Time to Think About School

You're probably thinking "but it seems like school just ended."

That may be true, but prepping your ADHD angel for school is a summer-long event since structure and routine are critical to minimizing ADHD frustration. Here are some of the methods I've found make the end of August much easier for my baby girl, who'll be entering middle school for the first time this year:

1. Summer Bridge
While most kids look forward to a break from learning over the summer, keeping the ADHD brain trained is critical to a smooth start for the next school year. There are plenty of fun activity-oriented workbooks available at your local brick & mortar bookstore. Let your child go with you to choose the workbook that looks most interesting to him or her. (I would use apps less as ADHD kids tend to get distracted by other games/apps on the machine and deviate from working classroom-style.) My daughter prefers the "Summer Bridge Activities" books with the shiny covers because they work physical activities and fun into a well-varied but structured schedule. I've found that completing this workbook through daily dedication ensures she avoids that "I forgot how to do that" panic that used to happen at the beginning of each school year.

2. Practice Your Morning Routine
Sleeping in and staying up late seem like fun things to do in the summer. Unfortunately, the damage these habits do to the ADHD child's circadian rhythm can take weeks, even months to undo. Rather than succumbing to this temptation on weeknights, keep your child on a regular sleep schedule and

practice morning habits that s/he will follow during the school year. For example: Instead of staying up and watching DXD Monday night, stick to your bedtime routine and create a daily "getting ready" checklist your child can practice following without the pressure of catching the school bus or beating the morning bell. (For that checklist, use a whiteboard with checkboxes and list everything from get dressed w/shoes on to eating breakfast and brushing teeth.) By the time school rolls around, the habits built over the summer will have become part of your child's daily structure and significantly reduce morning struggles that seem their worst about mid-August every year. Be sure and set a reward plan to go along with completing that morning checklist to make it worthwhile!

3. Night Rituals
ADHD kids need structure - solid, hardcore structure, to minimize distraction and frustration during the school year. One thing that can really throw off their school day is a hectic morning. Get your child into the habit of having everything ready for the next day before that little angel head hits the pillow at night. This starts with laying out the clothes for the next day and NOT deciding on a change in the morning, finding both shoes, socks and undergarments to .

4. Tame the Backpack
One of my daughter's biggest problems during the school year has always been her backpack. Even if her homework made it into that black hole of paperwork, it rarely made it back out again in a timely manner without some serious adult intervention. Summer is a great time to figure out where backpacks will go after school and what happens to their contents on a daily basis. Practice organizing "homework" (hint: use summer bridge activity pages) into folders (by subject or due day) and tracking due dates in an organizer or, if allowed, electronic calendar. (If using an electronic device, be sure and block the ability to install apps and download games or your ADHD baby will never put that thing down again.) Be sure to practice placing parent notes and flyers in the backpack as well. Then have your child practice walking in the door, pulling out the homework, parent notes, items for signature, and placing them in a "mailbox" or other organizer along with putting that backpack in it's assigned place. Again, be sure and build a reward system around getting homework and parent signatures turned in on time as well as making sure you see those flyers without you having to remind your baby to do it. Practice de-cluttering the backpack every weekend so this becomes a habit as well.

5. Build Independence
By the time your child reaches fourth grade, s/he will need to be able to function somewhat independently. Many schools begin "switches" at this point, which require your child to keep up with supplies and homework throughout the day as the classes move from room to room. Practice putting supplies back into their proper places as soon as they're no longer needed. Use the summer to figure out which methods and supply organizers work best for your child. Mine had tried a locking pencil box but quickly found that keeping track of the key and the extra time required to deal with the lock were too much for her. Zipper pouches in the binder required too many steps to put things away and she'd end up forgetting to close the zipper or the binder. Standard-issue plastic pencil boxes didn't work because they opened and spilled too easily when she was in a hurry. We eventually settled on a case with a button latch closure and mesh pockets to store erasers and smaller items. It was a little heavier, but stayed closed and made it easier her for to find what she needed once she got to class. Some kids work best with zipper pouches in their binders, others with that standard issue pencil box. A little experimentation when the pressure is off goes a long way, and you can always donate the rejected supplies to the school or a local church to gift to kids in need.

6. The School Tour
Teachers are usually back about a month before school starts. Try to make arrangements with your school counselor to make a few practice runs through the halls if your ADHD child will be in multiple classrooms during the school year. ADHD may not affect a sense of direction, but the sooner your child builds a mental pathway from class to class following the pattern s/he'll be using during the school year, the less likely your baby will be to chase squirrels between classes and end up in the wrong hallway, or worse, outside the building. If possible, you should sit down with each of his/her future teachers before the year starts and review your child's education accommodations. (If your child attends school in Texas, make sure you get a 504 classification as soon as possible.) Each child's needs are a little different. My daughter has to be seated near the teacher facing away from the class and any possible distractions. She gets to wear sound-blocking headphones for tests and a privacy screen when needed. Her 504 exception also includes removal of time limits for testing and an extra day to turn in homework as well as a requirement that teachers notify me directly if she doesn't turn something in the day it's due. Introducing her to her counselor early ensures she knows where to go and can find a friendly face should things go sideways during the school day. Finally, she gets an exception to the electronic device rules since she's unable to keep track of schedules in her head. (Her phone calendar makes sure she's in the right place at the right time and knows what tasks are ahead.)  These exceptions require a good deal of pre-work on your part, including a professional medical diagnosis of ADHD and a note from an approved physician and/or counselor listing the required accommodations. However, once you've gotten the exceptions documented, teachers are required by the state to allow them.