Can anyone help me with ADHD advice?

[AhoyShipmates]

Grrrr, fixed term exclusions should be made illegal!
ASD can appear very differently in different people so don’t rule that out either. Our son had similar behaviours to your little one but to our surprise ADHD was eventually ruled out and in December he was diagnosed as being on the ASD spectrum. He has a lot of sensory needs, one of the main ones being he needs a lot of ‘big muscle’ work throughout the school day to help him stay regulated - climbing, pushing and swinging. While you wait for a diagnosis there are probably many things school could be doing to support your son, from resistance bands on his chair legs to brain breaks. It’s nearly always year one that neurodiversity shows up as kids have to move from the play-based learning of reception to more formal learning yet schools are nearly always unprepared. ADHD clinics have much less of a wait than ASD so hopefully he gets assessed within a few months once you get your referral. Good luck.

[natanddaz]

Just a quick update so after the half term break he lasted 2 hours and then received a fixed term exclusion for 1.5 days he completely lost control and ended up being physically aggressive with teachers and ta's and pulling over chairs etc. Following this he was completely distressed he said he couldn't control it and it happened too quickly. Afterwards he felt so bad and was sobbing starting having nightmares etc. He also took the stance that the school no longer cared about him. Last Tuesday I met with a educational psychologist who was brilliant and really helped both me and his teacher to see that if that's whats going on outside what he is dealing with inside will be so much worse and we need to find a way to offer him an olive branch. However Tuesday afternoon and another big incident with another threat of an exclusion and then Wednesday he just point blank refused to go in. I tried for over an hour and then took the decision to bring him home. School were not happy and so I await a potential fine as it will be classed as unauthorised. Thing is I knew if i sent him in he wouldn' t stay and an exclusion was going to be inevitable.
I thought the rest of the week was going to be awful but Thursday and Friday he had much better days teachers took the time to really emphasis that he was wanted at school etc and that seemed to help alot. Weekend was up and down but not as bad as half term. Im at home holding my breath at present. Anyone seen the film live die repeat? Kind of feels like my life at the moment 😔

[natanddaz]

Originally Posted by AhoyShipmates

Grrrr, fixed term exclusions should be made illegal!
ASD can appear very differently in different people so don’t rule that out either. Our son had similar behaviours to your little one but to our surprise ADHD was eventually ruled out and in December he was diagnosed as being on the ASD spectrum. He has a lot of sensory needs, one of the main ones being he needs a lot of ‘big muscle’ work throughout the school day to help him stay regulated - climbing, pushing and swinging. While you wait for a diagnosis there are probably many things school could be doing to support your son, from resistance bands on his chair legs to brain breaks. It’s nearly always year one that neurodiversity shows up as kids have to move from the play-based learning of reception to more formal learning yet schools are nearly always unprepared. ADHD clinics have much less of a wait than ASD so hopefully he gets assessed within a few months once you get your referral. Good luck.

See more...

Thank you that's so helpful. I have brought him a weighted snake which seems to be helping and school have ordered him the band for his chair. I think slowly slowly maybe we are getting somewhere- I guess unfortunately there is no magic wand.

[inky1]

So sorry to hear how difficult things have been but good that it looks like the school are starting
to help
They should not punish behaviour that arises from a disability it contravenes the DDA
that includes fixed term exclusion
They should provide the necessary support.
I spent literally years running back and forth to the school for one thing and another .So I know what you mean about holding your breath
I hope things continue to improve .