Tink has a girl on her squad (C) who is probably ADHD, more likely somewhere on the spectrum. Of course, she and Tink get along fabulously. Now the thing is, she is the coaches daughter! We almost lost our coach because C was getting frustrated and almost decided to quit the squad.
At one point last week, the girls moved from their normal practice spot to another area of the park to practice a dance with the older cheerleaders. C had a pretty good meltdown and refused to join the other girls. Talk about putting mom on the spot! Coach had to go with the other girls and leave C behind.
I was appalled at some of the other moms of girls on the squad, who mumbled under their breath that coach needs to keep her kid in line, what a brat she is, all she needs is a good beating. I defended C and the coach (who is doing a wonderful job with the girls) and went to talk to C.
She really is a sweet kid, but there is definitely some sensory issues going on. The uniform is itchy, she does not like to do stunting because as one of the taller kids on the squad, she "gets" to be the base. Which means the other girls stand on her thighs. And it hurts her.
I went to talk to the coach afterwards, and told her about Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) and how Occupational Therapist (OT) is helping Tink. She was so grateful. C is back on the squad for sure, and has a special T-shirt to wear under her itchy uniform. She also massages her legs before stunting, which has helped her a great deal.
I also like Busywend's idea about challenging her. if that applies. Another thing that helped our entire squad, not just C, was to have a junior coach. One of the girls who dropped out of the varsity squad has agreed to help our coach with the girls, and they really like having her there. Now, coach can continue with whatever she is doing, and Jr coach can help individuals if they are having a hard time.
I really hope this helps!