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CHild who can't sit still for school, but wouldn't have trouble elsewhere?


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DD7 cannot seem to sit still at home. When eating meals, she is constantly getting up and moving around, despite us telling her to stay seated. When doing school work, she's standing up, sitting down, falling over, standing on her seat, climbing on top of the table. :001_huh:

 

This is a child who wouldn't *dare* do this anywhere else. I know for a fact that she would never do this in her Sunday School class at church. She doesn't move all over the place for her visual/auditory therapist either (I'm in there too and she sits perfectly still). During her 4 hour homeschool group each week, she does exactly what the teacher says and sit exactly *where* the teacher says, without moving.

 

What the heck? I mean, I'm glad that she listens outside the home and doesn't cause problems.....but why me? LOL She's obviously capable of staying still. I wonder why she can't seem to do it at home?

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I have a dd who has SPD and is in constant motion. One thing I learned early on in that some kids like this can hold it all together very well out in public but then they let it all go at home. There is a trust issue with those outside the home: the child cannot be sure that they will be just as loved by others as they are by their family so they hold it all inside until they're in a safe place again.

 

My advice? ;) Learn to work with her, rather than against her. And take it as a compliment that you get the 'good, bad, and ugly' because she trusts you to love her anyway.

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My 6 yro also has SPD and we are just doing unschooling/relaxed homeschooling this year for her. I posted about her a few times. I can't even get her to sit down and eat food, much less sit down for schoolwork.

 

I guess I don't have any suggestions. :glare: This is more of a sympathetic post. :D

 

I could tell you what curriculum she seems to really like... We're doing Developing Critical Thinking thru Science - it's a completely hands-on science program for K-3 - she really, really likes this. She likes any art...painting, making little sculptures. We're working thru Miquon and she really likes this. She constantly asks for math problems on a dry erase board (so she can run away and work them).

 

:confused: Wish I had more suggestions. I think bouncing on the ball is a good idea. Sometimes working with playdoh or coloring a picture helps with read-alouds.

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I have a dd who has SPD and is in constant motion. One thing I learned early on in that some kids like this can hold it all together very well out in public but then they let it all go at home. There is a trust issue with those outside the home: the child cannot be sure that they will be just as loved by others as they are by their family so they hold it all inside until they're in a safe place again.

 

My advice? ;) Learn to work with her, rather than against her. And take it as a compliment that you get the 'good, bad, and ugly' because she trusts you to love her anyway.

 

:iagree:

 

My 10yo was generally able to hold himself together in public for a few hours, but as soon as we got home he would fall to pieces. In school, he would sit quietly and still for as long as he had to, but he told me later that all he could think of was, "I cannot move my feet. I cannot move my feet. I cannot move my feet." His teacher had told him that he was not allowed to move his feet in class, so he didn't, but he couldn't think about anything else!

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You could either give her the means to move (ball, cushion, etc) or tie her to the seat. I mean this in a very nice way! LOL. My ds needs to be nicely tied to the chair to sit still. I think it just takes the option of moving out of his head. He still fidgets, but no longer "has" to get up.

 

This doesn't work for my daughter. She needs a ball, bean bag, swing, etc. Anything squishy, or anything that moves. Even better if the squishy seat moved (like a bean bag chair on a platform swing)!

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I've been wondering if I should get her something to do with her hands? I know they make things like Fidgets....but I wonder if it would help keep the rest of her body still LOL. However, that wouldn't help when doing things like eating or writing because she couldn't play with a Fidget while using her hands for other things.

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You could either give her the means to move (ball, cushion, etc) or tie her to the seat. I mean this in a very nice way! LOL. My ds needs to be nicely tied to the chair to sit still. I think it just takes the option of moving out of his head. He still fidgets, but no longer "has" to get up.

 

This doesn't work for my daughter. She needs a ball, bean bag, swing, etc. Anything squishy, or anything that moves. Even better if the squishy seat moved (like a bean bag chair on a platform swing)!

 

I've been telling her that I'm going to get her a booster seat for the table and strap her in LOL.

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Is she absorbing what she needs when sitting still? My dh is in constant motion. He hated public school. He could sit still but he spend all his time, like Renee's son, with his brain telling him to be still that he didn't absorb anything.

 

My ds is similar but not quite as bad. He has an exercise ball to sit on when necessary, he paces the house while reading sometimes, he always has something to fidget with at school.

 

She may feel conditioned to sit still in a group. I would be curious if she thinks being still is an issue.

 

Sounds like she feel the freedom to be herself at home.

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I've been wondering if I should get her something to do with her hands? I know they make things like Fidgets....but I wonder if it would help keep the rest of her body still LOL. However, that wouldn't help when doing things like eating or writing because she couldn't play with a Fidget while using her hands for other things.

 

We have pipe cleaners, those little juggling balls, and those art gum erasers. I'm a fidgeter (is that a word?) and anything you can mold, twist, bend, or spin in your fingers is helpful.

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My husband had a terrible time in elementary school. He says he could pay attention OR sit still. He certainly was not capable of both. I vote for an exercise ball and fidgets (I'm fond of beeswax) for home. When I taught, I had a number of kids who did their work standing up, and it just worked better for them. I would send them to get a drink of water, the long way, pretty frequently too. (At least every half an hour.) Meal times.......ugh, I don't know. Maybe just ask her if she would prefer to eat standing up?

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I've been telling her that I'm going to get her a booster seat for the table and strap her in LOL.

 

Actually this is my dd's preferred method of sitting. She likes the added pressure of the belt and the confined space. If it was able to 5 point she would be in heaven. She is SPD and ADHD...sadly she doesn't sit still anywhere else including church.

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