Welcome to the forum! How old is your son? What's his diagnosis?
It's certainly possible that your son has ADD -- there are many kids with autism who get a double diagnosis. It's also possible that his attentional issues are part of his autism, like with my son. Here's an ADHD questionnaire that might help you make some more observations before consulting a specialist, if you decide to go that route:
http://www.childbrain.com/adhdq12.shtml
My son has always had a terrible time sitting at the dinner table, and that's one reason why we suspected that he had ADD/ADHD when he was a preschooler. Then, after he got the autism diagnosis at age 7, his evaluators and we agreed that his attentional issues are a part of his autism.
He can concentrate well on things that interest him, in the right environment. The dinner table is a difficult setting for him and many other people with autism, because it's very sensory -- utensil noises, talking, lots of small movements in your field of vision, tastes and smells (smells was probably my son's biggest issue).
My son has an assistant while in the mainstream classrom or a special ed teacher 1 on 1 at school, to help him stay on task, stay calm, etc.
Good luck with everything!
My son is 8 and is PDD-NOS.Why do you think he's ADD? I ask this only because maybe he's not focusing b/c he needs extra help with his working towards independence. Mini-schedules for assignments helped my son tremendously--he knew what was next in the scheme of the teacher's expectations for assignments. Since he's 8, he could just have words, not pics on his mini-schedule. When my son goofs off, it is indictaive of his needs at the time, not his inability to focus b/c of attentional issues. When some ASD act like this they are telling us they need help in a different way than has been given. Good luck!Lack of focus is definitely part of AD/HD. A Connors Rating Scale conducted by a pro will tell. I'd take your child to a child psychiatrist who is an expert in autism. That doctor may recommend an ADHD med. Of course, as the parent you are the one who determines whether or not you think your child needs this med. I know that my son's eyes would dance around the page and he was unable to focus on words, oftentimes. We started him on Ritalin at the end of first grade and he made amazing progress. A friend of mine's Asperger's son, who has above average intelligence, simply COULD NOT learn to multiply. He entered MS wanting to become an engineer but was failing math. They finally started him on Ritalin and he caught up in math in one year. Focus is a HUGE problem when it comes to learning. Of course, there are behavioral techniques that can help with focus and sometimes focus is a problem but not a big enough problem in the individual to warrant medication. But Ritalin is a med that is completely out of the system in 4 hours. It's a good med to use to SEE if a stimulant can help. If it does, there are other Ritalin-based meds nowadays that may prove more convenient. You have to decide whether the focus issue is bad enough for meds to be the way to go. Some people worry about side effects, but to me not learning is a worse side-effect of no meds. JMHO
He has literally had someone getting him back on task since the beginning of the school year, we found out at last week's ARD.
Please, what can we do to help? The school is fantastic and willing to do just about anything (they haven't said no yet). They are very positive and adore him as well. And his intelligence isn't the issue. Just his focus.
I'm sure this is probably ADD. He's very mild mannered otherwise, but he cannot sit still, work for more than a few seconds, and self-stims by making farting noises with his mouth. Then giggles his butt off. Today to the point of disruption and removal from the room.
Help, please.