We have a small boy in our class PreK and he doesn't stop moving ever, I think he has ADD?

Question

Hes only 4 his mother does not paddle him he gets "stars" taken away when he gets into trouble at home....I believe that attitude stars at home!! What can we do he will not do his work, he acts bored but he will not do the work or color thats infront of him....HELP Im in HATIES

I say that he is ADD because I do not believe that add and adhd I believe that their behavior should have been controlled at home by their parents, I do not think that it is a Chemical Imbalance, its spoiled, doing whatever, whenever they want, I have a son myself, and the energy that he gets is also controllable, I believe its letting the TV be their babysitter instead of the parent being a parent so Im sorry that you might not agree, and you may think that my question could have been read differently, but you did not have to attack me either, Thanks!!

Answer 1

My brother is almost four and he has ADHD. It's a chemical imbalance int he brain that causes them to be really hyper. It's something they can't help personally, but can be helped by going on medication(which is not recommended at such a young age), or by controlling their sugar intake. There are other food also that can contribute to the hyperness. We try to just watch his diet a little more closely and he's usually ok. He does have his bad days though. We only spank him if he's done something wrong though. If he's just being hyper then he can't help it, but if he's being a brat an won't stop when we tell him to, then he get the "spank stick"...lol. I have included a website for ya to check out. Hope I was of some help! :)

Answer 2

You say you don't believe in ADD or ADHD -- are you actually the child's teacher? If you are a trained educator, I'm surprised that you don't know the research that has been done on these disorders. They certainly exist -- although I do believe that they are certainly over-diagnosed.

It is not up to you or any other teacher to diagnose a disorder -- or even make a recommendation to a parent about medical diagnoses. There are referral steps you should take; every school system has a Referral Process for special education. Children qualify for Special Education services from birth -- but you should know that if you are a teacher!

In a child that's 4 years old, ADHD would probably not be on my list of probable causes for "inattentive" behavior, and it certainly wouldn't be a reason to hit a child. (There is never a reason to hit a child!)

At 4, it is developmentally appropriate for them to be energetic, bouncy and inquisitive, and want to move on to the next thing. It is possible that your activities are not interesting, too long, or not age-appropriate. He may just need extra time to get the "jigglies" out, and a few minutes between "sitting activities" and "movement activities" would be something that I would definitely try.

If your signature above was supposed to mean "Hades" and you really think you are in hell, you seriously need to consider a career change. If you are a pre-K teacher and want to hit a child for any reason, you still might want to consider a career change. He needs your guidance and loving hands, not punishment.

Answer 3

He might be just too young to socialize. Remember that boys are behind on that, compared to girls! It could just be he's a wiggler and will always be one.

On the other hand, he might be on too much sugar, or surprisingly enough, it has been said recently that a sugar drink can sometimes mollify a child due to its bringing out some endorfins.

OR his parents aren't trying to control the behavior at home. My suspicion is that his parents may have tried everything, because that start system you talk about isn't something all of us naturally do to control our kids.

If he's four, give him time. Don't encourage paddling him! - but instead taking things away for a short time. They have very short attention spans at that age, so taking a favorite toy or puzzle away for 10 minutes seems awful, but might be enough time to get him calmed down.

And one more thing - he might actually BE bored. If there's no older child in the home, he might not understand doing kids work or homework. There are so many things this could be. Too many times we assume that either it's ADHD or the parents are stupid, but ... just give him more time and try to control the behavior at school. That is, if you're the teacher! (You didn't say.)

Answer 4

If you do not think it is a chemical imbalance, then it is NOT ADD or ADHD (both of which ARE chemical imbalances). If you admit that he doesn't have consequences at home, then that is the reason for his behavior, not ADD/ADHD. Many children of that age simply CANNOT sit still & often lose focus quickly. If it becomes a problem, either put him in the back row (if you sit on the carpet in rows) out of view of everyone else, or put him in a chair behind the group. Make sure you break every 10 minutes or so to do a song, exercise or quick game. If you are always switching to something new, it is harder to lose interest!

