I see a lot of third graders. That’s because third grade is usually the time when children start having to do homework. Most kids adjust to the new responsibility, but those with issues relating to executive function (the ability to organize, schedule, and plan) often find themselves falling behind. Usually there’s trouble with parents and teachers because of lost assignments,
Until he hit fifth grade Matt was the kind of child I rarely see professionally. Outgoing, athletic, good-natured, and active, he was also extremely bright. He was the child his teacher chose to read stories to the first graders or to peer-tutor a classmate in math. He tackled difficult spelling words with ease and did his homework in a matter
I first saw Janice Jeffries when she was twelve. A thin, shy, serious girl with long dark hair, she sat in my waiting room intently reading The Odyssey. She was a gifted child, precociously articulate, but she had some problems that made the social aspects of school a torment. She suffered from anxiety. Among her many fears—of being alone, of
Some children find their passion in the course of the school year: they begin to learn to paint in art class or become fascinated with physics or discover they have an aptitude as distance runners or soccer players in gym. But for many children the school day fails to arouse their deepest enthusiasm, and with it, their greatest gifts and
In the past ten years the number of children regarded as having ADHD has risen by 53% to more than 6.4 million. In the past five years, sales of stimulant medications have risen from 4 billion to 9 billion annually. A lot of things affect how well a child with ADHD fares in society. One big factor is the set
I remember my school observation of Tory Browning with particular clarity. She was a sturdy, dark-haired second grader, and although she was the tallest child in the class, did not seem the most mature. There was something lost about her expression, as if she was younger than the other children and struggling to keep up. At first I wondered why
Madeline, who’s eight now, is small for her age, a charming little girl with long brown hair and a shy nature. She’ s bright, precocious verbally, and very self-aware. The first time her parents brought her to my office she was only three, but she was able to describe the things that worried and frightened her. She became anxious “when
“I feel completely helpless,” said the mom who called me. “My son Michael is absolutely miserable, and I don’t know how to help him. There are a bunch of kids at school who are so cruel. They really know how to get him worked up.” I arranged to do both a parent interview and a classroom observation, to see what
Click Here for Printable pdf In some ways, learning to be mindful, to focus attention and to relieve stress, is so simple a child can do it. I was reminded of this last month in the course of doing an observation at a kindergarten. I’d watched the children begin the day in their home classroom, then followed the class as
Click Here for Printable pdf Version Recently I got a call from a school principal I’ll call Laura who was concerned because of what she called “an epidemic” of ADHD in a first grade classroom. “There are three little girls we’re all having a hard time working with,” she explained. “They’re sweet, they’re affectionate, they want to please their teacher,