Is he bodily-kinesthetic gifted or what should I do??

[Peamite]

My 8 year old grandson is extremely gifted in sports.  He was third in the state on wakeboarding, he plays 3rd base in baseball and is the leadoff batter and he played quarterback and safety for his football team.  In class, he does not do his work or he hurries thru it.  He is very smart but he has d's and f's.  He cries during homework when he gets something wrong and he gets upset when it is time to do the lessons.  He is very popular, per his teacher but has no drive for his grades, lessons, etc.  I do not know what to do??

[Peamite]

Thanks so very, very much and I will be back in touch regarding the meds, etc.

[Sandman2]

   Thanks for the added information.  It does help.
I assume by his birthday that he is in 3rd grade?  If not please let me know!
   So couple of thing going on here.  The fact he was on the honor roll and is now doing very poorly does suggest that it is not a matter of him just not caring about his grades.
   One quick thing to check out is if he is taking any meds for his allergies and if so what are the side effects.  Some of those meds can make a child very sleepy or spacey.  There are good meds for allergies out there that won't have that effect..  But its definitely something to check out - or give me the name and I will research it.
   The second thing is that he definitely has many of the signs of attention deficit disorder, or ADD.  Not ADHD from what you have said, but ADD.  This site has more info on ADD - http://helpguide.org/mental/adhd_add_signs_symptoms.htm.    
   The trouble with ADD is that it is not easily noticed because the child is not hyper.  And if they are smart enough to pull good grades in early years, they can be completely overlooked. And I have seen numerous posts on this site from adults who finally were diagnosed years after the fact - and they were very unhappy campers.
    What worries me is that if he does have ADD, then he is being punished for things he has no control over.  And the consequences of that are not good for a child.  As a teacher of fifth grade kids - one of the strongest symptoms I noticed was the frustration level of the child - which typically led to them giving up.   The reason I asked about the subject area was that typically (if the child was smart) it was math that caused them the most problems.  Long division or fractions (depending on the grade level) - simply because you had to pay attention in class to learn how to work the problems out.  
     The point being if he does have ADD - his problems are only going to get worse.   And if he does have ADD and it is diagnosed - then there are many things that the school can do to help him.  There are many ways his parents will be able to help him instead of punishing him for things he has no control over.  And none of these things involve medication (of course, that is always an option too).
    So my recommendation is to read the site I mentioned above.  If after reading that, it appears possible to you that he does have ADD - then print out this letter if you want and show it to his parents.   Or if that bothers you, then start a dialogue with his teacher using the site I mentioned.  
    By the way, I am going out on a limb here.  I don't usually say, "I think a child has ADD,"  because I never have enough information to do so.  But since I normally am dealing with a parent, its pretty easy to lead them along a process which ultimately helps their child.  You are stuck in the middle so to speak which makes it difficult for you and even more so for me.  As specialmom said, "you are a great grandma".  And your next step could be difficult for you, but very important for your grandchild.
   Any way that I can help you or his parents - just ask.

[Peamite]

Thank you so much!

[specialmom]

Just observing this thread-------  first, I want to say that everyone should have a Grandma like you!  

It is interesting, the dichotomy in your grandson.  One of my kids is a numbers guy.  He brought home his math workbook and on a page in which the last part said, How did you get your answer, show your work---  my son made a picture of himself pointing to his head and he wrote "I knew the answer because of this thing, my brain."  he was dead serious and not trying to be funny.  He has to back himself way up to show his work.  

This boy sound smart but loses his way in the school setting.  Figuring out why is great and maybe Sandman can help you with this with all of his vast experience (he's a terrific resource).  

But I hear ya on always feeling like you are in trouble with both parents and teachers----  it takes a toll.  And trying to figure out if there is something more going on is important.  And, even if there is not----  helping him learn to cope with his own personality and get better organized in school so he can be successful is a better approach than making him feel like he's a bad kid.

