Help!! ! plz!! ! How would you explain this?

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Hi, and thank you for taking the time to read my question and an even bigger thank you if you can respond.
My son J is in grade 4 he is 10, about to turn 11 next month (he repeated a grade at his previous school).I was meant to have a meeting with my sons school yesterday, It should have been an ssg/psg but the meeting couldn't proceed because the vp and the autism resource worker couldn't be there (last minute). We've rescheduled for a time when everyone will be present.
The thing I need help with is; Apparently J's reading is fantastic and his vocab is advanced, however, J's teachers don't think he is achieving his full potential. If J is interested in the class subject matter, he will go off and do all that needs doing with minimal assistance, if he is not interested he struggles to do any work at all. Maths is a good example J has always struggled with maths, he is currently in the lowest maths group and requires lots of prompting and help to get anything done. From what I gather if the teacher sends him off to do what has been explained it wont happen, however she believes he knows more than they are getting out of him because if she asks him to give her a verbal answer he will. I know you guys have answered all these questions before, and I know in my mind why this is happening but I don't know how to explain it or how to fix it. I need help. J probably isnt ready for grade 5 next year (here in australia thats only a few months away) I can't repeat him again because he would be finishing grade 6 at age 14. The transition to grade 5 was also something that was and is to be discussed. J is very firmly attached to his current teachers. This was his first year at this school and the level of support he has had here is amazing. Sorry this post is all over the place. I need help with; getting him to do work (if thats possible) that he isn't interested in, transitions and explaining about J's lack of organization skills.
J has an AS,GAD,ADHD,OCD and mild tourettes dx. Thanks in advance.

That sounds familiar, I was also very well read and was able to work on my own, but when it
came to math it was like an alien language, I would get bad math anxiety. I am also dyslexic
and most defiantly have dyscalculia along with auditory processing disorder

It's possible that, even though he is able to do the math, he simply finds the homework problems uninteresting.

I have found that once I understand a mathematical concept, I quickly lose interest in doing 20 problems that are all the same, except for the numbers (which is what math homework usually looks like.) I also struggled to get decent math grades in elementary school, because I hated doing repetitive homework - although I tested extremely well.

When I was in 7th grade, I was put into an accelerated math class for two glorious weeks. We learned several new concepts every day - I was totally engaged & even did extra work for the class. Then, the school administration realized that with the school boundaries changing the next year, there would only be two of us at the new school who would qualify for accelerated math - so they pulled me out of that class & put me into a normal math class. I completely stopped doing the homework - the guy behind me let me copy his homework, in exchange for me explaining the concepts to him.

It took another two years for math class to become interesting again.

There are a number of books that focus on problem solving at various levels in math. They explain the concepts of how to figure things out through story problems, rather than lists of similar equations. Google elementary mathematics problem solving - and you will find lots of information.

do i understand this: J is great at languages and can answer questions from troublesome subjects if asked?
can they have him take a verbal exam for preblematic subjects?

Hi Aurea, interesting you ask this question: how to get the child to do work when they are not interested. I've been struggling with this exact issue with my 14 yr old for as long as I can remember and, unfortunately, I haven't found the magic answer. The only thing that works for us is the "brute force" method where I sit down with him and say "you have to do your school work, you have no choice, and if you don't do it there will be consequences." I also use rewards for good behavior, and he mostly gets the work done without stress so long as I am present. In other words he's really well behaved at home. The upshot is, I also get to be the tutor. So here's a typicaly day: He doesn't do the work in school. I go to school, plead with the teachers to let him make it up at home, bring the work home, and make him do it. Literally, at this very moment, he is sitting across from me working on a science test while I am typing. He is on number 11. Good luck! Let me know if you find any good suggestions. Hang in there

Certain assingments overwhelm my son. While my son is extremely good at math, he did have issues in 4th and 5th grade because long division and other concepts they were practicing involve a lot of writing and steps. He had trouble keeping the columns in order and keeping track of all the steps. He would look at a sheet of problems and assume that it was going to take him hours, and check out from the start.

Now that he is in pre-algebra, which is more conceptual, he is at the top of his class.

I understand that your son has issues with math to start with, but when you look at all that gets layered on at this stage in math developement, I think its just prohibitive to a child with organizational, attention and anxiety issues.

I hated math till univeristy and actually I've a doc in theoretical physics. Einstein and other famous phisics had similar problem.

The main question to answer is: does he like science?