Answer 5

as for the paddling or not... many places have outlawed paddling... maybe you should look into the new research out there on this.

http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/indicators/51AttitudesTowardsSpanking.cfm

One of the most frequently used strategies to discipline a child, especially a younger child, is spanking.2 Research suggests that about 94 percent of parents of children ages three to four in the United States report having spanked their children in the previous year.3 At the same time, however, use of corporal punishment is often linked to negative outcomes for children (e.g., delinquency, antisocial behavior, and low self-esteem), and may be indicative of ineffective parenting. 4,5 Research also finds that the number of problem behaviors observed in adolescence are related to amount of spanking, with the relationship becoming stronger as children age.6 Positive child outcomes can be obtained when parents refrain from spanking and other physical punishment and alternatively discipline their children through firm, rational control and nurturing communication.7 Studies find that this type of disciplinary style can foster positive psychological outcomes such as high self-esteem and cooperation with others, as well as improved achievement in school.8

Answer 6

Kudos to the person whose answer cautioned you against making a diagnosis for ADD.

You describe the student as someone who nees to be in motion all the time. He seems bored and will not do the work.

First - He is only 4 years old. Is this his first school experience? He needs time to adjust and he needs as many opportunities as possible for positive reinforcement. Obviously, you're going to have to be on the ball but you've got to catch him doing something good and praise him for it.

If this is a matter of his continually disrupting the rest of class and making it impossible for you to teach then you need to seek the support of your school administrator. In the past, as school principal I suggested to a kindergarten teacher that she ask the child's mother to sit in the classroom to observe her child. We also limited the child's attendance to an hour each day until she was ready to accept and comply with the classroom environment. (We had that option in my school district.)

Document, document, document. After he has had time to adjust to the classroom environment and you have had a chance to modify programming for him, you should be discussing him with your school's support team. In the meantime, keep his mother informed. And, as suggested elsewhere, ask her what his interests are and what successes he enjoys.

Be sure to check with his mother as to his physical health. Does he sleep properly? How is his appetite? Has his hearing and vision been checked?

You may be in Hades but keep in mind that this little fellow is just a child and you are the professional. Don't take it personally that he is having trouble settling down. Put all your professionalism into it. So pull together alll your resources - people and reference material from teacher training and workshops and see what you can do to program for this little boy.

Good luck!

Answer 7

haties....whats that? i am thinking you meant hades? anyhow, can he sit down and watch a video, cartoon, or any program? if so, i wouldnt worry about add. it takes many people to diagnose that condition. pre school age behavior is easy to blame on adhd. most kids are extremely active and many parents take this as a symptom of add/hd and it is that they have been permitted to get away with maladaptive behaviors. in school age children, it takes a regular classroom teacher, special ed teacher, parents, school psychologist, and a medical doctor in coordination to properly diagnose add/hd. i dont know a lot about pre schoolers, but it is very common for them to be very active. you should seek help professionally, not from yahoo answers. good luck to all of you...

Answer 8

DO NOT EVER TRY TO DIAGNOSE ADD! ADD is not a behavioral disorder (as you seem to imply). It is a chemical disorder.

Teachers may not diagnose any learning or behavioral disabilities. We do not have the training, we are not psychologists, and I frankly don't care to argue about what you think he has or doesn't have. Until you have Ph.D. or M.D. after your name, you simply should not do it.

Instead, your question could read "I have an inattentive student ..." and seek help.

Answer 9

Are you his teacher???? With that holier-than-thou-art-attitude, you won't help the kid one bit. If there's any adult staffer around that actually likes the kid and can avoid dissing his mother, let that person talk to the mother. I suggest you stay away from him as much as possible.

BTW, ADD means Attention Deficit Disorder. The *H* in ADHD means Hyperactivity.

Paddling a hyperactive kid won't cure him, ya know, and moralizing won't make his mom eager to cooperate.

Answer 10

He's only four!

Be happy that he's moving - 1/3 of people in the U.S. will get diabeties because we spend all our time on a couch (or in front of a computer on Yahoo Answers).

My suggestion is to try to find activities that involve movement & education both. There are lots of them out there.