2 level drops in one day

timer lady

Queen of Hearts
kt arrived home from school yesterday semi hysterical. Her in home therapist met her as she was coming off the bus. They both walked in the door - kt screaming at the top of her lungs & therapist looking bewildered & at the same time trying to get information from kt.

kt really didn't share much other than her math teacher didn't care for her attitude which resulted in not one but two level drops in the course of 15 minutes. (You gotta admit, that's pretty impressive:stopglass:) She was asked to leave the classroom & go to the break room. kt refused; instead the rest of the class left the room.

She proceeded to run up the stairs to her room screaming that she hated hormones & periods & level 3. We gave her 10 minutes to settle before anyone approached her.

kt came downstairs on her own & started talking to therapist. She shared that level 3 had too many expectations every day & that the other kids on that level were to competitive (her exact words). Proceeded to share that everyone is annoying - like mosquitoes buzzing in her brain. She is glad that she is back on level one because no one can interact with her during free time or academics. "I want to be left alone."

kt settled down & had a good evening. She left for school this morning in good spirits & looking forward to being left alone.

In the meantime, we see psychiatrist in 2 weeks - maybe time for a medication tweak. Maybe that the stress of all this Mayo stuff just hit home or a combo of all of the above or none of the above. You never have a clue with kt.


 

dreamer

New Member
Aw, I am sorry. If it helps any, I know in my oldest difficult children class, it was very common for the kids to derail their levels when they got closer to highr levels. Many of the kids do feel the same way as kt about it all. There seems to be some comfort in more restrictions. Hugs to kt.
 

JJJ

Active Member
That was common where I taught too. I think the idea of having more choices, and for some kids the possible return to a more mainstream school, was terrifying. So they worked the system the only way they know how.

I'm glad she was able to talk to you and therapist about it.
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
Is it written into her IEP that she can/could have noise blocking head phones?

I get the mosquito buzzing comment - sometimes it is so overwhelming for Dude and we figured out later it was the lights - more precise the capacitors - he could hear the buzzing and it made him crazy.

Maybe even some simple foam earplugs - if you go to a rental store they have some really cool ones purple/green - on a string - adn they block out a good bit of the noise around a person with ADHD.

-Just a thought
 

totoro

Mom? What's a difficult child?
I hate hormones also!!! For what it is worth, that is when I always, ALWAYS wanted to, and still want to be shut up and away from the world...
Poor little confused kid! Girls have it rough. That was when I really started getting "bad" was when the period started.
 

mrscatinthehat

Seussical
You know I have found with both my difficult children that when things got going well they needed to make something happen to stop it from being that way. Almost like they didn't like the good expectations.

Hope Kt has a better day today.

Beth
 

Marguerite

Active Member
We had a session in at the school yesterday, due to public transport problems only five kids turned up for the Peer Support day. Of those five, I know that difficult child 3 is autistic with ADHD, a girl there is Aspie and goes to a behaviour school; another kid there also goes to the same behaviour school and clearly has ADHD plus maybe something else; not sure about the other two. And where did they put the group? In the large learning space, with vaulted ceilings and connected to everything else in the school (library, canteen, deliveries, playground). The acoustics were so bad we could barely hear the teachers, the echoes were shocking and drowning out a lot of stuff; teachers walked past and were talking in the canteen or outside the library; the primary school kids (there is an attached mainstream primary) were playing right outside; several times trolleys were taken through to drop off stuff or collect it. Amazingly, difficult child 3 was still trying hard to pay attention. The ADHD kid was trying to push difficult child 3's buttons (with some success) but the acoustics were so bad he couldn't hear me trying to get him back on track (as parent/supervisor, I got to sit in as well).

Then they got the kids together to play "Stand By Me" on various instruments, INCLUDING DRUMS! And they let the ADHD kid loose on the drums, which just added to the problems. The effect of a drum kit, in that area, was devastating. Even I felt overwhelmed by it. A teacher whisked the Aspie girl out of there fast but difficult child 3 was left there, fingers in his ears and clearly not participating as he struggled to stay in control. It was a pity, because he had more music ability than the others. Another teacher took him outside to shoot baskets, when it was obvious he was about to lose it.

Something I tried to do, which you could do for kt as a less obvious alternative to headphones - our iPod has little ear buds which easy child 2/difficult child 2 bought specially. They have a soft silicone part to them, like a small silicone bubble which clips onto the harder plastic, and this snuggles into the ear and thoroughly blocks outside noise. If I'd had a bit of warning I could have persuaded difficult child 3 to use them, but it was too late by the time I handed them to him. Even without the iPod attached, these things are good. You can still hear someone talking directly to you but it seems to especially damp out echoes.

difficult child 3 did come back in later, once the teachers had explained what to do to everyone else and I managed to persuade him to play the piano. The teacher had labelled the piano keys and written down what ones to play and when, but difficult child 3 just went straight to playing the chord progressions even though he'd missed all the preparation. By this stage the ADHD kid was on the electric keyboard and the teacher controlled his output by pulling the plug until the kids were cued in.

These special iPod plugs are really good, I've used them to block out sound. Something else I worked out years ago - a bit gross but if kt's ever desperate to calm down sounds she could try it - I chew up a wad of tissue or paper into something resembling a LARGE spitball, squeeze it out, wrap it in a dry piece of paper and wad it into my ears. Squishy foam ear plugs are preferable, the silicone bubble ones are more unobtrusive and I think more effective, but makeshift papier maché are almost always an option if you're really desperate with nothing else available.

I had to buy a new pair of these wonderful little plugs because the ear buds 'died' and I had to replace them. I found a very expensive pair (no flamin' way!) and then I found a much cheaper pair which will do me. So don't be put off by price - you should be able to find cheap ones. I need these because the usual ear buds won't stay in my ears, but these things stay really well (good seal, against noise as well as falling out). They also come with three different sizes of silicone bubble, so you can choose the ones you want. I keep the others in case I lose one (sometimes they fall off the ear bud) but they are fairly forgiving in that you can usually make do with a slightly larger or smaller bubble.

I was able to get them in black, and in white/clear, so they really could be chosen to make them as invisible as possible.

I hope kt can sort this out and find a way to cope better. You're right, it could well be the upheaval at the moment adding to her confusion. I know that sort of thing really unsettles easy child 2/difficult child 2.

Marg
 
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