Is there such a disorder?

Question

My son is very smart as people have told me, but he has poor listening skills. He's too compulsive and stubborn to learn to do thigs right. Is it possible a child can be very intelligent and articulate but have a learning disability? It may also be too young to label him because he is only 3, but boy he is the most difficult child I have ever encountered (I'm not the only one who has said this, he has been kicked out of two daycares and now is close to being kicked out of another one even though he ONLY attends 4 hours a week!!)

Answer 1

There are several possible disorders that could be associated with your son's behavior.

I used to be a Preschool Montessori Teacher for primary level (2 1/2 - 6 yrs old) and would encounter different behavioral problems in children, including similar cases to that of your son. My wife is also a teacher and is currently taking up child psychology and special education so I frequently ask her for advice as well.

As a teacher, I would usually discuss these behavioral problems with the parent and recommend that they might ask the opinion of a child psychologist about a possible assessment test.

The best thing to do would be to consult a child psychologist (preferably a friend) and ask his or her opinion on the matter. There is a specific testing process (which usually involves interviewing the parents as well) that is carried out to determine what the problem may be and how it should be treated. However, many factors are involved and a recommendation must come from the right person in order to get your child tested.

With my son's case, the school where he was enrolled recommended that we have him tested. We followed their recommendation. The test results were then interpreted by several doctors and it was found that he was gifted intellectually which was causing him difficulties to cope socially.

The behavioral/child psychologist recommended therapy sessions to deal with the issue. We agreed to the doctor's recommendations and it has been several months since he started.

Since then, there have been great improvements in my son's behavior and things are going much better - even according to his teachers. We are much happier now as a family (his teachers are also much happier) because of what we learned. My son is now doing much better in school and is able to use his intelligence more productively.

It was essential for my wife and I as parents to be properly educated to deal with this kind of thing. There is a special way to talk to gifted children that you will only learn if you have your child assessed.

I wish you and your family the best.

Answer 2

It is very possible. My daughter will be 4 in March and although she hasn't had an official diagnosis, the professionals in the school system and I believe she is on the Autism spectrum. She was in a montessori daycare for almost 2 years and had severe behavior problems. The director noticed some red flags and referred her for evaluation. She is ungodly smart, I wouldnt go so far as to say she is gifted, but definitely above average intelligence when it comes to things that are in black and white in front of her. She memorizes books after you read them to her once. She has been reading by sight words for over 6 monhts now. There is so much that she does, but then on the other hand there are so many things she just doesn't get. She has a delay in her cognative thinking/interpretation. If you show her a spoon, she can tell you its a spoon but you ask her what to do with it and she can't tell you that you eat with it. And stubborn, I have never seen a child like her in that respect. You CAN'T show her how to do anything. She does everything at her own pace. Things like that. The therapists & psycologists believe that her behavior problems were attributed to her being overwhelmed in the daycare setting. Too many kids and she couldn't keep up and take it all in so she would shut down and melt down. She was evaluated by a child psycologist and language pathologist. She is now is a autistic pre-k class in an actual school labeled as speech impaired and developmentally delayed. There are 7 other childern in her class. In the 2 months there she has blossomed. She is so much easier to deal with at home because she isn't as overwhelmed during the day.
I have a friend who's son is 3 and has ADHD and sounds a lot like your son. Very smart but doesn't seem to/like to listen, very compulsive and stubborn. He sees a therapist and is getting more manageable every time I see him.
I'm not saying your son is autistic or has ADHD, but its definitely not too soon to have him checked out for any kind of developmental disability. I would contact the local school district and see if they offer any testing for something called Early Intervention. Different places call it different things (my daughters school its called the exceptional student education program) but its all the same. If you have any questions about it feel free to email me! :)

Answer 3

I would check with the doctor. He might need a hearing test. I am sure that he can be smart and still have a hearing problem. I know that when I was a child I had to have tubs put in my ears twice because I had problems hearing. Like I said check it out with your doctor first. And request a hearing test to be done.

Answer 4

It is very possible... many extremely intelligent people have learning disabilities, such as ADD/ADHD that keep them from being able to pay attention. Talk to your child's peditrician to have your son evaluated.