Thanks everyone-- in fairness, I think the school and teachers want to be effective and help my son. They are frustrated with his behavior sometimes, and I do understand why.
DS definitely needs a different strategy to deal with transitions- not only to transition out of something that he enjoys doing, but to transition into a new task (I never gave much thought to the second issue, until his therapist brought it up in light of the quotient test results). I'm concerned because the upper grade classrooms seems to leave little time (as little as 20 minutes for math work) for this kind of EF weakness--if DS doesn't immediately involve himself in the work at hand, he will lag and feel even more frustrated.
I think we're going to talk about how to deal with transitions based on something similar to aeh's feedback.
Because DS can finish his mathwork very quickly when focused, I may ask that unfinished work come home. I think in terms of quantity, he may have more work, but I think comparitively it may take him less time to complete. So, if 30 minutes is the max homework time at this age, then he could use it finish what he didn't get done in class (right now, most nights, he is through homework in about 10-15 minutes). The purpose is to move him forward so he not forever stuck working below is his capabilities because of focus issues. It's something to try-- but may backfire if DS can't maintain focus for a longer period of time.
Lastly, I think DS learns in large chunks, and may be very far beyond where he was at the end of a school year and start of another school year. I don't think the school can do much about this learning style. DS learns subjects like math almost intuitively. Once he had a few basics, he has learned how to do some intermediate algebra equations on his own. I don't think a regular school, even a rigorous one can accommodate a kid who, at present, needs and tolerates very little instruction.
Complaining aside, I will be forever grateful for what this school has accomplished with DS in language arts. It's not all bad.
