"my son did great in grade one now his in grade two and brought home a very bad rapport his teacher told me that he dont concentrate in class he dont finish the tasks she gave him, he cant read or spell correctly she also said that his always very quiet in class and talks with no one, i know my son is very clever but something isnt right, what could be going wrong?"

"my son was place in an IEP program 06-07 school year he did well with his grades. 07-08 school he started the year with 70% know he is failing with 43-66% in all class the school has him label as a 'behaviorial problem' he is smart boy. the aide is a member of the PTA she is not a teacher. I have question this with the school but, your guess is as good as mine. My son use to love school, 1 may be 2 absences a school year. Know he feels the teachers don't like him so he can't get the help he needs in class. Please help stress out single parent."

"my sons kinder teacher said she filed paperwork as he could not concentrate for 30 mins. she now retracts this as she is not sure. i am concerned but more alarmed at the cavalier way this was handled. suggestions please"

"I am reading alot about the child having a hard time focusing while in class, but does their home-work well at home. I am this same issue with my son, but I am finding it very easy to just label a child with ADD or ADHD insteading of accepting that our children were created this way and there isn't anything wrong with them. I think giving a child some meds and calling it a day is much easier then taking a look at home life, is the school at it's max when it comes to teacher student ratio, is there a teachers aid, can parents come in to help. I mean, let's take more proactive approach and see what we as parent can do. Of course, if a child does indeed need the meds, great, but try to get involved and see what you can do as a participating parent at school and home. Let's think back when we were in school. Mom's stayed home and did home-work with kids and it was a lot more hands on. Perhaps we need to take a step back before giving our child medication to calm them down. "

"My 1st daughter is 5 y.o., is hard to focus in class, she likes to move around in the class but still she can answered the question about the lesson. That quite surprised the teacher. She is a smart girl and also a quick learner, but it is hard to make her sit in the chair for more than 5 minutes so sometimes make the class become distractive. Especially at home, she cannot just sit nicely but jump over the couch, running, or maybe screaming. Sometimes I must yelled at her. I really don't know what to do.... My friend told me that my child having a focus distraction. I need ur advice. Is it possible that we can protect her from anykind of food that will raise her hyperactive and became a focus distraction child."

"My daughter had lots of trouble focusing, mostly right after school when she was trying to do her homework. That was in 2nd grade. As time went by, she started to forget to bring assingments home, or the book to do the homework. By 4th grade, she was crying by the time she got off the bus because she didn't want to do her homework. Any noise distracted her and she had to basically start over. I had her tested at the school for ADD in 4th grade and they said she was AVERAGE. nothing wrong. The first week of 5th grade was worse than 4th grade. Went and talked to our doctor and she put my daughter on Focalin FX. Small dose just to see what would happen. By this time my daughter had low self esteem and was putting herself down about school. We started the medicine on a Saturday and on Monday, she came in the front door BOUNCING after school! She was SO excited about her day! She was able to pay attention all day and she did ALL of her homework without one breakdown.! That was all it took! I didn't want my daughter labeled ADD, or taking meds everyday. And the school kept saying she was fine. She was the one telling me it was hard, I was the one noticing her having a meltdown every time there was homework. We did up th medicine to th next level and it seems to last clear thru dinnertime now. She knows she must do her homework as soon as she gets home, or that medicine wears off and she can't concentrate as well in the evening. This year has been GREAT compared to the rest. I wish I would have trusted my gut earlier and not listened to the school. She looked like she was paying attention in class, but she was truly distracted and figured out how to cover it up. By the time she got home she was exhausted from trying to pay attention and couldn't. This medicine has changed the way she views school and herself. I am thankful everyday for it. She is too! and- she taked the initiative to take it everyday without being reminded. ! She never forgets it! THAT tells me she can really tell the ! differen ce! "

"Have an 11 yr old son that has a hard time focusing and following instructions from the teacher. His mind wanders off when teacher is explaining or giving instructions. "

"i have a son who knows the information but cant seem to be able to get the info onto the paper like you can ask him about a word to use in a sentence he can tell you but cant seam to get down to the paper it frustrait him as well as my self cause he knows it but cant get it out cany you help me to help him me and his teacher are at lose at this "

"I have the same problem but with my Kindergarten son."

