how to increase attention/focus/sitting still at school?

[Guest guest]

Help. Anyone have ideas on helping increase a child's (my son is almost 5yo)

attention/focus/sitting still in class?

I appreciate any feedback you can give.

Thanks,

[Guest guest]

Hi. You say your son is just about 5? I think it is unreasonable to expect him

to be able to sit still and focus for very long. Please don't consider meds for

him!!!! I have 4 boys...that's very normal.

Sent from my iPhone

[Guest guest]

Attention and focus issues may be due to sensory integration difficulties. He may be getting distracted by a variety of things in the classroom. We discovered our son has sensory integration/processing disorder. He is also 5yrs old.

We noticed a huge improvement with sitting and staying on the rug in circle time and in his chairs at school after we started him on an 'exercise' ball at home. He used to wiggle all over in his chair, tip this way and that, fall out of it, tip the chair, etc. We had an exercise ball, the large rubber blow up type used in gyms, etc. We started by helping him balance on it until he became familiar with it. I think the size recommended for kids has a 16" diameter. We keep the ball available for him all day at home and he is on it several times throughout the day. He sits on it, rolls on his stomach on it, and now he sits then rolls all the way down on his back and kicks off th wall and rolls back into a sitting position.

It helps strengthen his core (torso) strength which can cause a person to hunch when sitting, and tire quickly from sitting in one position. Also the movement on the ball works the sensory areas for vestibular (movement) and proprioceptive (deep muscle input) because of the hard work of the muscles to stay balanced.

It has made a HUGE difference with our son at school!

That was my chime in on our experiences.

It is true, boys have a higher activity level. Our preschool teacher has told me several times when I had expressed concern about his sitting still and running type activities, and she said "It is not like he is the only one, he is a boy" when I watched I noticed many of the other NeuroTypical boys having a higher activity level also and doing some of the same things, just not to the extend our son was.

Have a great day!

P.

From: Graham <lgraham@...>Subject: ( ) Re: how to increase attention/focus/sitting still at school?" " < >Date: Tuesday, February 1, 2011, 6:19 AM

Hi. You say your son is just about 5? I think it is unreasonable to expect him to be able to sit still and focus for very long. Please don't consider meds for him!!!! I have 4 boys...that's very normal. Sent from my iPhone

[Guest guest]

Yes, I think it's a big problem that almost all the personnel at preschools and

elementary schools are female. It creates a very female learning environment and

as a result, many boys are struggling in school. If they had a more equal

male-female ratio they would probably do a lot more physical activity and

hands-on stuff, less coloring and crafts, and the boys would do so much better.

>

>

> From: Graham <lgraham@...>

> Subject: ( ) Re: how to increase attention/focus/sitting still

at school?

> " " < >

> Date: Tuesday, February 1, 2011, 6:19 AM

>

>

>  

>

>

>

> Hi. You say your son is just about 5? I think it is unreasonable to expect him

to be able to sit still and focus for very long. Please don't consider meds for

him!!!! I have 4 boys...that's very normal.

>

> Sent from my iPhone

>

[Guest guest]

Couldn't agree with you more. Just got my nt 5 year old kindergarten report

card. Apparently he needs to buckle down and focus more and not be so social.

Not to disrespect his teacher but really??? He doesn't use time wisely. Honestly

if it was not for his speech IEP I would have delayed him a year. Ugh. And this

isn't my asperger kid!!

Sent from my iPhone

[Guest guest]

My son uses this product from Amazon.com: Isokinetics Inc. Brand Exercise Disc

/ Balance Cushion - 14 " Diameter - 10 Colors. $13.00 each. He uses it to sit

on during circle time & can place on his chair if he needs it while seated. He

has another one he uses at home on his homework/dining chair.

We've never tried it, but it was also recommended that we tie a resistance band

(like Theraband) around the front legs of his chair & create a little platform

for his legs. The idea is that he will be seated in his chair, but his

feet/legs will be able to move up and down like they are on a mini-trampoline.

Good luck!

--

>

> Help. Anyone have ideas on helping increase a child's (my son is almost 5yo)

attention/focus/sitting still in class?

>

> I appreciate any feedback you can give.

>

> Thanks,

>

>