School Sucks

Anyone who has dealt with an ADHD child knows how hard getting through a day at school can be, there are so many things that can cause a distraction and get a child off task that I often wonder how these kids manage to pass their grade. My daughter is one of those children that make you question how exactly does she manage to get through a day. There is no doubt about it that ADHD children are smart, catch on quick and when they can focus their energy they can accomplish anything. You would think that a child as smart as she is would be able to blow through school work in minutes but the truth is simple homework like reading or a math sheet can take hours to complete. Because of how long school work takes and how defiant my little angel can be I end up talking with her teacher at least twice a day. First I check in with the office to see if she was in then I go to the class at lunch to see how the morning was, I get a basic run down of her behaviour and find out what she didn’t complete, then I take her home for lunch and discuss what needs improving or how proud I am of her then I take her back. At the end of the day we go through the same routine, check in at the office, talk with the teacher, collect incomplete work for the day, walk home, discuss how her day went then struggle for hours to get homework done. At the end of the day this routine, as intrusive and tiring as it may seem, really is the only reason my girl is not completely failing in school. Some days are worse then others of course and there have been a few times now that the teacher has asked me to take her home because she is being impossible, other bad days she ends up sitting in the office. Some days I can’t believe what I hear when the teacher tells me how well my girl did because those days tend to be the days when she refuses to listen to me at all. The worst days are when there is a substitute teacher because as hopefully most of you know, change does not go over well with ADHD kids once they have a routine. Some substitutes are great and can handle ADHD kids without issue while others have no clue as to what to do when a child doesn’t immediately do what they are told. The answer most have for ADHD kids is take away the fun stuff like gym or recess, unknowingly they are helping these kids become more active and defiant, other times the answer is having the kid sit in the office for the day. My daughter has now spent two days in the vice principals office and has had no recess, not exactly the best solution for a hyper kid. As much as I try to help out at the school I honestly want to give their heads a shake and ask why they think taking away the only chance an ADHD kid has to burn off energy will help. Personally when I’m full of energy and need to burn some off, sitting in a room doing work is the last thing I want to do. In all honesty, I don’t have an answer for the teachers questions about what to do, when my girl doesn’t want to listen nothing seems to help. The best answer I can give is take your day one step at a time, let her stand to do her work, let her color when she is waiting for the other children to finish and ignore her when she behaves badly, only acknowledge the good she does. At the end of it all, I know my girl is smart and I can’t blame her for getting bored in school. It may be hard for the teacher to get through the day but it isn’t easy for kids either.