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I am a pre-kindergarden teacher and I have a 4 year old (will be 5 in 2 months) boy who has been exhibiting the following behaviors the entire 7-8 months that he's been in my class:
1. Frequent outbursts of anger towards his friend's.
2. When he gets upset, he will clench his fists to the point that he is shaking, grinds his teeth and intensely stares at whoever upset him, including me. Every time I see this it makes me extremely concerned.
3. Cannot wait his turn.
4. Frequent and disproportionate meltdowns over anything and everything.
5. Excessive crying over even the little things.
6. Only focuses on the negatives of every situation. I asked him what Santa got him for Christmas and he proceeded to tell me about a toy that Santa did not bring him what he really wanted.
7. CONSTANT need for my attention and the attention of other adults/teachers.
8. Cannot share and is constantly snatching things from other kids.
9. Cannot keep his hands to himself. He is constantly grabbing them or swinging his arms at them.
10. He is constantly on the move to the point where he is always running into people, pushing past people, and trying to go through people.
11. He will yell really unpleasant things at his friend's when he is upset, which seems fairly normal to be honest.
12. He is possesive over toys to the point that whatever he builds with them, usually a spaceship/robot, he constantly needs to hold and has a really hard time putting it away when it's clean up time. He has started to hide the things he builds around the room so he can get it out during playtime without me seeing him. Kind of impressed by this one, actually. He has also put some things in his cubby and taken them home without my knowledge.
13. Excessive talking and interrupting teachers and friends.
14. If I pay attention to another child, he will either misbehave or start crying. When I'm having private conversations with other kids he constantly comes over and interrupts or starts crying.
15. He bit another friend last week.
16. Cannot control the volume of his voice.
17. If I try to correct/redirect him, usually the behavior gets worse. He has trouble mentally moving past things that have upset him, even when i discuss it with him privately.
18. When he gets upset he will violently and excessively scratch his head, or he will slap both of his bands against his head.
19. Whenever the kids get out a toy that he wants to play with he will not wait until the child puts the bucket of toys down before sticking his hands in there and digging for what he wants. He will often cause the child carrying the toys to the carpet to drop them before he gets there.
20. Other children will avoid him, ignore him, or tell him to not play with them, which breaks my heart.
21. Cannot sit still. He is constantly moving around/fidgeting.
Anyway, these are the things that, at the beginning of the year, i wasnt super concerned about because he had just turned 4 and that is still young enough for most of the things listed above to be considered normal behavior for his age. I was hoping he woukd grow out of it by now, but that is not the case. The parents are having the same issues at home and we have talked in great length about his behavior and need for emotional regulation. I suggested play therapy, but he only went to 2 sessions. His mom told me that she didn't like the therapist, so they were going to look for a new one.
Obviously, I can't diagnose. However, a lot of the behavior I am seeing seems to reflect a lot of the symptoms associated with ADHD. I just want to hear other educator's thoughts on this and maybe get some advise on how I can help him while he's at school so that he can develop the necessary tools for coping with his emotions so that his transition into kindergarten next year can go as smoothly for him as possible. Thanks!
1. Frequent outbursts of anger towards his friend's.
2. When he gets upset, he will clench his fists to the point that he is shaking, grinds his teeth and intensely stares at whoever upset him, including me. Every time I see this it makes me extremely concerned.
3. Cannot wait his turn.
4. Frequent and disproportionate meltdowns over anything and everything.
5. Excessive crying over even the little things.
6. Only focuses on the negatives of every situation. I asked him what Santa got him for Christmas and he proceeded to tell me about a toy that Santa did not bring him what he really wanted.
7. CONSTANT need for my attention and the attention of other adults/teachers.
8. Cannot share and is constantly snatching things from other kids.
9. Cannot keep his hands to himself. He is constantly grabbing them or swinging his arms at them.
10. He is constantly on the move to the point where he is always running into people, pushing past people, and trying to go through people.
11. He will yell really unpleasant things at his friend's when he is upset, which seems fairly normal to be honest.
12. He is possesive over toys to the point that whatever he builds with them, usually a spaceship/robot, he constantly needs to hold and has a really hard time putting it away when it's clean up time. He has started to hide the things he builds around the room so he can get it out during playtime without me seeing him. Kind of impressed by this one, actually. He has also put some things in his cubby and taken them home without my knowledge.
13. Excessive talking and interrupting teachers and friends.
14. If I pay attention to another child, he will either misbehave or start crying. When I'm having private conversations with other kids he constantly comes over and interrupts or starts crying.
15. He bit another friend last week.
16. Cannot control the volume of his voice.
17. If I try to correct/redirect him, usually the behavior gets worse. He has trouble mentally moving past things that have upset him, even when i discuss it with him privately.
18. When he gets upset he will violently and excessively scratch his head, or he will slap both of his bands against his head.
19. Whenever the kids get out a toy that he wants to play with he will not wait until the child puts the bucket of toys down before sticking his hands in there and digging for what he wants. He will often cause the child carrying the toys to the carpet to drop them before he gets there.
20. Other children will avoid him, ignore him, or tell him to not play with them, which breaks my heart.
21. Cannot sit still. He is constantly moving around/fidgeting.
Anyway, these are the things that, at the beginning of the year, i wasnt super concerned about because he had just turned 4 and that is still young enough for most of the things listed above to be considered normal behavior for his age. I was hoping he woukd grow out of it by now, but that is not the case. The parents are having the same issues at home and we have talked in great length about his behavior and need for emotional regulation. I suggested play therapy, but he only went to 2 sessions. His mom told me that she didn't like the therapist, so they were going to look for a new one.
Obviously, I can't diagnose. However, a lot of the behavior I am seeing seems to reflect a lot of the symptoms associated with ADHD. I just want to hear other educator's thoughts on this and maybe get some advise on how I can help him while he's at school so that he can develop the necessary tools for coping with his emotions so that his transition into kindergarten next year can go as smoothly for him as possible. Thanks!
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