The naughty child, really? Glue ear, what to look out for

A couple of months ago we went along to the little man's parents evening. The teacher told us that the little dude was making good progress since starting Class but he did have a tenancy to become easily distracted and not listen. We were prepared for this, we have had previous experience of the little man's short attention span in after school clubs. So my partner and I set up a rewards chart system that focused on rewarding the little man for listening and following instructions, it seemed to work. We were cautiously confident that we'd see an improvement at school in no time. Imagine our dismay  when, just before Christmas, the teacher called us in again.

Our second meeting was more serious. The little man's teacher informed us that he had fallen behind with his work and as well as being easily distracted, he was now disrupting the other children's learning too. In short, he was the naughty child! Now, i'm no deluded mother but I was sure that there was something more to my son's behavior at School and I had noticed a few things while I'd been trying to help him with his listening too:

1. He wasn't easily distracted at home or in small groups
2. He lost the ability to listen when we were outside or with big groups of people. 

The pieces of the puzzle finally clicked into place when I was watching the little guys swimming lesson the following weekend. The instructor was instructing away to the  little group of children below.  The little man was watching the instructor but did not follow his instructions. Instead he watched to see what the other children were doing. When he still couldn't work it out, he started splashing the child next to him with water.  At that point he was hauled out of the pool and made to sit at the side.

The next day at the doctors surgery I had the little mans ears tested.  The doctor informed me that my son had glue ear in both ears. Glue ear is a condition which is common in children, a thick liquid in the ear can make it difficult for them to hear. The doctor advised that my son would find it difficult to hear things, especially in large groups or anywhere with background noise, like the swimming pool and the classroom.
I took him to school and explained to the class teacher that my son was temporarily deaf, not disruptive.

Fast-forward to today. The little man came bounding in from school with several stickers on his chest and a 'pupil of the week' certificate clamped in his hands. The same thing has been happening the past three Fridays too. Since discovering the little mans hearing loss, the school have been working with us to support his learning and bring him up to speed and the results have been amazing. Our little super star is now in the top group in his class for reading and writing. His confidence is through the roof and we couldn't be prouder.

I'm so happy that we were able to get the bottom of the 'naughty child' mystery.  I have no doubt in my mind that, had we not noticed, he would have been labelled for his entire school life. We went to see the audiologists this week and have decided to have grommets fitted inside his ears to help him to hear more clearly.

I'm so very proud of the fact that my little guy remained a happy, kind and confident child despite the fact that his actions were being misunderstood by the adults around him.
If there is a moral to my little tale it would be this: Know your child and trust your instincts 

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