teachers can't handle hyper, aspie teen, suggestions?

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mom77
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29 Dec 2011, 11:57 pm

so, parent teachers conferences are coming up this week

My 16yr old's homeroom teacher said that many teachers are complaining about her hyperactivity and restlessness. (psych explained it's a co-morbid and not ADHD. We previously tried ritalin, didn't help)
She learns in a class with kids who don't do well with academics (although her IQ is somewhere around 120).
Most of these kids have ADHD and my daughter's behavior sets them off.
I suggested moving her to the main track in the school, I think that maybe her classmates' hyperactivity causes her to overload and in turn burn off the energy by moving around, drumming etc.
The teacher thought that it isn't a good solution being that those classes have close to 40 students each.

The teachers are beginning to express that they cannot have her in their classes, regardless of the reason behind her behavior. She's a nice kid and tries to be cooperative. Not a typical teen. She is not acting out in order to be a pain, but really is having trouble controlling herself. Nonetheless, her behavior is disruptive to all.

What can I suggest to the teachers at conferences?



SC_2010
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30 Dec 2011, 1:20 am

Do you have a set behavior plan for how teachers can support her when she is getting too fast?

What self-calming techniques does she know?

Do you think she is bored?



mom77
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30 Dec 2011, 2:03 am

I suggested to the homeroom teacher that they build a 5-behavior contract with some kind of signal system. My daughter usually doesn't realize she's being disruptive. Being that she's an 11th grader, she also has many teachers, so I'm not sure how helpful this will be. Not all staff members are willing to cooperate. They say they have a class full of hyper kids and don't have the time to treat her in a "special" way.

She calms herself by making noises, sometimes rocking, drumming (she's an awesome drummer!) and walking out and pacing in the hall. She needs to learn some quieter techniques I guess. Since her classmates are highly distractible, her calming techniques which involve motion upset the whole class.

These behaviors aren't new, just figuring out the cause of the behavior is new to us, and hopefully going to be helpful.

Could be she's bored, when a class is interesting to her she will be attentive and participate (sometimes too much). But she's also not studious. Hates to read. Poor vocabulary--which I know is not the norm for aspies. Fluctuates between being obsessive about her work and completely lazy.

It was suggested they exempt her from being present in some classes so the stimulation doesn't build up. Last year she cut math class most of the year and still got 100 on her matriculation exam.



Chronos
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30 Dec 2011, 4:37 am

mom77 wrote:
so, parent teachers conferences are coming up this week

My 16yr old's homeroom teacher said that many teachers are complaining about her hyperactivity and restlessness. (psych explained it's a co-morbid and not ADHD. We previously tried ritalin, didn't help)
She learns in a class with kids who don't do well with academics (although her IQ is somewhere around 120).
Most of these kids have ADHD and my daughter's behavior sets them off.
I suggested moving her to the main track in the school, I think that maybe her classmates' hyperactivity causes her to overload and in turn burn off the energy by moving around, drumming etc.
The teacher thought that it isn't a good solution being that those classes have close to 40 students each.

The teachers are beginning to express that they cannot have her in their classes, regardless of the reason behind her behavior. She's a nice kid and tries to be cooperative. Not a typical teen. She is not acting out in order to be a pain, but really is having trouble controlling herself. Nonetheless, her behavior is disruptive to all.

What can I suggest to the teachers at conferences?


Not all restlessness is due to ADHD. Low iron levels or thyroid problems can cause restlessness, as well as certain medications. You should have the doctor do a blood workup on her to make sure the restlessness is not from a medical condition.



mom77
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02 Jan 2012, 4:40 am

thank you chronos
did a lot of blood work twice, nothing remarkable.
The ritalin she took for a bit made her tired, but she stopped taking it as it wasn't helping
Anyway, I don't remember the explanation accurately, but I was told that what she has LOOKS like ADHD with a capital H, but is indeed something else, and therefore ritalin isn't helpful.
It did tire her out so she was sitting at her desk more...not necessarily learning more, but bothering everyone less