Six to Nine Years

Communication/language use

Has been considered a developmental receptive language disorder (doesn't seem to understand what is said)
Speech problems (stuttering, stammering, hesitation)
Excessively chatty/ talks too much
Appears not to hear, hearing problems may be suspected
Does not follow instructions using words such as he, she, you, we, they
Can repeat back instructions word for word bur does not follow through and carry them out
Is not responsive to subtle facial expressions or body language
Difficulty in saying what he/she is thinking/means (talks in circles)
May use a lot of language but says very little (quantity masks quality ) speech lacks content, ideas, information, original thought
Gets lost quickly in conversation; loses interest
Does not seem to hear without eye contact
Argues a lot
May respond to sign language and exaggerated gestures better than words
Difficulty in responding to spoken instructions or general conversation

Indiscriminate, people are seen as interchangeable, no preference for one over another
Described as "in your face"; no sense of personal space, stands too close to people
Poor understanding of things like body language, non-verbal cues
No sense of stranger danger, would go with anyone
Prefers being with adults or younger children over children of the same age
Overly affectionate with people he/she does not know
Seen as manipulative
Poor understanding of social rules and expectations
Misses/ misuses social cues
Acts out/ temper tantrums when overwhelmed
Abused and/or teased by other children, gullible, easily set - up, scapegoat
Does not make connections between socially unacceptable behaviour and the consequences to self; often seems angry or bewildered; remains disconnected his/her part in it
Desires a lot of touch and affection or resists touch - will flinch or shudder
Seems to prefer negative to positive experiences (seeks out trouble)
Easily talked into things - lying, stealing, misbehaviour, giving away lunch or possessions

Destructive deliberately or accidentally
Physically aggressive - lashes out especially when frustrated or upset
Non - compliant with adult requests - disobedient
Reacts badly or resists changes to routine, activity, or environment, has problems adapting
Lies and confabulates (makes things up)
Steals has difficulty in understanding "ownership" or possessions of others
Inappropriate touching of others (poor boundaries - may be sexually intrusive)
Behaviour regresses when frustrated, stressed or upset
May exhibit extremes in behaviour without intermediary steps - goes from very co-operative to very hostile, nothing in between, in a short space of time or major inconsistencies with behaviour - can exhibit compliance for lengthy periods then switch for no apparent reason
Does not seem to learn from experience
Seems to show little remorse for actions
Accident prone
Acts in ways that place self at risk of harm
Negative behaviour difficult to "unlearn"
Behaviour problems may now have other diagnostic labels such as conduct disorder, oppositional disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, attachment disorder

Acts on impulse, without thinking
Problems with taking turns and waiting
Unable to sit still; fidgets, wiggles, squirms
Unable to screen out distractions or prioritise them; in event tries to pay attention to everything at once
Highly active - always running, jumping, climbing, skipping, moving
Problem with motor impulsivity - tapping, hitting, throwing, touching, foot swinging
Often has injuries without any ideas of how they occurred
Requires constant supervision
Always seems to be losing things
Becomes agitated and confused when presented with options/choices, especially more than two
Activity levels increase with stress
Easily tired with the need to pay attention
Bedtimes may be difficult; child unable to relax and self to sleep

Gross motor control problems
Fine motor control problems
Does nor have a dominant hand
Poorly co-ordinated; clumsy described as awkward
Problems with visual motor perception (what is seen is distorted, reproduced incorrectly); difficulty drawing shapes, copying letter or numbers
Accident prone
Becomes tired easily with activity
Problem with written output; unable to produce quantity or quality

Learns a skill and forgets it quickly
Information seems to slip in and out - here today gone tomorrow, and back again sometime later
Forgets how to do something after doing it for some period of time
Inability to remember is frequently seen as deliberate
Difficulty separating fact from fantasy
Problems with sequencing (doing things in the proper order)
Disorganised
Loses track of what he/she is saying mid-sentence, mid-thought
Problems with confabulation (lying) - distorted perception of what happened due to faulty memory - puts many different experiences together as one story and "remembers" it as true
"crazy lying" lying in the face of obvious incriminating evidence

Known or suspected severe learning difficulties; borderline iq
Developmental delay
Functions at lower levels than predicted by tests
Problems with maths
Problems with language and arts comprehension
Problems with concept formation; dealing with ideas;
Understanding of words such as "soon", "if", "then", "before" or "after"
Seems unable to transfer a skill learned in one area to another area i.e. "do not hit" learned at home must be re-taught elsewhere. Adding up in the green textbook in Mrs. Brown's class does not translate as the same thing as adding up in the red textbook in Mr. Smith's class
Seems unable to make connections between actions and consequences, in the personal domain or in the larger world (i.e. If you do not share, people will not play with you, if you share they will, rain makes the plants grow, lack of rain causes them to die if you want clean clothes you have to wash them)
Impaired rated of learning - one or more areas may be much further behind/ahead than others
Gives up easily with new learning
Easily confused
Inability to plan
Problems with incidental learning - does not learn through exposure to a learning situation but must be specifically taught the skill
Unable to tell the time
Might have trouble recognising an emergency
Difficulty in understanding jokes which depend on understanding language

June 02, 2003