To sit still or not to sit still that is the question

Replies:

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• by
  • rccmom
  on May. 22, 2008 at 10:49 PM
• Amen!!  Some children just are not made to sit still and will not learn effectively that way.  I don't understand why the school values sitting at a desk for long periods of time.  It is hardly natural, and benefits very few children.  Some children tolerate it better than others, but it is not particularly beneficial. 

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• by
  • cutepachef
  on May. 23, 2008 at 8:26 AM
• I am so glad to hear that someone else agrees with me. I feel that there are so many children out there that would benefit from learning in this way. It is just out side of the box and not as easy for the school. So I feel that it is not offered as it should be.

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• by
  • lauriebash
  on May. 23, 2008 at 8:47 AM
• I LOVE THIS! It really depends on the teacher. We have some that are very willing to help Daniel and others that are so stuck in their ways, that it has to be done the way they always have in the past. You can tell by his grades which teachers accommodate him!

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• by
  • cutepachef
  on May. 23, 2008 at 8:50 AM
• If he has an IEP you should ask that this be put into his IEP so that every teacher has to follow it that is what I have done. It insures that he gets what he needs to help him. He will even tell his teachers that he needs his ball so that he can read. He knows and he is his own best advocate.

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• by
  • pfcpremosgirl
  on May. 23, 2008 at 9:08 PM
• He sounds very disrupting in class, and interferes with other students who may be trying to work. That is a problem. I'll admit from the time my then 18 month old starting kicking and screaming on the floor, clean of couse, and  screamed my way through it also!!! I knew something was wrong but none of the doctors did. Not until he began school was the ADHD diagnosis given to us, but looking back on it all, it made perfect sense!! THat is exactly waht he had!! As well as Oppositional Defiance Disorder, and Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (from an ugly, unfortunate episode with a sitter I don't care to divuldge.) But the thing is, some of these issues he was clearly BORN with. And sometimes meds are the ONLY choices for children this way. And while some, especially boys, are medicated unneccesarily to make a teachers job "easier", and should be STOPPED, for students who depend on these meds, to get their work done and control their impulses, they should be able to get them easily. Aundria

     

   

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• by
  • hero71
  on Jun. 25, 2008 at 7:56 AM
• Hello everyone.  I am new to this group & I wanted to share our situation.  We are very lucky this year with our school.  My oldest son is almost 9, he takes medication in the mornings, but he still can't sit still.  He teacher has her desks placed in rows at an angle.  Cole is in the last row & the very last desk.  He is allowed to stand up, lean on the desk walk around to the front, stand on one foot, etc...  His teacher allows him movement to keep him focused on work, that is why he is in the very back of the class so it doesn't bother the other students.  Cole also collects pencil lead that breaks off his sharpener.  He keeps this on the little pencil tray in his desk & likes to roll his hands across it during class.  I love his teacher & want her to move to the next grade with us.  She is great about working with us & I feel very lucky to have such a great teacher.  I know it won't always be this easy!

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• by
  • reannie
  on Jun. 27, 2008 at 9:21 PM
• There is a school law that says "disabled" children are supposed to sit in the front of the room. Rule 504. If they are sitting in the front they are less likely to be distracted.

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• by
  • OmahaMom1190
  on Jun. 27, 2008 at 11:33 PM
• 
  

  Quoting reannie:
  
  There is a school law that says "disabled" children are supposed to sit in the front of the room. Rule 504. If they are sitting in the front they are less likely to be distracted.

  504 plans are part of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The law does not state specifically that any particular accommodation be made.  The law simply protects a child's access to education.  There are a number of things one can do to work with the school to help your child.  The procedures can be formal or informal depending upon the school district. 
  
  

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• by
  • Lisamarie1271
  on Jun. 28, 2008 at 1:51 PM
• I have seen some pretty lame brain attempts at getting an add/adhd child to sit still. But you did the right thing by always being involved. My son had this teacher that at first seemed a little on the mean side. I was working full time and I wasn't  able to enroll him but later got laid off so I came to see my son in action in her care. Let me tell you, I was amazed. Not one teacher before her could control my child without force. They had a rather large classroom that used to be two classrooms. My son had a bad bad habit of wandering so I was scared he would just walk out. They also had an awesome viewing window. She had him sitting at two different desks and he would decide where he wanted to sit. And he didn't lose anything as far as learning because even though he was on the other side of the room he was still hearing her. I loved her and she still teaches today. It just matters so much when a teacher understands and relates to a child. She took it upon herself to see what she could do for my son and not what she couldn't. And he is a much better human being and I am a better mom today because of her......

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• by
  • OmahaMom1190
  on Jun. 28, 2008 at 3:44 PM
• I certainly knew that my son was learning even though he could not sit still.  But in the past school year, while working with multiple sp needs students in my own classroom, I have wondered what the teacher would have been able to do for my child if her classroom had also had an autistic child with  hypersensitivity to sound, or what about a student with a fragile health condition. 
  
  BC I had a student with a respirator in my classroom, I had to insist that students stay seated.  BTW, my students were in high school.  I used a variety of innovative and research-based practices which allowed some structured movement
  
  I know my son wasn't in control of his constant noise-making and motion.  But I also knew there were other children in the room who needed teacher attention too.  I just don't think we do our children any favor by never expecting them to conform to the standards of the group.  I'm afraid some children expect to valued for their individuality but have no empathy for others.

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