Inattentive ADHD Child, Bored at School ??

ADD Inattentive, bored, gifted?  This is a question that I get often.  It is not always clear if the child is not paying attention because the material is far below their level or if their is an ADD inattention problem that is severe enough to classify the child as having ADHD Inattentive type.

I recently got a phone call from a friend. Her daughter was having a horrible time at school. She is a first grader who is reading at a third grade reading level but her teachers complained that she was always staring out into space and not paying attention. My friend said, "they were reading, 'the hen is red', she was so bored". My friend was looking for a new school for her daughter and was asking me about the school that my kids go to.

My friend has primarily inattentive ADHD and she fully understands that he daughter probably does too. I told her that these kids will have problems in any classroom and that I did not think that the problem was that they were 'bored'.

I was never bored in school. I was just not at all engaged in what everyone else was engaged in. I did not find what my classmates and teachers were discussing relevant to my life but I was not bored. I was always thinking about something else. My friend admitted that this was probably what her daughter was doing as well.

So what kind of school works for a kid like that?? I think that a school with teachers who understand ADHD/PI is the key. This type of child will really rebel at the 'blah, blah, blah' of a traditional classroom. If they are smart enough, they will squeak by academically but they will not engage. A teacher that finds a way to engage these type of kids is the key to academic success.

I am lucky in that my kids are at a school with teachers who have taught for over 30 years and have seen many primarily inattentive kids. They are no less frustrated with them but the do know how to engage them. Sometimes they recommend a trial of the stimulants and sometimes the stimulants work. If the medicines do not work, they continue to try all the other strategies that may help.

I wish all kids with primarily inattentive ADHD had access to a school like this!