concentration

My child doesn't concentrate on school work, chores, or regular things like she should.  Her daddy is in Iraq but even when he is here; she still cannot calm down and concentrate on things like she should. I am afraid that if I don't do something then when she gets older she won't be able to complete things in her life? What should I do?

[Sandman2]

How old is she and what grade is she in?   Also has your school mentioned this problem to you, and have they given any suggestions?

[worshiplady4him]

The school has said that she has problems concentrating.  She is 9 and the baby of a family of first borns...me, my husband and her sister are all first borns.  She is in 3rd grade...I just want to have a doctor talk with her and see if she has ADD or something becasue I will feel like I am doing her a disservice if We don't catch a problem and try to fix it so that when she grows older; she can funtion like others...stay on task and complete things like she should...she is very behind in school...she hates school.

[Sandman2]

    It's pretty hard to like school when you are doing poorly in school and don't see chances of getting better.  The worst thing is that each day they are judging you and there is not a lot of hope for things getting better.  
    So Yes, you definitely need to try and figure out what the problem is  and get help for it.  Lack of concentration is a classic ADHD trait.  The fastest way to get the best help is through a good child psychologist who specializes in ADHD.  If that's not possible, then the next best is probably her family doctor.  It is worth asking your school about gettting her in special ed.  Basically that will allow her to get more help at school and protect her from teachers that may not understand her problem.
   Also please realize that as she gets older and more is demanded of her, the more difficult her problem becomes.  She needs to realize that it is not her fault that she has trouble concentrating.  In short, she needs to understand what ADHD is and how it affects her.  She also needs to start getting some study skills that can help her at school.  What she needs the most is for you to become an expert on ADHD, so you can help her and protect her!
   You are definitely doing the right thing!  

[Sandman2]

I forget to mention that if she does have something like ADHD, then she has probably missed a lot of the fundamentals  that she needs in things like math.  It would be helpful to try and get her a tutor over the summer (high school kids work great for this), to help her catch up.  Also Math is fourth grade starts introducing harder concepts (she is probably working at memorizing multiplication tables now), and she probably will need tutoring help during the school year.