Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments VS kid too distracted in class

DD5 has just started school, loves it - they love her, long may it last!

She has been saying that she is too distracted to learn because of classroom noise and too many beautiful colours. She is extremely visual spacial, the teacher knows this but I'm pretty sure she can't do too much to accommodate. The kids don't have assigned seating and can't dull down the room.

Any ideas on how to help? The teacher seems receptive and we will get an IEP in September but even then I'm not sure how they can accommodate this. At this stage we don't believe she has a 2nd e, just a learning pref. I'm mostly concerned because our schools are moving toward the "modern learning" style which advocates for super classrooms of up to 60 kids (poss more) with roaming teachers. Kids get to learn in a way that suits them and most parents I know love the idea but I know it will be a nightmare situation for DD who wants silence to learn.

I know some of this is learning to get along but at the same time I want to give her some coping skills as I can't see the world changing for her on this one!

I'm not sure what to do about the visual distractions, but for the classroom noise/etc I'd give earplugs a try. Regular earplugs should work and still allow your dd to hear the teacher - if they don't do the trick, you could try a pair of noise cancellation headphones. My 2e ds has a pair of these which he wears while doing homework when the background noise is bothering him.

The open classroom / lack of structure just didn't work for my kids. To be honest, when we were in early elementary in a school with a very laid-back type of structure similar to what you are describing (but with 1/3 the # of students in the room)... I'm not sure it was really working for *any* of the kids.

Why do you have to wait until September for the IEP? Is the school year almost over? Has your dd been through an IEP eligibility eval and testing?

polarbear

Cardboard study carrel ....kind of isolating but might be helpful.

http://www.classroomproducts.com/3Side13studycarrels.html

Our school (in NZ) is working towards the modern learning environment too. I still can't work out how it is different to the open plan classrooms of the 70's which were disestablished because they didn't work. I can see a small number of children thriving in them but I also predict an upswing in ADHD, anxiety and sensory overload meltdowns. I will be watching closely.

she needs to do 6 weeks "school policy" for them to see how her ed psych report matches to their observations then they'll do an Iep based on that, so factor in holidays and paper shuffling we are looking at sept.

You know, if it looks like a duck...

I got to give it to the public school system in NZ for at least not giving up on progressive education.

Mahagogo5, are you sure it's going to be 60 students all in one classroom all the time? I can't imagine that working for the majority of elementary school students. Maybe that's just one of many settings?

i missed who the OP was. She is in NZ too. The so called modern learning environment basically consists of removing the wall between 2 classes and smushing them together although there is usually a movable wall that can be used. Class sizes are about 24 to 30 so 48 to 60 kids and two teachers. Full inclusion (one difference from the 70's) so those 60 kids could include low functioning autistic kids, developmentally delayed kids and kids with uncontrolled ADHD. Group work is mandatory and moving around necessary because keeping the kids at their desk is considered old fashioned. I am going to get some sort of noise reduction device for ds 8 when he moves into the school hall with 59 other kids while the build the new 60 kid classroom.

The really sad thing is it was only the year before last that I saw a piece on TV about the last open plan classroom being divided up.

Noise cancelling headphones with FM receiving from the teacher alone who is microphoned (she would turn it on to get his attention and then turn it off after he took the headphones off).

That would be great but it is very hard to get in NZ even if you have a serious auditory processing issue. Also there is a lot of group work. My kids are told they have to ask at least two classmates before asking the teacher if they didn't hear/don't understand. I am expecting to have to fight for the slight noise dulling ear plugs as he has been told he will just have to get used to it. Luckily it wasn't his main teacher who told him that.

Sorry not trying to take over the OP's thread just give extra info on the NZ system which is rigged against kids like Mahagogo's daughter.

I did homeschool one of my children for several years because he needed a quiet environment. I would never have been able to reintroduce him to school ever!

My other son can get into a zone and tune everyone out...not hear a thing.