Most schools have some kind of screening tool (like a check list) of signs of ADD/ADHD. Both the parent & teacher will fill it out and then the school psychologist will look at to determine if the student needs further testing. If the parent feels that it could be ADD/ADHD they can ask the teacher if the student can be evaluated. Sometimes I get a feeling about a student based on observations. If her son is doing very well and he is not saying it's too hard then she might want to ask the child why he is not doing his work. He may say he is bored, he does not understand or that he just does not want to. I have a student that gets all A's but just refuses to complete assignments. He is very disruptive so he gets low grades in behavior. I try to challenge him and I make it a point to call on him when he raises his hand. He will only work if there is a grade involved and he needs a lot of redirection. There isn't always a magic answer. I try to gain the support of the parent on following up with consequences at home. Sometimes that is helpful but sometimes you get a student that just does not care.

As a teacher, what is your procedure for addressing the possible causes when a student struggles with completing assignments in a timely fashion? At what point do you contact the parent? How do you distinguish a learning issue from "laziness"? What signs do you look for? What can parents do to help?

Everyone is quick to jump to a conclusion that it may be ADHD. Although you may have to rule that out, as a teacher I know that if I felt that this was the case I would discuss this with the parent. Most of my students who I suspect may be ADHD are very disruptive also (but not always). It could be that he is bored, the work is too easy or sometimes the student is just lazy. I have had very bright students who are lazy. The teacher may have to offer an incentive to him to finish work or he may have to have consequences for his behavior such as getting a zero. This is a weak area for me as I hate to fail a bright student, but they have to learn that there are consequences for not doing what they are supposed to be doing. I have several students who take up a huge part of my day which is not fair to the others. If he cares about his grades, a few bad grades should change the behavior.

If your grandson does turn out to be both gifted and have ADHD-inattentive, you might want to look at some of the resources I've listed in the "2e" ("twice exceptional") group at community.greatschools.net/groups/16042

Hello everyone,

Thank you so much for all your responses. As an update, I have taken my grandson to a behavioral specialist and we are starting with a form for his teachers where they would grade his behavior for 5 days (one sheet per day). The therapist does believe it could be ADD but nothing has been determined as of yet.

He maybe borderline ADD, like me, which is like "I CANT FOCUS" and none of the other effects of ADD. If you want to throw medication at the problem if it is ADD i suggest you see a psychologist that specializes in children, if you see a Neurologist they will prescribe the first thing that comes to there mind and if it doesn't work they don't really consider that a child is changing mentally as the child grows they just increase the medication.

Then also like me it could just be boredom. Example I hate learning the whole pioneer era of America cause its just a bunch of people going in one direction and claiming land and if they did not pioneer some one else would, so boring, and i got a D on the test for it, However when it came time to Russia and Lenin I got an A on the Test, cause class struggle interest me.

It's worth a try to ask your grandson what it is that distracts him in school. It's wonderful that this is not hurting his grades. If he can't give you any insight, then I'd suggest going in and observing. If you sit in the back of the room, the classroom routine will pick up and you might be able to see what your grandson is doing - or not doing. Is he working every minute but just works slowly? Or is he often distracted? Or staring into space?
It's hard to make suggestions without knowing what's causing him to not finish his work.

Yes, it could be may different things -- one being ADHD. A screening would seem appropriate, even if only to rule it out from the list of potential scenarios.

Best of luck to you and your family. Let me know how that reward systems works for you.

Thank you so much for your quick response. It is good to know that we care even though we don't know each other personally.

My grandson had no problems either in K or 1st grade. On the contrary, his first grade teacher was recommending him to be tested for the gifted children program, but we decided to wait until second grade. I am going to try the reward program which seems like a great idea. We just got his grades, A's and B's again and again a note indicating that "he has great understanding of the material but struggles in completing classwork"
I think as well that it is a mismatch, but also believe he should finish his work whether he likes it or not. Around the house he is wonderful. Sometimes his work is already done by the time I come home from work and other times it is a struggle to have him finish.
I also think it would be a good idea to have him tested for ADD since he is not hyper at all.
Thank you for all your support

Have you tried to talk with your grandson and ask him why he doesn't finish his classwork. Now a days, every time a child is having difficulty in school, it seems everyone thinks he could be ADD/ADHD. It could be many different reasons, boredom, just not interested in a particular subject, could be the teacher's method of teaching or just about anything else. The reward system seems to work well with younger children but maybe reward each day rather than once a week (that might seem like an eternity). My grandson had a jar and would receive a token for each day he did his school work and then at the end of the week could get a small gift with 5 tokens.

Did his first grade teacher or kindergarten teacher express similar complaints? How does he act around the house? If the current teacher is the only one who has concerns, then I might just "chalk it up" to an individual mismatch with the 2nd grade teacher. He could be bored doing "seatwork," although most kids who are bright still get it done, even if it's not their favorite task.

IF, HOWEVER, prior teachers and his parents have recognized a need to refocus your grandson's attention, I would question whether he might have an attention deficit. Many people mistakenly think ADHD kids are all hyperactive and disruptive, but there are several types of ADHD, and the "Inattentive" type is characterized by "daydreaming" and lack of focus, NOT constantly being in motion....you can read more about it at www.help4adhd.org, where they also give suggestions for how to help kids in the classroom. Perhaps a "sticker reward chart" for completing his assignments independently would be useful, and if the teacher reports that he does well each day, after a week he could earn a token prize...(ie, staying up 1/2 hour later than usual or playing a favorite game longer, a small toy, etc.)
It is important to know that ADHD people often have above average and even superior IQ's, so the fact your grandson is bright doesn't mean he can't also have attentional issues. I know, since my son is one of those children.