First day of School, 5 ways of dealing with anxiety.

I wish there was an easy answer for dealing with anxiety. Nicole just started 7th grade, which in Nova Scotia means Jr high school. She will be at the bottom of the ladder so to speak. The smallest group of children in the school, not knowing where to go and how things are going to be different. It is where you make new friends, lose old friends, and start finding yourself. Nicole has lots of plans for this school year, starting to take her bike to school, taking a laptop to help with the extra note taking required, starting this blog...We will just have to keep going day by day.

To help with her anxiety over starting this new school year we have been discussing how things will be different but at the same time maintaining that some things will be the same. She still has the same classmates from last year, to a degree. And as always I am always a phone call away, (benefits of being a stay at home mom).  She has been discussing the new school with her older sister (luckily she went there 5 years ago and some of the same teachers still go there), and her sister maintains that she will enjoy it and that she will love the teachers that she will have. She will have more independence, for she can come home for lunch or stay. The library isn't a mandatory thing( she does not enjoy reading), and there is more time for computer labs.

All in all she is ready, but her anxiety holds her back to a degree. She had a hard time getting to sleep last night, and this morning had butterflies. But with our knowledge from working with the cool kids group we knew what to do

1- Reassure them that they are going to do great and enjoy the school, then get them to tell things they are               excited for instead of things they are nervous about.

2- LOTS of deep breathing to keep the heart rate down, to get that fight or flight response under control.

3- Drive by the school to show them its just another building and remind them that they have been her                     previously when attending siblings concerts, (Nicole has an older sibling)

4-Email the teachers and keep communicating with them. Let them know your concerns as well as the                     child's. If the teachers are aware of the anxiety they can help and recognize the signs of distress. Let               them know what you plan to do to help them as well.

5- Nicole has a small container of homemade slime that helps her keep focused, she also has fidget spinners              and a fidget cube. She insists that it helps her focus. The school she is going to does not allow them.              So I have to make accommodations. I will be speaking to the teachers, some will allow it if it isn't a               distraction (completely understandable). Let the child take something that makes them feel more                   comfortable. Something small that they can keep in there hand under the desk and out of sight of                   others so it isn't distracting.

Anxiety is common with children with ADHD, learning how to deal with it is a process but it can be done. Nicole would not go to school at the start of grade 5 with out a tantrum and it was a huge struggle to get out the door. But 2 years later I dropped her off outside the school property; the traffic was a little insane this morning; and she went right in no problems. She was nervous, she knew it and I knew it, but she went, and I'm so proud of her for just going and not looking back; except once to tell me she loved me...and that I will accept anytime anywhere.

I hope this will help some mom with a child with ADHD or anxiety. This is why we have started this blog. Always remember there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that your local hospitals have tons of resources. Never hesitate to ask for help. We finally did and it has made a huge difference.

Thanks for reading
Please message us with your own tips for dealing with anxiety for the first day of school.
Or any other time.