"i have a son who has had some problems focusing on his work at school but is fine when he is at home. the teacher is telling me he has an attention problem. i am not putting my kid on drugs to satisfy a teacher. i do understand that it is getting dificalt for the teacher to manage her kids and grant but she keeps telling me he is very intelligent and he knows what he is doing he just don't want to do it when told."

"My son was in first grade at a public school and he was having a really hard time focusing and staying on task. His teacher suggested that he might have ADD. We had him checked by a Psychologist and she wanted us to put him on medication. I needed to follow my gut and try homeschooling him because I thought that some of the problem was due to the way the classroom was managed. What a wonderful difference homeschooling has made!! My son is now able to learn at his pace and there's no homework at 5 in the evening. My son is reading and writing a lot better and the nice thing is that he is able to take breaks when he needs them (when he is feeling antsy or stressed out). I would recommend homeschooling to any parent that is questioning whether or not to put their child on medication. "

"My granddaughter is distracted easily. She is a very bright girl, but tends to pay more attention to things around her than what is directed to her. She attended a private school during her 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades of school. My daughter now has her in public school. She has always had a problem paying attention in class. (talking to other students) She is a very smart girl...she has come in 1st and 2nd place in spelling bees (while in private school). She loves to read and pretend that she is a teacher. What can I do as a loving grandparent as well as pass on to my daughter to teach her to focus in class. Her teacher agrees that she is a very smart and obedient girl... but has problems focusing in class. EXAMPLE: If I am working with her on some of her math homework and the cat, her brother or grandfather walks by she is very easily distracted and I will have to almost start ALL over... she seems to forget some of what we were working on and we start all over. PLEA! SE, WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP HER? Thanks in advance for your assistance."

"My son is exactly the same as the child mentioned in 9/5/o7.He likes going to school. he just gets distructed very easily,he is a class behind.His teacher tells me that he does not focus in class, he tends to forget very easily what's going on. what can l do. But if it comes to playing . he pays great attention. infact, he can tell you what's going to happen in the movie before it occurs. What can l do to help him?"

"My son was diagnosted with ADD the doctor gave me a prescription for ritalin medicine i herad a lot of bad thing about the side effect even some children commited suicide i decide not to give him but i don't know if i'm doing something bad for him. I am very confused"

"My daughter is distracted too. She is very bright and seen her very high marks on test. THen all of a sudden she'll bring home a low test score. Her teachers say she chatters alot in class and is easily distracted. She gets along well with children, but what can I do regarding distraction and focusing. She is in 3rd grad and is the only child. I do talk with her teacher now once a week, help."

"Our 7 year old son, in first grade, also has difficulty focusing. He is very bright and ahead of his grade level, and at our parent-teacher conference this morning, his very nice teacher stated that she felt his lack of focus was holding him back. If he has two hours to complete 3 workshops, he takes two, when in fact he completes them at the very end in 20 minutes or less. I'm not sure how to help teach him how to focus. Is it a skill he's not yet learned? Should he have by now? Is it something I can help him with in the evenings and on weekends? At this point, I am seriously considering homeschooling instead of an institution. I don't believe the class of 24 children allows the teacher to provide the individualized attention 24 children need--especially at this age. Rather than learning how to focus, he's learning how to procrastinate and delay. There's no incentive to finish early because he still has to sit in the classroom until everyone else is done. My frie! nds that homeschool indicate they saw great improvement in focusing skills when they began homeschooling because the children know that when they are finished, they get to go out and play. If anyone has any other suggestions, I would love to hear them. "

"I am a teacher who does care very much how each and every child does in my class. I sit up every night wondering what I can do to help those who don't get it, get it! Sometimes children who are not focused in class do have other issues such as ADD, or those children just need to be challenged with school work that is appropriate for that specific child. As I teacher I would appreciate parent feedback in knowing what your child is capable of at home so that the teacher and parent can work together to come up with a plan that challenges and helps your child focus. Do not assume that your child's teacher does not care. Assume that they want to help and work together to give your child the best possible education. "

