[Wheaten2]

I teach 4th and have a student who is an unbelievable liar. He doesn't lie to get out of trouble. Instead he lies to interact with me and others. I have heard elaborate stories about family (that don't exist), vacations(he's never taken), experiences of all kinds that simply are not true. It is pretty disturbing how believable he is. Has anyone seem this before? It seems well beyond the scope of a wild imagination. I have our psychologist and social worker involved, but just wonder if anyone has seen this before and if they knew what became of the child later on.....

[purduegirl]

I'm curious to know what the social worker and psychologist think. I haven't had an experience with this, but it sounds like he is desperate for attention. It makes me wonder what is going on at home. Good luck, and keep us posted if you don't mind!

[kshaw]

I worked with an ED student last year who did not know how to interact with others without lying or manipulating. This student had major issues besides lying, but where the lying was concerned I did the following:
1. Praise that student (on the rare occasion that it happened) and others for honesty.
2. I questioned stories that I thought may not be truthful and even called home to check them out. EVERY time I caught the student in a lie, they had a consequence.
3. If the student began a story that I knew (or strongly suspected) was not true, I would interupt and say "If this story is not true, I don't want to hear it."
I know these methods may seem a little extreme, but these things did help make the child aware of their behavior. It's really sad when a child becomes so involved in their lies that they can no longer really tell what is the truth and what is not. As far as what became of the child later on. . .like I said, the child has A LOT of issues - last I heard, they have been sent to an alternative school, a pshychiatric (sp?) hospital and now a residential placement. I think of this child often and hope that the impact that I had will at least make a small difference. . .

[Wheaten2]

I, too, hope to make a difference by building a relationship and calling attention to honesty and lying both.
I am now incredibly blunt...my response if often "No, you didn't or No, that's not true." I finally got him to admit once that he said it because it "was more exciting". I am calling him on every lie at this point to force the issue. For about a month he had the school staff believing all about an older brother and the things he has done with him....only to find out that this brother never existed. It is also disturbing because he is very convincing! I really think there is a lot more going on here beyond the lies, and we are working to get him the help he needs. It seems to take a long time to get parents to accept and act when something really is outside the norm.

[kshaw]

to see how believable they can be. My student once stole an item from lost and found and actually convinced a number of staff people that it came from their grandmother who had died - NOT TRUE. . . It sounds like you are doing the right things. Hang in there - it can be exhausting to keep up with it and be consistent and sometimes it feels easier to just let the lies go because you don't have time to deal with them.

[angelluv8778]

of a third grader that I work with. The other day he received a package from another students. This package was taped tightly shut. He carried this package around all day. After school he told my staff that this was a delicate package that was from his great grandfather. He desperate had to put this package in my office on my desk. (The students are not allowed to do this and they know it). He had convinced the staff that it was a WW2 artifact. Later in the day after this third grader left said important package on a shelf, I overhear the staff talkng about the importance of this package and how they were going to call Mom to come back to pick it up. I explained to them that this package happened to be an invitation to a birthday party that was lego pieces that needed to be put together. I happen to know this because the Mom of the chld passing these packages out told me what was inside. My staff felt totally dupped!

My suggestion is as other PP said, call him out when he is lyng. Verify as often as possible. I would even set up consequences with the parents so that they can follow through to ensure the child knows this is unacceptable!

Good Luck!