Samuel, Vol. 2

So I met with Samuel's teacher on Friday morning. She showed me samples of his work. When he focuses, he does great work and gets it done in a timely manner. This doesn't happen often, though. She said he focuses more on peeling crayons or staring out the window or picking at the carpet or chewing on pencils or blowing in the ear of the kid next to him. She stopped just short of saying she thinks he has ADD. I actually think the law might forbid that.

The teacher talked about several ideas she has to help him focus. During Job Time, she has him sit at a desk very near her so she can remind him to keep working. She has an incentive chart and reward system going. She tried a timer for him and that worked -- for a day. She is working with the occupational therapist to develop more ideas that might help in the classroom.

She said lots of positive things about Samuel. He is cheerful and friendly. He doesn't disrupt class (other than blowing in the occasional ear). He is polite and follows the rules. He stays in his assigned place, whether it's a chair or the floor during circle time. He's very bright; that's obvious in the work that he does complete.

We talked about sensory issues, since he fixates on touching things or staring at things. I'm beginning to think Samuel might have the opposite of sensory integration disorder.* He is constantly touching things. A car in the parking lot. A brick on the house. He finds things that are special to him -- rocks, bottle caps, beads, paper clips, can tabs -- and he saves them in his pockets. Occasionally, these things find their way into his mouth. No amount of time outs or threats or scare tactics work to discourage this behavior. (Putting things in his mouth, that is. Collecting things doesn't bother me; putting them in his mouth is just plain dangerous and gross.) The occupational therapist noted this in her assessment. I don't know what the plan is for that, yet.

Samuel is so creative and imaginative. He comes up with great stories, tells me about his dreams in elaborate detail, invents his own games. He is determined. He recently spent 45 minutes tracing all the letters of the alphabet nearly perfectly because "I want to learn how, Mom!" I could tell he was tired, but he kept going. He observes things that I don't think I noticed until I was older than he is now. He's a wonderful kid.

I just don't know what to think. I understand the teacher's need to have him focus on work and get things completed. But I hate the push to complete so much Stuff in kindergarten. He's obviously a smart kid and he's learning more all the time. I know this because I do his homework with him and I can see how much he has absorbed in these first 6 weeks of school. I understand that he might have some greater problem that needs addressing and I'm all for that. I just hope we're not putting unnecessary pressure on him.

*SID is a condition in which one can't tolerate the feel of certain things, whether it's soft food or crunchy food or scratchy tags in clothes or clothes that are too tight or too loose. Absolutely cannot tolerate it.