Bragging = High Expectations

[ttremble88]

Thanks bright sparks. The last few days, I have decided that I was going to ignore everything that the mother told me (sounds horrible, I know...lol) and treat her as a child that I am just learning about.

I think that it is mostly the spacing out and inability to follow directions, that I believe, at her age should be able to, is most concerning to me. Although, I think that since she has started here, I have seen a slight improvement.

I gave it some deep thought yesterday. I think leading to her lack of understanding of instruction, may be the fact that she placed in a daycare that mainly spoke a foreign language. Do you think that it is possible that she simply conditioned herself to tune out instructions and space out during activities as she is so customed to not being able to understand what is happening around her?

[Fun&care]

It sounds to me like she is a bit overwhelmed by her new surrounding and as a result things are just not " registering". I had one like this too and it took maybe 2-3 months but she got better...oddly enough her parents were also prone to brag about her achievements most of which I never really got to see at daycare. She also was very well behaved and I never had any issues with her at all but there was definitely a transition period where she seemed a little lost. I would give her more time to get into your routine and your program, while keeping a close eye on her.

[Busy ECE mommy]

It could be as simple as taking time to transition, but could also indicate issues with hearing or a receptive language delay. The things that immediately came to mind as concerning were: the spacing out behaviour/inability to follow directions/inappropriate responses to questions, or her random utterances not related to the topic at hand. Does she make eye contact or carry on reciprocal conversations with peers? Any repetitive behaviours/OCD/facial expressions that don't match the situation? Does she role play appropriately with toys? My gut instinct says to be on alert for anything along the ASD lines. Definitely do the Nipissing screening, and the Ages and Stages questionnaire is more specific as well.

[bright sparks]

It could be as simple as taking time to transition, but could also indicate issues with hearing or a receptive language delay. The things that immediately came to mind as concerning were: the spacing out behaviour/inability to follow directions/inappropriate responses to questions, or her random utterances not related to the topic at hand. Does she make eye contact or carry on reciprocal conversations with peers? Any repetitive behaviours/OCD/facial expressions that don't match the situation? Does she role play appropriately with toys? My gut instinct says to be on alert for anything along the ASD lines. Definitely do the Nipissing screening, and the Ages and Stages questionnaire is more specific as well.

Any chance you have a copy of the ages and stages you could share?

[bright sparks]

Thanks bright sparks. The last few days, I have decided that I was going to ignore everything that the mother told me (sounds horrible, I know...lol) and treat her as a child that I am just learning about.

I think that it is mostly the spacing out and inability to follow directions, that I believe, at her age should be able to, is most concerning to me. Although, I think that since she has started here, I have seen a slight improvement.

I gave it some deep thought yesterday. I think leading to her lack of understanding of instruction, may be the fact that she placed in a daycare that mainly spoke a foreign language. Do you think that it is possible that she simply conditioned herself to tune out instructions and space out during activities as she is so customed to not being able to understand what is happening around her?

If you have seen even a slight improvement at this stage then that is fantastic and I think there is a good chance then that it could be something similar to what Fun&care experienced. I doubt she has been conditioned to tune things out. That would be a pretty intelligent skill which I can't imagine a 3 year old being capable of. If she was ignoring you then that would be bad behaviour but it doesnt seem like thats even the case in this situation. Again I would keep a record of any behviours that seem out of sorts and keep good communication going with the parent too so that you can work closely to have a positive partnership in caregiving. I don't think it is bad to ignore what the parent said, sometimes thats actually for the best. They are biased and tend to blow things out of proportion quite frequently. Maybe you will see this inteligence come out and bloom once the child has transitioned properly. I listen to everything that parents tell me and use my best judgement to decide how to move forward for the childs best interest and logistically within my daycares current dynamic and setup.