Dr. Robert Needlman
Specialist in pediatric behavior and development.
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 Ask Dr. Needlman
Third Grader Taking a Long Time to Complete Schoolwork | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Dr. Needlman,
My son is in the third grade, and he is eight years old. He does well in school so far as testing but has a hard time finishing his class work. His teacher thinks his motor skills are not as developed as they should be. I don't know what to do about it. He does not seem to have a concept of time. For example, if something should be done in 15 minutes it takes an hour. He never seems to feel rushed or that something needs to get done. He has been tested and he has not been found to have an attention deficit problem. Is there some technique that I can try?— Ms.Claire | | | ANSWER |
November 29, 2001 | | | Dear Ms.Claire,
I don't know of any magic technique that will work in all cases. Of course, it's always good to use praise and encouragement, rather than stiff consequences. Taking a long time, and therefore not being able to do other things that are more fun, is consequence enough. To really help your son, I think you need to figure out the cause of his slowness.
There are a few possibilities to consider. Some forms of learning problems or disabilities can cause some children to work quite slowly. For example, some children have difficulty mastering the small-muscle coordination required for handwriting. They can make the letters, but they have to think about each individual finger movement--a very slow process. Normally, by third grade children don't have to think about each letter. Instead, they simply decide what letter they want to write, and their brains "automatically" do the rest. Children who have to think about each letter will write very slowly on homework assignments. They also tend to score low on timed tests that require writing, even if they know the material well. If you watch such a child write, you often can see that he is working much harder than other children his age. Special education training or occupational therapy often can help these children, and they also can learn how to use keyboards to make writing easier.
Here is another possibility: Some children are perfectionists, which causes them to take an extremely long time completing assignments. Children with a particular form of obsessive compulsive disorder may feel that they have to complete very specific actions or behaviors or else risk feeling very uncomfortable or anxious. Most children with that problem are slow at many tasks, not just homework, and they often show other signs of anxiety as well.
Some children who seem to dawdle or daydream have a form of attention deficit disorder (ADHD) called ADHD-inattentive subtype. They have difficulty focusing and maintaining their attention, but they aren't overactive or impulsive like many other children with ADHD who have the full or so-called "combined type" of the disorder. If a doctor or psychologist is not looking specifically for ADHD-inattentive, the diagnosis might be missed. There are other children who don't have full-fledged ADHD and just like to daydream, which is only a problem if it leads them to fail in school or experience a lot of frustration.
There are other possible causes, as well. A doctor who is trained in child behavior and development, or a pediatric or school psychologist, could help sort out all of these possibilities. Your timing is good. Third grade is when schoolwork loads start to pick up, and the work just keeps growing from there. Starting now is still early enough for you to get your child the help he needs, before frustration and low self-esteem set in. — by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. |
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