Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Executive function....when to be concerned

My DS8 is in a public school that serves the top >1% of the gifted students(beginning at 3rd grade) in our area. The selection process to be invited to this school is very rigid. I am very glad he is where he is. The staff is highly trained and I saw an immediate change in the classroom vibe and the quality of coursework. The school makes a concerted effort to "educate" the parents in the various aspects of the social/emotional aspect of their profoundly gifted students.

That being said, I have started to become concerned about a set of behaviors exhibited by my DS. He is sloppy. for lack of a better term. He does not fill out his daily agenda with his homework assignments, he sometimes zones out in class and misses important information. He doesn't appear to think ahead ie- study for tests when they are a few days out. He can be forgetful. His writing is awful. He does not appear to have a fine motor skill issue as he is a proficient pianist and guitar player, as well as a Lego fiend.

I find myself having to step back and realize that he is only 8. He could simply be acting age appropriate but this lack of attention and attention to detail is so out of synch with his cognitive ability. After searching a bit, it seems that he is exhibiting quite a few symptoms that are right in line with insufficient executive function.

I was a bit concerned that, according to the literature I found on line, gifted students who display these symptoms can be suffering from ADD/ADHD.

Does anyone have some insight into executive function and how a deficit in it can affect a student and, more importantly, how I can help him?

See if your library has the book "Smart but Scattered" by Dawson and Guare. "The Revolutionary executive skills approach to helping kids reach their potential."

There is also "A Love For Learning" Motivation and the Gifted Child by Whitney.

I have both books but haven't gotten that far into them.

Late, Lost and Unprepared also deals with this subject. The authors approach it generally from the ADD/ADHD perspective, but they do acknowledge its presence among gifted kids with or without ADD/ADHD.

My son is gifted and showed ADD/ADHD behavior but the school psychologist said it was because he was not being challenged enough. I don't know what your situations is but thought this might be comforting. My son just has a little extra energy sometimes and when he is stressed he does not act like his best self. Hope this help some how. good luck

Az 1- Don't let the legos fool you. My son with hypotonia and gross and fine motor delays was able to manipulate them without trouble. Legos are not physically demanding toys. Watch how he holds a pencil and observe if he appears tired after copying a page vs. writing a page. Does he have an odd grip? Can he write neatly when copying, but not when composing an essay? This might indicate an attention problem rather than a physical one.

I agree with Eema- ADD will show itself at home as well as in school.

I'd suggest that you take your concerns and observations to your pediatrician and see if a referral is warranted. ADD and motor issues need completely different specialists, of course, so be as specific as possible when documenting problems.

I'm hoping that you'll monitor for a few days and decide that your son doesn't really have a significant issue. If you do identify possible problems, keep looking until you find an answer that makes sense to you.

good luck!

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I did reserve a copy of Late, Lost, and Unprepared at Barnes and Noble.

Interestingly enough, today was conferences at DS's school. They were student lead and included a self-evaluation and education plan written by the student. Part of it had the student rate him/herself on a list of 10 executive function skills. DS gave himself all "2"s (1 being lowest and 5 being the highest). It was very eye-opening for me to see just how DS thinks of himself.

I talked to his teacher about my concern. She told me to "look around the classroom". She said that in her experience, especially in 3rd grade, that most profoundly gifted students don't give executive function components much attention and the the majority of younger PG kids tend to have some executive function challenges. She said the change from the beginning of 3rd grade to the end of the school year is amazing. She said DS has superior abilities and that his processing speed was a bit slower. She said that, in her opinion, sometimes he has a challenge keeping up with his thoughts.

It was definitely food for thought.

Thank goodness for this board, again. My DD5 is PG and skipped K, but is still bored. The teacher is concerned with her handwriting, other fine motor skills, and she doesn't seem to be listening. These seem like related items, I think she just doesn't have to pay attention yet, so she doesn't. She doesn't have any fine motor delays, she's just placing importance on those things in class.

Honestly, he sound normal!

My DD would walk around the classroom (DURING CLASS) in first grade. She was bored silly. She read books and zoned out all the time. School was tremendously easy. She didn't need to study. She didn't need to pay attention. She would get straight A's in her sleep. She was terribly disorganized.

Now accelerated and age 10 in 6th, guess what? Overnight she is organized. She pays attention. She has "woken" up. She is prepared and participative. Why? Because it got challenging. Perhaps your son is still at a point where it is all still too easy and doesn't merit his attention.

My DS6 has no executive function other than the part where the "Executive"(him) tells the "flunky" (me) that something needs to be done!! ROFL!! These kids are so mucn fun!