Quirkiness vs. Diagnosis

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My grandson is getting ready for kindergarten. He just made it through pre-school this past year. Teaching him to adapt to a school setting took just about all of his dad's energy re: extremely firm boundaries (which was tough because Dad is a high spirited unique person himself). David has some sensory issues and some communication issues as well has having lots of energy. He focuses well on three activities: his little cars, anything having to do with water, and riding his scooter in circles (he LOVES carnival rides as well - except for the noise). This last one is sorta' cute as you see his brain working "I want to do that but its so loud!" He is OVERLY friendly to everyone. In trying to teach him (just recently) not to talk to strangers, David now asks people 'Are you a stranger?" before he goes into a discussion.

My son and I are at a loss as to what to do....my son always had teachers (in a very small community) that could deal with his unique abilities. However, after David's experience at pre-school...maybe it would be easier on everybody to have him 'evaluated' and get a 'diagnosis' so people would have to see his uniqueness for what it is. (Honestly, he is a mixed group of 'stuff'). I'd love some opinions on this. What does an IEP do for high spirited quirky kids?

Thanks in advance,
Elise

Yes! Get an IEP as early as possible, please. I would have loved to get an IEP earlier than when I did. Life would have been so much easy.

I am glad to hear you have such a lovely grandson. Good luck.

If he's having difficulties in school, then have him evaluated. Otherwise, I would just help direct him.

I agree. Having that "official" piece of paper will work wonders with those in authority.

Sadly, without it, people sometimes just come to see you as "weird" and use that as an excuse to treat you...not so well.

Good luck to both you and your son.

If your grandson is evaluated and diagnosed, and if his diagnosis has implications for his access to his education, he would be able to have an IEP that would address those needs. This could address issues from noise (if there are assemblies, recess, or other situations with noise levels that cause him problems, he would be taught specific coping strategies, which could include providing him with noise cancelling headphones) to understanding social issues (the stranger issue might be one of many - for kids with ASD, there are often social skills supports that help with all kinds of social skills). As a child gets older, the social deficits tend to become more noticeable and problematic. If the IEP is already in place, it is easier to add goals to address the issues as they come up.

You should get him in, for a complete work up, and get a Dx for him, and than talk to the headmaster about IEPs.