Eddie’s
behaviors seem to fall into the category of Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD). According to Kostelnick common characteristics
of ADHD include difficulty sitting for long periods of time and difficulty
attending to tasks. Eddie is a very active student and reminds me
of a boy in my placement classroom who shows some signs of ADHD. I think that Eddie would benefit from doing
more hands on activities, such as learning centers, rather than worksheets. Eddies seems to find excuses to get out of
doing his work such as getting out of his seat and going to the bathroom. This
shows low confidence in his ability to get his work done. This behavior is similar to Marcus’s, a gifted
child diagnoses with mild ADHD from the Gifted
and Challenging article. Like
Marcus, Eddie has low motivation to get his work done. This could be due to fear of trying things
where failure is a possibility. I think that helping Eddie come up with a structured
work plan (such as deciding what materials and skills are needed to carry out
the assignment) would give him confidence that he is able to complete it on his
own. During group time Eddie
seems day dream and has trouble focusing, as he did during the science lesson. To support his participation and focusing Ms.
Potter could make him more involved in group lessons by having him ask
questions and use him in demonstrations.
Eddie has difficulty paying attention and seems to daydream and not
focus on the teacher.
More information is needed but based on the information given,
I would recommend that the teacher further evaluate him to determine if he is
gifted and just bored in the classroom or has attention problems, or a
combination of both. According to
Kostelnick, a child who daydreams and does not get his/her work done is a
common behavioral characteristic of giftedness and/or ADHD. It is important to have an accurate diagnosis
because ADHD may be misdiagnosed when, in fact, a child is gifted and just
bored in the classroom.
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