Question: My son is a smart kid. His teacher got me really mad, though, when she said he is an underachiever. She says he spaces out in the classroom. He would get much better grades, but he doesn’t do his homework and he won’t study. Every year, his report card has comments about how his “organizational skills” need improving. I don’t know what to tell him because I was the same way. But I’d like him to do better. I think it is because he is bored in school. The teacher isn’t giving him interesting or hard enough work. When he is really interested in something, or likes the teacher, he does fine.
Anne Fenton, MD: Many children with good intelligence have the kinds of difficulty in school that you describe. They are smart, but have trouble focusing or concentrating. They often have trouble organizing their materials as well as their thoughts, especially when it comes to writing assignments. They need to be reminded over and over to do chores or tasks, they can be forgetful, and inconsistent in their academic performance. These problems become more obvious every year, peaking in middle school and high school, when academic requirements are more complex. These features are consistent with what is called attention deficit disorder. Many parents don’t think of this diagnosis, because their children, like your son, seem to be able to focus for hours on subjects or projects of interest. Parents figure that if the children can do that in one area, they should be able to do it in every area. However, like all of us, children with ADD can accomplish more and focus better on subjects they like. The contrast between “hyperfocus” and distractability on other topics is simply exaggerated. I would suggest you have your child evaluated for ADD. If that is his problem, it is a condition which is very treatable and widely treated.