This may sound odd, but I love it when I can still smell my kids after they've gone to bed. Like I just rubbed my nose with my sleeve and smelled Charlie's scent. I love it. And Roman has his own scent too, which I smell a lot when I go to bed (because he crawls in there in the mornings sometimes to cuddle). I do love those kids a whole lot.
We received Roman's official report which didn't conclude much, but had a lot of hints & suggestions. He was observed 2 separate times, the first on a percentage scale of on/off task behavior. I think I mentioned before, he was 30% on task with teacher redirection, 70% off. Of that 70% off task, 30% of it was verbal (blurting, asking questions at wrong times, talking to friends), 22% was "passive" (rubbing the carpet, playing with items on the shelves, staring at kids/space), and then lesser percentages for physically moving around, etc.
The suggestions the consultant gave which they are going to put in place is a wiggle cushion that Roman has to sit on during group time (gives him something to do with his body), visual pictures of proper behavior at center time (sit in seat, do your best, clean up afterward - Roman can't remain in his seat), and coloring reward for when Roman achieves these basic goals. Teacher & I also agreed that Roman rushes through things and does not do his best because he doesn't like some tasks (practicing letters, for example) or can't sit still long enough to concentrate on them.
We're going to give this plan a month and talk again at conferences in mid-November to see how things are going. I have requested a Conners test be done through the school and evaluated by the school psych., and the teacher is getting that going. We are also on a waiting list at a local psych. office for Roman to be tested by an outside source. Apparently the principal floated the idea of a Young 5s switch but I told the teacher that was a last resort for me - I can't imagine pulling him out of kindergarten for his inattentive behavior, especially since I think it stems from a "can't" situation rather than "won't" and I don't think it's immaturity. I don't think gaining an extra year and putting him in kindergarten again next year will solve the problems he's having in school, essentially.
My cousin reminded me that we will have good days, bad days, days of frustration, but if it is ADD or ADHD it's a whole lot better than some other issues he could be dealing with, and that's so true. We have found here at home that while we love "Love & Logic" for discipline measures (and oh, how it works in the classroom!), for correcting behavior our own version of "123 Magic" is much better for Roman - and apparently lots of ADD kids, too. It gives him time to process that he's doing something wrong and correct it, something that has driven us crazy for years... he can't seem to follow directions on the first request. I think his brain is so crazy that he simply can't process very quickly.
Doug asked Ro the other day "What was going on in your head when I asked you to put your shoes on for the second time?" Roman's answer was very sincerely, "Blah blah blah blah." Other times he has made the comment that his "brain is crazy" or when he slows down to think, he hears lots of talking. I don't think he's schizophrenic or anything, I just think his brain is going a mile a minute and rather than making purposeful connections between brain/body/voice, it's completely separated.
Anyway. So that's what's on my mind this evening.
We received Roman's official report which didn't conclude much, but had a lot of hints & suggestions. He was observed 2 separate times, the first on a percentage scale of on/off task behavior. I think I mentioned before, he was 30% on task with teacher redirection, 70% off. Of that 70% off task, 30% of it was verbal (blurting, asking questions at wrong times, talking to friends), 22% was "passive" (rubbing the carpet, playing with items on the shelves, staring at kids/space), and then lesser percentages for physically moving around, etc.
The suggestions the consultant gave which they are going to put in place is a wiggle cushion that Roman has to sit on during group time (gives him something to do with his body), visual pictures of proper behavior at center time (sit in seat, do your best, clean up afterward - Roman can't remain in his seat), and coloring reward for when Roman achieves these basic goals. Teacher & I also agreed that Roman rushes through things and does not do his best because he doesn't like some tasks (practicing letters, for example) or can't sit still long enough to concentrate on them.
We're going to give this plan a month and talk again at conferences in mid-November to see how things are going. I have requested a Conners test be done through the school and evaluated by the school psych., and the teacher is getting that going. We are also on a waiting list at a local psych. office for Roman to be tested by an outside source. Apparently the principal floated the idea of a Young 5s switch but I told the teacher that was a last resort for me - I can't imagine pulling him out of kindergarten for his inattentive behavior, especially since I think it stems from a "can't" situation rather than "won't" and I don't think it's immaturity. I don't think gaining an extra year and putting him in kindergarten again next year will solve the problems he's having in school, essentially.
My cousin reminded me that we will have good days, bad days, days of frustration, but if it is ADD or ADHD it's a whole lot better than some other issues he could be dealing with, and that's so true. We have found here at home that while we love "Love & Logic" for discipline measures (and oh, how it works in the classroom!), for correcting behavior our own version of "123 Magic" is much better for Roman - and apparently lots of ADD kids, too. It gives him time to process that he's doing something wrong and correct it, something that has driven us crazy for years... he can't seem to follow directions on the first request. I think his brain is so crazy that he simply can't process very quickly.
Doug asked Ro the other day "What was going on in your head when I asked you to put your shoes on for the second time?" Roman's answer was very sincerely, "Blah blah blah blah." Other times he has made the comment that his "brain is crazy" or when he slows down to think, he hears lots of talking. I don't think he's schizophrenic or anything, I just think his brain is going a mile a minute and rather than making purposeful connections between brain/body/voice, it's completely separated.
Anyway. So that's what's on my mind this evening.
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