ADHD Kids Don't Like Getting Ready

Clark does not like the process of getting ready to go somewhere. He rebels against it with his eyes, his body and his voice. Once he gets to the activity he is fine--he usually becomes the life of the party--but it's the getting him ready and to the place that is so difficult.

Clark has ADHD and wears a 20 mg Daytrana patch from wakeup time until 3 p.m. every day. Before the medicine kicks in and after it wears off he is irrational and wild. Sometimes he is violent.

I put Clark in a new camp for just this week. This is the last week for all camps. This camp is full of great activities and this last week's theme is the circus. All week the campers learn circus tricks and activities and on Friday, they perform a circus.

Getting him there on the first day was very difficult. He didn't want to get dressed, so he wore the clothes he slept in. He didn't want to eat breakfast until my mother fixed him poached egg on toast and showed him how he could politely play with the food while he ate it.

He screamed on and off from the time he woke up until he got into the car. I thought my mother was going to have a stroke. In the car, he picked on his sister a little bit. And then, upon arrival, true to Clark form, he immediately introduced himself to other boys. By the time I left, he was the center of attention and all the boys were laughing.

I'm working on feeling that the end result makes the stress and exhaustion worth it.