I love that he is good in athletics.  Talk about a society that worships things. . . I've noticed that kids good in sports are often popular and looked highly upon.  Our occupational therapist for one of my kids said something that I've always carried with me-----  "when it comes to your kids, excentuate the positives!"  Your grandson has a LOT of positives.  

Anyway, keep being a great grandma!  Peace and luck

[Peamite]

He will be 9 this month.  I should have mentioned that up until this year, he was on the AB Honor Roll most of the time.  He is severely allergic to grass, several things and this was just diagnosed after having to be rushed to the hospital.  The day I sit in on his class, his teacher asked a math question and he answeed it within two seconds with the right answer, however, when the teacher asked him what his answer was (because he was the ONLy one that said the right answer, he changed it after thinking for a minute.  The other day when he got to school after his doctors appt he had a math test that required he workout the problems, but he just marked answers (multiple choice). Everyone else had already took their test.  So he is has bad grades in math but even his teacher said that he knew math better than any student she ever had.  He is not completing class work and she says he daydreams, looks out the window, etc.  Therefore, he has bad test grades even in math. On his progress report he had D in math and a D in spelling and a couple of C's.  This teache is fairly strict about directions, for example she told them to make sure they put their name on their papers, he didn't and he got a 0.  I just don't know if something is wrong with him or if he and his teacher arent' on the same page. Once, he did his work but he put it in his desk instead of gving it to the teacher and she gave him a 0.  I just know that I don't think it is all his fault.  He is punished quite often by his parents and it is all blamed on him not doing what he is suppose to do.

[Sandman2]

   I should have asked this the first time.  When is his birthday and what grade is he in?   Also does he get bad grades in all subjects or just in a few - if so which subjects does he do the worst in?

[Peamite]

They turned his desk around because he fidgets with things in it.  We studied for a test together.  He knew everything on it but he made a D on this test.

[Peamite]

Thank you!  His mom has been to the school, she has sat in on classes, etc.  The teacher states he can do the work but the teacher doesn't do anything out of the way to "Help" him.  His class has several things going on at once (I've been there, too) and it's like he loses his train of thought.  I know when I was in school, things were a lot more scheduled and organized.  Classes were quiet.  He is a very bright boy and he is very well mannered.  This is his first year in this school and this is the first year he's made these bad grades, imcompleted work, etc.

[Sandman2]

   Unfortunately, many famous athletics such as Michael Phelps (the olympic swimmer) and Kris Kaman (ex center for the Clippers) have ADHD.  Its a well known fact that people with ADHD can hyper focus if they are interested in that subject.  And at 8 years old - sports are pretty much reaction without too much thinking anyway.
   I do agree with the possibility that allmymarbles presents in her last line though.  But asking the childs teacher questions like - does he seem interested in class?  Does he miss simple questions on tests that you know he knows the answers to?  Does he get distracted easily?   Is he showing signs of frustration over schoolwork (kids that don't care usually don't get too frustrated)?   Will help to get more of the information that is necessary to figure out what is going on.

[allmymarbles]

Does he have focus? Absolutely. How else could he succeed in sports? So that eliminates ADHD.

The problem is that he is not interested in academics in a world that worships it.

[Sandman2]

   Well, since you are posting to the ADHD forum, I am guessing that you suspect something like this could be going on.  It would explain someone who is very smart, but gets d's and f's (course there could be other reasons).   And yes, those are definitely some of the symptoms.  Kind of surprised his teacher has not gotten more involved.  But then again, maybe he has tried and the parents have not been to responsive?   Obviously, the parents spend a lot of time with their child in outdoor activities and maybe overlooking what seems obvious to you.
   At any rate, here is a good site that lists the symptoms of ADHD and ADD.  Take a look at it.  If it seems relevant, then you might want to show it to his parents.    http://www.rxlist.com/attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder_adhd/article.htm#tocb
   What you are going to have to do is to get his parents aware of ADHD and the damage it can do to a child if left untreated.  I will be glad to help if you have any more questions or need more material.  Best wishes!