Could it be something besides ADHD

[sunshine323]

My 5 year old is in kindergarten this year.  He gets wonderful grades in all academic areas.  In fact, he is  ahead of his classmates.  He is already reading on what his teacher says is about a third grade level.  In addition, he is already doing multiplication and starting division.  The problem is,his teacher reportshe has trouble sitting still for extended period of time.  At home he is able to focus for hours  at a time on desired activities such as computer, reading books, building legos.  She tihnks he has ADD.  

Some other background information.  My son was a six week premie.  He did not begin talking until age two and continues to have both articulation difficulties as well as occupational therapy concerns that center on writing, cutting, coloring.  He is an only child and was not in any type of day care center or program with other children until he was three.  His preschool program (3 and 4 yr old) often had activities set up at tables but didn'thave chairs around the table so the kids could stand and move around the table as they wanted.  His preschool teacher reports that he had occassional problems sitting still on the rug.  But don't we all have occassional problems sitting still.  Overall he is an immature child.  In addition, I was in graduate school full time for three years and he was often left to do what he wanted while I did work.  Although he was watched and kept safe, I wasn't being strict with regard to him sitting while doing certain activities or making sure he finished one activity/task before he could start another.  

My question is, could these symptoms of ADD that his teacher is seeing possibly be a combination of learned behavior, immaturity, and boredom?

[April2]

Good grief, he's 5 years old. All 5 year olds have to learn to sit still in school. This is the first year of school for them! The teachers should know that and understand that it takes awhile for them to learn this self-control. It really makes me mad when teachers immediately jump to the diagnosis of ADHD, especially in a kid this young, just because they don't want to deal with the kids. They just want them to sit there like a zombie so they don't have to do anything.
Most doctors won't even diagnose ADHD in a child this young. Don't let this teacher pressure you into medicating your child!

I'll tell you what I think. I think your son sounds a lot like how my son was at his age and throughout elementary school, really. My son was one of the youngest in his class so was a bit behind in the maturity level. But he was extremely bright! He was so smart that some of the kids thought he was a bit odd because of the way he talked. He talked like a little adult! He did have trouble socially for awhile there making friends but did make a couple of close friends. He was never really into sports. He was more of a bookworm and computer geek (still is!). When he was in 5th grade his teacher was insisting we put him on Ritalin because he was driving her crazy. I asked what he was doing. Apparently he was twisting around in his seat, tapping his pencil on his desk and staring out the window or off into space. I told her all she had to do was tap him on the shoulder and tell him to get back to work and he would but I guess that was too much for her to do. She felt like he was "too stressed" because we had him involved in too many things. He was taking swim lessons once a week (which he loved), cub scouts once a week (which he also enjoyed) and band practice three times a week. He loved music and had requested we sign him up for that. He wanted to be in all these things. We never pressured him into any of it. His grades were good or we would have cut him back. These are things he wanted to do though and loved. I really resented the teacher suggesting that we had pressured our son into all these activities. Finally, after her badgering us for awhile, we did put him on the smallest dosage of Ritalin. She immediately began to rave, of course, about what a difference she saw in him. What she didn't realize is that after a couple of months, we stopped. I never felt comfortable medicating him and didn't feel he needed it. I felt like a lot of it was maturity and he was bored! The next year his 6th grade teacher told me flat out that he did NOT need Ritalin. They tested him that year at reading at an 11th grade level! This kid was just really smart and bored. He wasn't challenged enough. I never put him on medication again. He is now 19 and in his second year of college and still extremely smart! He is well read and articulate. Yes, he was a little immature in elementary school and needed some time to grow up and mature a little but he did not need medication!

I recommend you read "Dreamers, Discoverers & Dynamos: how to help the child who is bright, bored, and having problems in school" by Lucy Jo Palladino, Ph.D. The book was formerly titled "The Edison Trait" because she said Edison himself would have been labeled ADD today! He flunked out of school! His teachers thought he was stupid. His mother had to homeschool him and yet he become one of our greatest inventors of all time! He was a brilliant man, even if he was misunderstood as a youngster.
Read the book. I think you'll find it interesting. I also recommend you check his diet. Many children who are labeled as ADD have a fatty acid deficiency.

Don't ever let a teacher or anyone else pressure you into labeling or medicating your child though. You are his mother and you know him better than anyone else. Don't forget, he'll have a different teacher next year! And each year he will gain a little more maturity and be able to sit for longer stretches and concentrate for longer periods of time. I hope any of this helps! Take care.