Dr. Sylvia Rimm is a child psychologist, clinical professor at Case University School of Medicine, author, newspaper and magazine columnist, and radio/TV personality. Her advice column appears  regularly in 2e Newsletter. You can visit her website at  www.sylviarimm.com.

For a free newsletter about underachievement, organizational skills, or ADHD, send a large, self-addressed, stamped envelope to P.O. Box 32, Watertown, WI, 53094, or read "Solving the Mysterious Underachievement Problem" at  www.sylviarimm.com. 

If you have a question for Dr. Rimm, please send it to: DrSylvia@2eNewsletter.com.

Q

I have a 9-year-old son in third grade. Recently we’ve gotten reports from his teacher that he’s very disorganized and gets distracted. The school year’s almost over, and I wish she had alerted me to the problem sooner. He’s above average in all of his schoolwork. Any suggestions?

A

Perhaps his teacher will assist you by giving you a daily behavior report focused on his paying attention. I like a four-star day card where the teacher places a star on a card for each quarter of the day your son manages to stay focused. You can provide him with a small prize at home for each day he earns all four stars, encourage him when he misses only one, and be disappointed if he has one, two, or no stars. That may be enough for him to learn to pay attention. The teacher should arrange this privately so his classmates don't know about it. If it’s too late in the school year, save this advice for next year if the problems reoccur

As to the organization, you can work with him on that at home by teaching him to put like-things together in his drawers, organize his desk and backpack, keep his room and toys neat, and set the table carefully. As you teach him to be more organized, he'll improve.

I expect the teacher didn't alert you sooner to your son’s problems because he does above average work and his problems aren't major. It's better not to blame the teacher, but to work on these issues. Next year you'll want to check with the teacher early to see how your son is doing. If there are further problems, you can repeat the four-star day with the next teacher, but if he continues to have attention problems, it would be time to request an evaluation by the school or a private psychologist. If in final communications with this year’s teacher she seems more concerned, consider having an evaluation during the summer.

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