how do you get your child to sit and focus for about 10 minutes at the age of 3. my son has not been diagnosed and probably is to young for it. but eci told me he needs to be able to sit and focus for 10 nimutes on a task before he starts eci preschool or the will label him mr and neither of us think he is. he just goes into his own little world and does his own little thing all day long. he is a very busy body.and cause of hearing issues he doesnt follow directions well. so how do you start directing them to focusing for 10 min. mine is lucky to focus for 3 minutes any ideas. he has according to her a lack of cognetive skills. she is thinking he is going to be leaning to adhd. i have to find a developmental pediatrician so he can be refered to another clinic here in town to be diagnosed. any suggestions
i was thinking what all of you said starting to think and his dad agrees we need to change eci workers. her expectations seem a little high for his age. in more ways than just this.
He's 3? Three minutes IS his attention span! One minute per year of age.
Sit and focus for 10 minutes? Ha! You're lucky to get 5 minutes IF he's interested. Also, most 3-year olds don't follow directions very well. I've been teaching 3-year olds for 20 years. He sounds perfectly normal.
Definitely question anyone who wants to diagnose your son for doing what every normal 3-year old does.
I dont' know what mr is but isn't eci supposed to be for children who cant' sit still and need the exra help? I cant' imagine a 3 year old sitting for 10 minutes.
Did she take into consideration his hearing loss while assessing his cognitive skills? The whole thing just sits wrong. Why do they want him assessed now? Let him go to preschool then see how he does, then go from there, In my opinion
The first thing you can do to help him is give him one direction. Say pick up the paper, when he does that praise him, then say go put it in the trash, then more praise. Most 3 yr olds don't follow multi step directions.
Look him directly in the eyes. Get his attention, then give your direction.
Give him time lines and deadlines. We are leaving in 5 minutes, 3 minutes, 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1--LET'S GOOOOOO!!!
Well I have a daughter who has adhd and was involved with ECI until the age of 3. She too had hearing issues due to tons of ear infections during the first 2 years of her life. My thoughts for you from you said is that for any 3 year old, 10 minutes is a long time for them to pay attention to anything. So for them to automatically jump to any conclusions solely based on that to me seems ridiculous to say the least. It's understandable that he has difficulty following directions because of his hearing issues. That doesn't mean that there are other reasons for it. I would definitely get him to a developmental pediatrician and you may see about getting him tested for adhd in order to calm your nerves. Explore all your options first before deciding on anything. I only accepted my child's diagnosis until I had her test/evaluated by multiple professionals. I wouldn't get frustrated if he doesn't focus for 10 minutes. Again, in my opinion that is too long for a 3 year old. Good luck!
10 minutes to a 3 year old is an eternity especially for a possible adhd 3 year old. Take it down focus 5 minutes then move up to ten. My 8 year old has never once in his life sat through an entire 1/2 hour television show, commercials no problem. We are working on just focusing on one thing- homework, dinner, spelling. Seriously I think I am the only mom in the world that has said- You will sit here and watch this TV show- not play cards, act it out, or fidget around. I got about 20 minutes of American Idol, when he plays video games he paces around the table and plays he doesnt sit down. It isnt easy and get used to this word FOCUS, good luck
My son is disabled, (not specifically ADHD), but focus and attention skills were lacking. We used ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) which will involve you or someone working with him 1:1 with ALOT of flashcards. If you have a computer (older XP or such will be fine), get a program called Earobics Step 1 or Step 2. Both are excellent and can be found on ebay or amazon marketplace cheaply. There is also a website www.superduperinc.com that has lots of materials to help with focus and attention. It WILL take time so be prepared. IMHO, it is well worth it.
early childhood intervention provides miracles! They will offer learning opportunities which will grab & hold his attention.....better preparing him for KG.
Some children are able to respond/improve thru behavior modification only. We were very lucky to be able to keep our son off of meds thru this. It works for some....
Hi D..
Please visit www.cchr.org and click on the "Alternatives" tab. Read the top part of the article carefully and then work your way down.
Best wishes,
M.
