Polarbear, thanks.
it's just been my experience, *where I live* that ADHD is often the first thought that comes to mind when a child is struggling. It's also been my experience that regular psychs don't step back and recommend a neuropsych eval when they don't have all the answers.
I agree with this. Which is why I waffle on getting a diagnosis. I plan to bring up all these questions to the psychologist and hope he/she answers them.
My ds had these same difficulties in early elementary school, and it looked like ADHD to his teachers, but it was due to Developmental Coordination Disorder. Not something that was obvious at all, and quite likely not something that is an issue for your ds. But - fwiw, I wouldn't automatically attribute those behaviors to ADHD, and that's why I so strongly believe the neuropsych eval is important. I also think that we often hear teachers attributing behaviors like this to ADHD because ADHD is more common than things like DCD and therefore they are familiar with ADHD - so it's the thought that comes to mind first.
I actually keep thinking about this. He is not exactly un-coordinated, but it takes a lot of effort for him to hop (one foot is better than the other). Or zip his jackets (he finally got it on his own, but later than I would have liked to see). He also seems to have difficulty doing the steps -- like he is about (50% of the time) lagging behind a physical movement class by a minute. So, I wonder about this a lot.
