That Little ADHD Rascal

In my last parenting ADHD children blog post I wrote about how, due to her ADHD, Natalie has problems with change. I predicated that even though she was excited about school, and thought she’d love her new teacher, she’d flip out when she got home after her first day. Unfortunately, I was right.

When I picked Natalie up from daycare Thursday afternoon, after her first day of school, she first broke the news that her glasses were broken—AGAIN! They didn’t survive one day of school. These are the new, unbreakable glasses, you know. Nat found their weak spot—the easy to replace nosepieces—and one “fell out.” She was worried about how I would react to the broken glasses.

I decided not to try to take her to Hy-Vee to get them fixed right away. Better get a handle on how she’s doing, give her something to eat, I thought. I’m glad I did. She fell apart when we got home—sobbing, looking exhausted, flailing around on the floor. “My teacher is horrible! I’m never going back to school!” She recounted how the teacher yelled when kids weren’t quiet during quiet time, full of dramatics. “And you know I don’t like yelling,” she said. Yes, I know she can’t tolerate loud sounds--unless she’s the one making them!

Since I’d expected her to have problems adjusting, I focused on helping her cope, rather than delving into the “horrible teacher” issue. I gave her a snack, and bribed her with time to play with a friend if she could calm herself down. By the time supper was over, she was doing much better. “I’m calm, Mom” she said. “Can I play with Sarah Rose now? Please?”

Sarah Rose came over. As they sidewalk-painted on the driveway, Sarah Rose asked Nat about her first day of school. “It was fine,” Natalie told her, then, realizing her mistake, looked at me—an embarrassed smile on her face. I looked back at her, eyebrows raised.

“I lied about all of that badness,” she admitted. The little rat!

Whew. Nat’ll be okay with school, given time. She just needs time to adjust.

By the way, I took Nat to Hy-Vee to have her glasses repaired after her second day of school. The optician had to work and work to get what was left of the nosepiece out in order to replace it. Nat says, “That’s funny. They always pop right out when I bite them!” Caught ya again, you rascal!