7 year old has problems understanding instructions.?

Question

I have a 7 year old that has problems understanding certain simple things; i.e., he has a hard time understanding tallies. He isn't ADHD or has ADD because he isn't hyperactive, he isn't dyslexic and he can sit still for a long time and read a book and tell you what he read almost word for word. You ask him questions regarding the book and he can tell you characters and what the story is all about. When in class he seems to get distracted and cannot complete his work. When he brings work home and I get a note from the teacher saying that he could not do the problem, I explain it to him one time and he does fine. But there are simple things like tallies, he doesn't seem to understand and when I think he does and does a few problems by himself he does fine but then ten minutes later I would give him the same problems and he acts like he doesn't know. Is this a retention problem and maybe he does better on a one-on-one level? What would be the solution. Serious answers please.

Answer 1

I really think he's fine, he's just a regular 7 year old kid. My daughter does that sometimes, and then later on will be able to complete the task. He might need to be in a quieter classroom, or maybe the teacher could keep distractions to a minimum. Some kids this age have so much going on in their heads, their imaginations are at their peak and they are always thinking of what they want to do, what they like, etc., that can make it hard to pay attention. That said, he does need to be able to complete tasks, so maybe you could hire a tutor, or speak to the school therapist about some tips that you can teach him to keep himself on the task at hand. Also, consider enrolling him in some kind of activity, like Karate or a sport. Kids this age have a lot of energy and that might help. Plus karate is excellent for teaching discipline and it can raise confidence. Good Luck.

Answer 2

It seems he is advanced for his agein some ways, but has trouble with distractions. Can you put him in a private school, or perhaps in a class with fewer kids or a teacher that manages the classroom better? I think a lot of parents would be happy to have a 7 years old who could sit still in a chair for 5 minutes.

Answer 3

Maybe he can't pay attention to things he isn't interested. Not that he can't understand, but his mind just goes somewhere because it's boring. I know a kid who does that. She says although she hears, she doesn't get anything because she doesn't pay attention. What I will do is not get frustrated or say things like "how can you not get that?" Instead, keep repeating things in slightly different way until you get positive reaction. It's normal to forget after a while because they are not trying to retain anything in their brain that is boring. Just repeat the instruction as may times as it takes. After a while I hope you will begin to understand his thinking pattern and study habit because he will need somebody to teach him at home since teachers at school don't have time and patience to give him individualized instructions.

Answer 4

Taking into account the fact that he seems to memorize books well, it's possible he's somewhat autistic. You could look it up on the Internet or maybe take him to some kind of professional. Remember, your average elementary school teacher or counsellor probably isn't trained to recognize autism.

If it's not that, then I don't know how exactly you could treat the problem. You might ask his teacher to give him special attention and see if she can remedy the problem somehow.

Answer 5

I think it has a lot to do with distractions. I imagine that as we get older we learn to compartmentalize our thoughts or knowledge. I think at that age, once they are off to the next thing they tend to forget the last.