New here and to ADHD in general

[mrl12]

Hello all, I'm new here. My 6-year-old daughter is going through the process of assessment for ADHD and other things, though teachers and doctors have all agreed it appears to be a strong likelihood (and which I've thought so for years.) She has a very tough time with her emotions and impulsive behavior. She's currently in 1st grade on a hybrid schedule and some days just seem like torture to her. Wednesdays she has online meetings from 8:30 to 11:25, which seems to me to be just absurd. We're hoping to get support through the school's Child Study Team but still waiting to hear back on that. I'm not certain her 1st-grade teacher is a great fit for her, but we're trying our best to stay positive and encouraging. She says school is boring, which concerns me greatly. More than anything I want her to have fun with learning and feel engaged. To me, a child being bored in 1st grade is the fault of the teacher, not the kid. She's very smart yet she struggles. Hoping to get some tips on parenting this wonderfully complex child so she grows into a healthy and well-balanced adult.

[Hidden]

Welcome! My 9YO is the same way with emotions and impulsiveness. I don't have any advice for you there, just to say you aren't alone.

I think 3 hours could be OK for a first grader, but it ALL depends on the teacher. They have to be engaging with visuals, with audio, and keeping the kids moving at their home-desks as much as possible.

I would just try to be as positive about school as you can be (at least in front of her) If she knows that you think it's boring or the teacher is bad, that gives her more ammunition to push on not doing her work.

They say that consistency is important, but my son gets bored with the same thing every day. Sometimes we do homework outside, sometimes he lays flat on his stomach on the floor, sometimes we use a yoga ball, and we're constantly moving to different rooms. If she has really fun rewards that will work. Once I told my son if he got an A in one subject he was slacking off in, that he could smash a pie in my face, and he did it

We're generally less concerned about grades overall, and more concerned that he enjoys learning at school. If your local public library is open, I'd encourage you to go there and look for audio books, books on science experiments, how-to-draw, movies, or our library even lets us check out musical instruments, board games, puzzles, and just a wide variety of random stuff. Keeping her interested in learning in general will also help to keep her interested in learning at school.

Best of luck!

[mrl12 in reply to Hidden]

I don't know how engaging her teacher is or what accommodations she has in class. I've seen the assignments, videos, and meetings and they bore even me. But yesterday my daughter told me her teacher was "so nice" and that was a relief to hear. I agree, I'm less concerned about overall grade performance and more concerned about making learning fun and engaging.

Sounds like they're going to go back to full remote learning soon, so I'm trying to figure out a way to set up the learning environment at home. Last year it wasn't happening. She refused to do assignments or participate, it was just too distracting to be at home with all her toys. Not to mention she has a little sister who doesn't have online school and it doesn't seem fair to her that her sister can play while she has to work. But I like the idea of moving from room to room. Maybe we can dedicate different rooms to different subjects or times of the day. And of course at least one room will be play time