Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Distraction

We've noticed this as an issue for DD for a while (she's 7yo in 2nd grade), but she just got in her report card a note about how she "distracts herself" and then "thinks she needs to rush" to complete her work. I've definitely seen DD space out and stare at her pencil and around the room instead of focusing and getting her work done. We thought maybe it was an issue with others talking but it doesn't seem to be.

DH thinks it's because her thoughts are more interesting than the work. I wonder if it is the work being too easy. She's a good student but you can tell when a passionate interest drives her vs plodding along. She did sit down with her report and study it carefully for twenty minutes and point out the typo and a discrepancy (I explained if they just started a topic this week it would still be NA on her report.)

I kind of want to press the school to assess her. Seems like distraction could be an adhd flag, and I really just want them to do an assessment so we can see all her strengths and weaknesses, and we canNOT afford the 1k+ cost of testing. Would it be wacky to press for it? Our next step (in general, not just about this but for general concern about progress and challenge this year) is to meet with the teacher (she must not be too concerned because we weren't called in for the conferences this term) but I've been waiting really for a chance to try to get the school to assess, and wondered if this might be it...

I don't know about the school or how to handle them in your situation bUT thought I'd chime in because I had the exact same problem in school and now in my everyday life and have since grade school. Is she a perfectionist or procrastinator in other areas at all?

She might be bored, I certainly was, but the thing about that kind of behavior, is that it's addictive. You procrastinate in whatever way, and then hurry to do things last minute, creating a sense of anxiety. Then you (hopefully) finish the put off task, relieving the anxiety. The feeling of relief is more rewarding than a rewarding feeling would be without the anxiety, so you proceed that way the next time. Over time you find yourself unable to feel motivated in any other context.

If she's not being appropriately challenged, changing the difficulty could help, but I think there's a skill set you learn that helps with that If you wait till older to learn those skills it gets much harder. So if I start seeing signs of a similar problem with my ds anytime soon, I know that I would have to do something or get help for him sooner rather than later. Maybe the school could help. Or if it's framed as a psycholocal issue as opposed to an educational one, maybe health insurance would pay for a therapist to work through it?

DD has ADHD and one of the things she struggles with most is distraction, esp when she is doing something that requires a lot of concentration. I believe she "overprocesses environmental stimuli" and takes too much in. The kid coughing, the kid tapping the pencil, the kid coming back from the bathroom. I gave her a timed math test at home (just 2 minutes)...the phone rang and she stopped and spaced out. Most people would know they are being timed and keep going. She can even be distracted by a refrigerator turning on, or clouds passing over the sun creating a shadow (even if she is inside and 20 feet away from a window!). The more chaotic the envirnonment, the worse she does. I was reading an ADHD book wehre it describes these people as "scanning". Basically, they notice too much, things that other people tune out. It may have worked well 1000 years ago when they were hunting deer or rabbits, or the village was on the verge of being attacked, but now, not so much.

It could also be a case of boredom, or being distracted by her own thoughts rather than what's around her. Have you asked her? Next time she spaces out, ask her what happened. DD will tell me that her brother made a noise downstairs, or she found the pattern on the cup on the table interesting.

Yes, she shares that she's sometimes reading things around the room and sometimes just spacing out. She'll be working, and then look up, which I suppose everyone does, but then never gets back to work. Thank you for sharing, it's all helpful.

Have you checked with your medical insurance about coverage for ADHD evaluation? Two days of testing and a feedback appointment with an in-network provider for DS5 cost me three copays last month--$45. The tricky part was finding someone who was in-network, had experience with very gifted kids, and didn't have a long wait.

Some counties and states have funding for testing where a disability is suspected. Sometimes this is called "bureau of exceptional children" or "bureau of children with medical handicaps," sometimes "board of developmental disabilities" or other titles like that. You may have to google around a bit because these names differ in different regions.

The office of a good tester should be able to tell you what funding sources are available. If you use a hospital that routinely sees Medicaid patients, they will take more kinds of insurance (including state/county funding) than a private practice physician will. And they will be more likely to be able to tell you what's available in this regard.

Thank you. We just had a big impromptu talk with the teacher because apparently DD's behavior is a problem. Anxiety and emotional OE leading to outbursts and rudeness, basically, although the teacher didn't use the term OE and didn't bring up DD's giftedness as a potential factor. One more reason getting a full work up could be illuninating. So, yeah. I got the chance to ask for the school to help, and the teacher is going to look into resources for us. But yes she mentioned looking through insurance too. I think we're reaching the point where we NEED the information. DH wants to handle things with a concrete parenting plan before paying for a therapist but he would agree DD has not been challenged this year. So maybe she's got some major anxiety and OE or maybe she's just a rude kid. Maybe her placement is grossly inappropriate and we need to change things. I'm feeling so overwhelmed by hearing about it all. Probably because I relate, or the long ago schoolgirl in me relates, all too well.

DD seems to be taking it to heart, but does this fake gooey polite thing when pressed. She also says she just has so many stories she wants to explore (play). Her mind has been keeping her up nearly two hours later than normal this week. And all I can think is she hasn't had a good academic challenge since spring break last week, plus she's been reading kinda easy princess books. A morning of homeschool (we part time) with MCT and Beast Academy and a book that helps her get sleepy could turn things around. A bit. But the outbursts are a long habit...

Forgive my rambling. It's been a rough afternoon!