Lets focus on Mike

So my case study student, let’s call him Mike, is a pretty interesting. He is not only struggling in academics but his behavior in class is odd. Mike will sit in class with this blank look on his face… like there’s no one home and then when you ask him to repeat directions, surprisingly, he can’t do it. In addition, Mike has this tick. You know when you’re hand is in your face and you shake your head to the side to get it out of your face?? That’s what he will do repetitively… however, he doesn’t seem to notice the tick and we’re not entirely sure what sets the tick off. Sometimes he’ll just be sitting in class and working on math problems or reading a book, sometimes he’ll be talking to the teacher and sometimes he’ll just be talking to friends. In addition to the tick, when he is writing (ignoring how bad his handwriting is) he’ll go over some random letters – almost like he is trying to put them in bold print – and they’re all over his paper. Any thoughts on what might be going on there??

We’ve tried a number of strategies with Mike so far, we’ve tried timing tasks for him to keep him focused on his work which works sometimes – he’ll get his work done and we’re all satisfied – however, when he cannot complete the task in the allotted time, he becomes incredibly frustrated and while he does not shut down and he does eventually move one, he seems very defeated in that moment. WE have also set up for him to receive tutoring at a local church which has done wonders for his homework! Not only is all of his homework completed on time, but he can explain what he did to get his answers and seems to understand that concept. However, while it is good that he can do his homework, he still does not participate in class and does not complete his class work and often misses out on new concepts that are being introduced. We have also begun sending him to the homework help in the morning, giving him check lists to complete tasks in addition to giving him one on one attention. He responds to these interventions at the time that they are given but he quickly forgets what was talked about during those times, the concepts that were gone over, and the sometimes even what we did during those times at all. He goes right back to zoning out and staring blankly off into space. Again… any thoughts on what to do to try and get Mike to focus and possibly even retain information??