I see that you are getting varied advice here. I think that's because there could be many different things happening, and each person has great ideas about some of them.
You have posted previously about his behavior problems, which started when he went to preschool. I would be very curious to know if the behavior problems go away or radically improve over vacations and in the summer.
You said 90% of his poor behavior happens in school. If he is a significantly calmer and happier child when not at school, I would wonder what in the school environment is causing such distress. It could be so many things:
- It could be that school is overwhelming/overstimulating for some reason. Sensory processing issues, CAPD, being gifted and noticing everything but not being able to process it are just a few of the ways this could happen (not saying your ds has any of these, just listing some examples of possible ways a kid could truly be that overwhelmed).
- School could also just be so boring that he is also understimulated mentally. If a kid truly thirsts for more, and already knows several years about grade level, sitting in K all day could really be torturous.
If this is primarily a problem at school, I would second Madoosa: if at all possible, take him home, keep him active and eating well, listen, forget about school, and help get back your kid.
If these problems persist across place and time, I would look closely at what happens and when. Others have good ideas about ways to cope and approach this.
Two books I love about figuring out how problems manifest in gifted kids (and how giftedness can manifest as one of those problems) are:
Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults by Webb
The Mislabeled Child by the Eides
Last edited by laurel; 05/09/13 03:18 AM. Reason: Added book suggestions
