Notes Sent Home From The Teacher

By: Dr. Stephen Ferrari

It is rarely good news when your child’s teacher sends home a note for the parents. As you reluctantly open this note (often not the first from this teacher), a number of thoughts run through your mind (usually of the “oh no, not again variety”).

There are a number of ways to respond to this note. Unfortunately common, but unproductive are to become angry at the child, ignore the note, or blame the teacher (possibly, but not the most likely cause). There are fortunately, a number of very good productive ways to respond.

1. Calmly share the note with your child, get their input.

2. Thank the teacher (some will not take the time to tell parents until its too late), clarify the problem, tell them of your efforts, and get their advice.

3. Share this information with your child.

4. If unsure of child’s motivation, provide consistent, immediate, significant rewards for improvements verified by the teacher (rewards are 8 times more effective than punishments, and the there is no re-surfacing anger or resentment).

If these efforts are unsuccessful, consider that the problems are due to a deeper cause. First check to see of your child understands what is being taught. If not, consider vision and hearing problems, and or tutoring. Consider emotional problems at home and school. If these conditions do not seem to be present, the problem may Attention Deficit Disorder (often referred to by schools as a Learning Disorder).

Some of the comments, which may be present in a teacher’s notes to parents or progress reports, which may indicate ADD, are:

• Trouble paying attention
• Blurts out answers
• Loses school supplies
• Impatient
• Trouble finishing classwork
• Always on the go
• Forgets to turn in homework
• Talks too much
• Doesn’t listen
• Has difficulty playing quietly
• Fidgets or squirms

There are two effective forms of treatment for this disorder, medication and neurofeedback. Medication is often effective, however, there are frequently unwanted side effects and this treatment is usually life-long. Neurofeedback is an effective alternative to medication.

Neurofeedback is a painless, side effect free procedure in which the person learns to re-train the attention mechanisms of the brain, alleviating the conditions. Once the treatment is complete, no further training is necessary.

The following organizations can be valuable resources for support and the latest information on ADD/ADHD:
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: www.aacap.org
Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD): www.chadd.org
National Institute of Mental Health: www.nimh.nih.gov

Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari is the Director of Alta Neuro-Imaging Neurofeedback. He has a Ph. D in Psychology, and is certified in Neurofeedback. He specializes in the treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD, AD/HD), Mild to Moderate Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sleep Disorders, Chronic Depression, Chronic Anxiety, and Peak Performance Training.