If he like science you can use what worked (for some extent) with me. Try to explain to your son that math is the key to understand science and also if it looks "ugly" at this stage it will became cool in the future but he need the basis. Is the same as when they started learning me letters, I hated it, but actually I like to read so I NEEDed to learn letters.

Thanks for all the replies guys.
J and I went to the supermarket yesterday after school. I bought 3 things, I told him what the prices were of each item and asked him how much I spent in total. He looked at me like I was stupid told me the answer and then said "No mum, harder stuff, I have problems with the hard stuff. Like what does 200 + 36923=" Huh!! !! I'm not good at maths either, but I'm pretty sure he isnt being asked to do this sort of sum at school. I was about to say to J, well that would equal 37,123. He then went on to say, "there are 100 cents in a dollar so what would that sum be?" Ummm if you look at it from that point of veiw the whole sum is changed. He then asked me, "What was einsteins theroy? M= something square."??? While I was trying to get my head around all this, he went on to explain to me, apparently he likes to know the meaning behind things (I kinda knew that, but not to this extent) He said He has only just realised when something says = at the end of it, its asking what all that came before it means.

So now what do I make of this.
J doesn't know his times tables and he has no interest in them, but apparently he would like to know einsteins therory of relativety. If I were to write a simple sum down for him to do, he would find it hard (I'm thinking now maybe he will read to much information into the one question) If I ask him the same sum out loud he can answer it before I've finished asking. I'm not sure if he could explain how he come to the answer he got but I'm pretty sure he would be right.
I am so confused.
Nightsun- J loves science

Let's sum up the problem and the avaiable data:

He

Pros:
- love science
- is able at mental math
- can answer you verbally to math question

Cons:
- have problem to do math on a "paper".


Possible meaning (exclusive or not):

He

- don't want to waste time doing homeworks or things that math is useless
you can find a way to make them more appealing, for istance I had a lot of problem with math unless I can see a real and right problem to solve. Also I was never good at math on paper, I'm pretty good at "intellectual math" like making equations and things like that but actually, why you should compute when computer exist?
Try to give him problem to solve in his interest frame, there are physic problem that you can solve using only basic math, I'll try to find some if you want. Try to let him understand that he NEED to take good points at school and that learning to do homework will enhance his brain also if they are useless by themselves.

possibility b:
- can be possible that his concentration problem are eyes problem? Are you sure that he can read and write correctly and without effort? For istance I know that some dyscalculia problems born because some people in the spectrum view things mixed up, it can be solved with particular lens.

possibility c:
- the way his teacher make him learn math could be not good for him, try to talk to him and understand a key for him, then search a private teacher.

Have you tried getting him a calculator yet?

I know, I know, it is heresy to give children the tools that they will be allowed to use freely and easily as adults. But I dont see the point in forcing your son to learn how to do long division, and multiply large numbers when we have invented a calculator to do that for us. I am a mechanical engineer, meaning my entire job is working with physics and numbers. But yet, I haven't done long division or multiplied anything more then 2 digits without a calculator since elementary. I guarantee you that your son's reliance on a calculator to do complex math is neither unusual nor a problem. Attempting to force a useless skill on him is.

do they allow calculators in the beginning when one is suppose to learn principles?

In Italy we can start using calculators at 11 years old (6th year of school), I don't know in other countries.

I REALLY started to have difficulty as soon as we got to long division. For whatever reason, I'd end up with a page of sums all wrong. I found it very difficult to do that many steps.

Hi all and thank you all so much.

Tracker you could be my sons autism respite teacher! I spoke to him yesterday about this issue and straight away he said, give him a calculator.
No one sits there doing long division etc in their adult years, they pull out a calculator. Why add to his anxiety, he already has an anxiety disorder dx. The teacher also asked me if J (my son) was allowed to use his laptop in class (he has a very very good laptop) but no he isn't allowed because then the other kids would want to bring theirs in if they have them. This teacher is fantastic. Its a pity he isnt working in my sons school. He went on to say, if J needed a wheel chair no one would stop him from using it at school. J needs his laptop and it seams a calculator- why cant he use them?
I guess with our kids if they are interested in anything, they will find out all there is to know on the subject and use any tools they can to gain that knowledge, so I am not worried. I will start teaching him at home with a calculator. Eventually some of the answers will stick anyway, just as well as if I was drilling his head with the verbal times tables. In fact maybe better because useing the calculator would involve more senses.
I have an ssg coming up, J's autism respite teacher works with the autism resource worker whom I've asked to be present at said ssg, hopefully she to can push for the use of calculator and laptop. cheers all and again thank you so much.