Concentration levels in a child

[keoka3]

my grand daughter is going to be held back in the 2nd grade next year, when the other kids are doing their work, she looks around, she don't understand what the teacher is saying or how to do the work, she had a teacher at the first of the year that was helping her you have to get down to her level and tell her how to do it, but they moved the teacher to another school so is there any medicine or anything that will help her, she don't understand what a question is. she has trouble in english, she is doing pretty good in math and reading. my son has custody and she is still having trouble with the divorce and then my son has a girlfriend that yells at her and her brother so she crys at everything or anything you say and says no one loves her. I keep her and her brother every other weekend, she know I love her, I raised her from 7 mths till she was 6

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[pepperpot]

See if you can get her evaluated through the school.....

Is English her only/first language?

I wish you and your grand daughter the best.

[keoka3]

Yep, English is her only language they are doing development test on her, but she did everything she was suppose to at the age she was suppose to. and when she went to pre-k she was fine.

[pepperpot]

So why are they going to hold her back if there are no deficits found? Is her birthday near the school cutoff?

I held my son back b/c he was 2 days away from the cut off...best decision made for him...

[jasmine]

my daughter was in the early 1st grade when I went through my divorce. I believe untill this day that it really messed her up. If you can fathom at the age of 7 a little girl, that is the age where she is finding and holding on to trust and love with her mommy and daddy, and then everything gets ripped out from underneath her {divorce**.
Have the parents went through the child classes on coping with divorce. I know that it was law when we went through our divorce. The classes were wonderful and they broke it down into age groups. I learned alot on how to communicate with her on her level for her age. The poor little thing, I do hope that she will do well.
Hold her tight when-ever you see her and tell her you love her.
May sound silly, but encourage her to draw pictures, they do really help a child that age to express how they feel, and then talk to her about the pictures.
Don't get mad and yell, as sometimes it may be thing that adults want to do, that is the last thing she needs is yelling.

[hotwheelstx]

I would have her tested. The school can offer tests to see where your granddaughter is at scholastically. BTW-this should be of no cost to you or your family. Talk to the principal or her counselor. I wouldn't go into depth with them but explain the situation....it might be that she needs a little one on one after school, in between classes.

Children like adults learn things differently. I can tell you from being a Special ED. teacher for the deaf for many years....some learn better if you explain it, others need to read it, others need to be shown what to do.

My brother 17 yrs. my jr....was "hyper active" when he started school. At the time there was Ritalin prescribed for hyper activity. My mother without hesitation said "NO WAY". She worked with him at home on concentration, being focused, listening. I had just graduated from college so he basically was my first student. Worked out well....it only took around 5 months or so to work things out.

My brother still would stare out the window, fidget, tap fingers, bite his lips, tongue. After school was out he was fine. As he went into the 4th grade....he was more composed, relaxed, easier to relate to. Every teacher he had after his diagnosis was informed of his "condition"....most were sympathetic, would help anyway possible. He was tutored after school, too...which did help him a LOT.

There was also no scolding from my mother or I. It was just a "glitch" in my brother's brain that prevented him from sitting still, not being nervous. He still has "some" problems now even as an adult....but he knows how to handle different situations.

I would talk to her principal, counselor for other alternatives. All she needs is a little extra help.

Good luck.

[keoka3]

She's not hyper her half sister is, but she is more lazy, but like I said her math and reading are fine, she is just more at a first grade lever, to where she doesn't understand what she is suppose to do, she is not listening, her mind is somewhere else, just don't know how to get her to concentrate she is off in wonderland I guess, we are getting her after school help tutoring, and of course the teachers have so many kids she can't help her one on one.

[LitWtch]

Working for the past nine years in Special Education, I would strongly suggest having her evaluated. Though she may not show a deficiency in her physical development, by what you describe she could have learning disabilities in specific areas - language arts being one of the primary areas.

Have her father also take her to the doctor and get her evaluated for ADD Inattentive. There is a broad variety of ADD/ADHD descriptives, and again, what you describe is an inability to concentrate which hinders her ability to progress at a standard pace. There are numerous methods to deal with this type of ADD, and medication is only one of those alternatives - usually a lower dose of the ADHD medications like Concerta or Strattera.

Last, get her counseling for dealing with her parents' divorce.

I hope this helps and I hope she gets the assistance she needs to succeed.

[jasmine]

Working for the past nine years in Special Education, I would strongly suggest having her evaluated. Though she may not show a deficiency in her physical development, by what you describe she could have learning disabilities in specific areas - language arts being one of the primary areas.

Have her father also take her to the doctor and get her evaluated for ADD Inattentive. There is a broad variety of ADD/ADHD descriptives, and again, what you describe is an inability to concentrate which hinders her ability to progress at a standard pace. There are numerous methods to deal with this type of ADD, and medication is only one of those alternatives - usually a lower dose of the ADHD medications like Concerta or Strattera.

Last, get her counseling for dealing with her parents' divorce.

I hope this helps and I hope she gets the assistance she needs to succeed.

yes, I agree, myself, I never believed in add or adhd, untill my child had it. Now she is being treated with concerta. But as you said she doesn't have a hyperactivity problem, just the concentration, hence add {attention deficit disorder**, and adhd {attention defecit hyperactivity disorder**. When I brought my daughter into the doctors to find out if she had this they are the ones that tested her. It was a long test, and it determined alot, such as her learning disorders and her grade level that she was at on learning.
But also, her teachers were the ones to notice and suggested it to me to have it done. Now she takes a special class, along with other students, extra help on reading and math. It really helped alot.
My daughter is adhd though, and believe me, she would act out so much, wether at home or in public, I mean like jumping and bouncing, yelling and making animal sounds........ oh my gosh.