Is this a symptom of ADHD, or something else?

[SWD12422]

My 10 year old has always been a bit slow to react when we as him to do (or stop doing) something. It's like he has trouble switching gears and needs to do the thing one more time for closure, or that he can't stop quickly enough. But there are times when we're just talking to him and he's like a deer in the headlights and his responses are either nonexistent or not exactly what you would expect. It comes off as a failed attempt at humor/silliness, but yesterday's conversation with his new teacher made me realize that it's not dumb kid "humor." He couldn't answer, "What subject is your least favorite?" (He first said he didn't have one, and when the teacher said it didn't have to be something he dislikes, just the one he likes less than the others, he still couldn't answer.) He got confused about details of our vacation that we took less than a month ago. He couldn't answer, "Where did you go on vacation?" "What did you do?"

Open-ended questions ate hard for him. When I asked him about it later, he said he had trouble hearing the teacher because he has a low voice. We had his hearing checked a couple of years ago, convinced it was a hearing issue, but they said he was fine.

Does anyone else see this in their kids?

[Pennywink]

My son does sometimes have trouble with open ended questions - especially if he’s thinking about something else. Usually if I can specify a bit or phrase in a way to help jog his memory, it helps get things rolling. Like instead of “How was school?”, I start “What did you do in PE today?” Or something like that.

I always got the impression it was maybe related to his issues with working memory. How ever being distracted by outside sounds, or even his own thoughts, could be a thing. I had a cousin who also always passed hearing tests, which checked the ears with single noises, but later discovered the problem was she couldn’t drown out background noise.

Anyway, I’d bring up to your pediatrician or whomever treats your son.

[Rocycat1]

My 10y daughter is the same way. With open ended question... she has ADHD/Dyslexia. She has a memory processing Issues.. what she wants to say is in her head but she can not process it to get it out. And when she try’s it’s eather yes/no short and sweet. Or painstakingly long because it all jumbled in her head... we had her so speech tested.

Good luck

[Mudpies]

Our son has a hard time with transitions, I give him a heads up when the situation allows so he can begin to make the transition in his mind. Also, when he is in the middle of doing something I make sure to touch him and wait a second, giving his brain a chance to process before I start talking to him. Our son has a hard time with open ended questions like the ones you described. I’m still learning about ADHD so I’m honestly not sure what these things are a symptom of. It isn’t these things that pushed us to take the Vanderbilt test though. It was things like his blurting out in class and his inability to complete one worksheet in the classroom. That’s just our situation. I would definitely schedule a time to speak with your pediatrician without your child present.

[Elijah1]

Possible reasons for the behavior include anxiety and a language formulation disorder. Review his past and determine if either is a viable reason.