very intelligent. She is constantly getting in trouble at school for not following directions, talking, clapping her hands with soap in them, not sitting on the carpet correctly etc..... At times she has a hard time minding and controlling her anger and sadness. I talk to her and she says she understands but keeps on with the same behavior. I have taken her to be evaluated on her behavior, they told me she does show signs of ADHD but she also may be acting out because of emotional distress. I don't want to put her on medicine unless I'm absolutely positive that it's necessary.

[margypops]

I would have to say I agree with momstar as I have also seen this pattern in the classroom when teachers loose the real focus on what is important I have not seen children of this age sit still and they do have to learn the class room /school behaviors. If the teacher is continually telling her to sit still, not to clap, does it matter how she sits on the carpet?I do not think your daughter has a problem .Good luck

[momstar]

RockRose,  I understand all of this and that was my full point! I am fully aware of what is expected of children at this age.  However, I am also a special education teacher and am very well aware that a lot of kids do poorly in school because they have such negative experiences in the classroom setting!!!  I am not saying let the children go without consequences, however they also do NOT need to be punished for EVERYTHING they do.  That is ridiculous!  You must understand what they are capable of developmentally and set their goal a little high but not so high they fail all the time and set them up for failure.  Not only do you loose because lets face it, if you have been in a classroom you are not gaining anything from it.  More importantly the child looses.  
Quite often teacher loose the real focus and it all ends up in a power struggle.  Things are not the way they used to be (for example when I was in school) not only are the children different the parents are much different.  I will say that most of the new techniques work quite effectively. It is important to have the appropriate expectations for the age that the students are at!  Also good solid classroom management is important along with establishing a good relationship as well as respect with students this age.  Those two things right there will help make classroom management much easier!!!

[RockRose]

momstar,  I have experience with K kids and fully half of them will sit quietly on the carpet for 20 minutes.  If we have parent reading time,  or art in the classroom, and they are required to gather on the carpet and sit cross legged and pay attention,  fully half of the children can do this with no problem whatsoever.  They are engaged in the lesson,  can answer questions,  raise their hands to make comments about the lesson,  etc.

The other half of the kids - could go either way.  Sometimes they are the brightest kids and can't sit still,  sometimes they are the kids who have never been taught to behave,  some of them will end up flunking out in high school because they can't fit themselves into society,  some of them are Thomas Edison geniuses.   Some of them are average kids who are a little immature in kinder.

[momstar]

I am in a classroom with 5,6, & 7 year olds (kindergarten).  Let me tell you, NONE of them sit still on the carpet.  I never teach when EVERYONE is quiet!!  Developmentally it just does not happen.  Children have to LEARN "school behaviors" We are at the end of their kindergarten year (most of them went to preschool) and most of them still cannot sit still and not talk.  In fact I had this same issue in 1st grade it is normal developmentally!!  Also, SO many children are misdiagnosed with ADHD.  

Whom ever your kindergarten teacher is, needs to relax.  As a parent you have a lot of power as to how your child is treated in their classroom!!!  Most parents are not aware of this! As a mother myself, this would not be exceptable to me to have my child that age getting into so much trouble at school for such behaviors.  If this teacher is "highly qualified" to teach kindergarten then she should know that your daughter is showing "normal" developmental behaviors!  Not ALL teachers are good teachers and know what they are doing!  Keep that in mind!!!!  As a mother I would never allow my child to be treated this way.  Hope this helpful.

[April2]

I don't think they normally put children this young on ADHD meds and with good reason. It really should be a last resort. Kindergarten is a big adjustment for all children. This is the first time they've had to sit down and listen to a teacher and follow the rules, etc. Combine that with their age and maturity levels and it is not at all uncommon for it to take a full year for a kindergartener to learn to sit still and do work. It takes a lot of patience and understanding to teach a kindergarten class!

I would give this some time for her maturity level to catch up. My son was extremely bright too and way ahead of many of his classmates for years but he was very immature. He was one of the youngest in his class and I think that had a lot to do with it. His 5th grade teacher insisted I put him on Ritalin which I finally did reluctantly but only for a short time and a very low dosage. By the next year, his 6th grade teacher told me firmly that he did not need Ritalin. They tested him that year at reading at an 11th grade level. Sometimes very bright kids act like ADHD or ADD kids. So be very careful about putting a label on her too soon. And try to be patient and give her time to mature. If she is still showing no improvement in a year or two then I'd take her back to the doctor. That's just my opinion. Also, you might be interested in reading "Dreamers Discoverers & Dynamos" by Lucy Jo Palladino, Ph.D. formally titled "The Edison Trait".
It's pretty good. It's about very bright children. Did you know that they thought Thomas Edison was ADHD? Or at least that he would have been diagnosed with that today. His mom had to pull him out of school and homeschool him. His teachers gave up on him but his mother saw something many others didn't. Like I said, it's a pretty good book. I think you would get a lot out of it. Hope this helps a little! Best wishes!