"Gosh, my 6-year-old son is exactly the same as the child mentioned in the 9/11/07 post. He reads well above his level and has no problem with the math work. He just can't seem to focus ont he class work. He 'lollygags' until his time is up and then becomes upset that he hasn't enough time to finish. "

"I have a first grader, that is smart and has a great memory, she entered kindergarten at age four and due to her inability to focus or become easily distracted I was approached by her Kindergarten teacher to test her for ADD. Well I obviously declined and advised that she had not had any other schooling and was with her grandmother in daycare and needed time to adjust at four years old. The fact that she was only four at the time, I felt she needed time to become accilmated to her new environment. Well now she is 5 and in the 1st grade, she can read and write and spell. She has a good memory and she does get distracted sometimes, I feel it's normal because kids are kids. I just got a new report this year that she is easily distracted in large groups. She attends the same school and I am wondering if this is the work of the school using the same reported information from the Kindergarten teacher. I agreed to have the teacher send reports to me on her developement and that if! the behaviour continues we'd try to place her in a chair out of the way of the other children. As I read on the internet I am finding this is some part of the method to single out children with ADD and to give them a special way of attention to prevent distraction. I was also asked to speak to my daughter and ask if something or someone is bothering her, and to provide feedback to the teacher. Again she is very bright and well behaved, she is a child who loves to play and chit chat, and like most kids rather be at play. But it seems the guidelines the teachers are following today is suggestive that if any child falls in the category of one or more of the items on the list for children suspected with ADD, they are very quick to start the referral process. I want what is best for my child, but I am not the type of parent to give up on my child and allow a system to box her in and have it be a part of her medical file for the rest of her life;that she once tested for ADD or ! that it is a question! I believe in patience and time, I belie! ve that if the class room environment was structued so that kids could develope in the time needed and not rush to meet some quota this ADD issue would not be an issue. The class rooms are too large and the teachers have dead-lines and can't give the kids the attention they need so it is easy to place a group of kids in a box and medicate them all so everyone can have a pleasant day.....Your comments are welcomed. "

"my daughter is in 2nd grade. She has a very hard time concentrating, by all means she is a very well behaved child and intelligent, but yet she struggles with being able to learn spelling words and to retain information. I am not sure what to do we study together and I have tried many different means to help her but it don't seem to be helping. Could she have ADD? Her grandmother and father both have it."

"My 2nd year old is the same way except she's very smart, she has no learning disabilities at all, I think our kids might need to be challenged, before she started 2nd grade, during the summer they tested her gpa, she was a little ahead on what she was learning. I don't know either what to do because we punish her for misbehavior and she understands and knows but even so, she will still misbehave. Does anyone have advice?"

"my son just started 3rd grade. Last year I noticed his lack of motivation when it came to school. He is easily distracted in class, is forgetful with his assignments and isn't focused at all. His teacher tells me he gets up and walks around when she is teaching and one time he approached her at the chalk board and asked when extra recess was. I tell his father he may have ADD, because it is clear he is bored in class and he can't focus. Homework at night is a struggle, a very slow process. Can you give me some advice please? "

"my child has a 4.0 gpa, only when it comes to test or quick thinking she struggles in these areas. she studies for test days in advance and hours before the test,but doesnt always score high. homework, she spend the whole afternoon, until right before dinner to complete "

"I am sort of amazed, and perplexed, we are in the 21st century and teachers have no more knowledge on how to teach than they had 44 years ago when i was in grade school. My child has the same issues. The easy way out is to have them tested for 'learning issues' instead of the fact that most teachers are not 'educators' I am a teacher and I didn't have to go to college to have that ability. I can teach my child and get him the education that he needs and with success...being an educator in my opinion goes beyond working with the children thAT GET IT...you are an educator when you can reach the children that does'nt. There is no methodolgy with teaching, however there is with educating a child. I cannot beleive that teachers are that obtuse that they cannot see that they are lacking in both desire and qualification to go beyond what is easy. Don't evaluate the child, have the teachers, administrators and the principals evaluated and lets get them repalced. And we wonder why ou! r society is degrading so rapidly. Thank you."