Maybe adhd

[MuttiParma]

My 7 years old is brilliant, funny and doing well at school and in their competitive sport — but at home daily life is a nightmare. They won’t brush their teeth, takes forever to get dressed (talking hours), bedtime drags on for hours (1-2hrs) and homework requires constant battle. I love them to bits but I’m exhausted and dreading parenting. Has anyone else experienced this? Did you get an ADHD assessment or other help, and what changed afterward?

Has anyone experienced this - yes.

Did you get an ADHD assessment - yes.

What changed afterwards - mainly that we parented differently. It took us a while to realise that the struggles we’d had were because of neurodivergency and not because they were wilful or messing around.

Even before assessment we talked about lot about self regulation and how it helps all of us, so much so that the DC will usually try something to help with self-regulation each day. The medication helped too.

One is diagnosed as AuDHD and the Melatonin was the one that really helped them.

If bedtime is difficult are they getting enough exercise in the day?

A weighted blanket and some lavender oil might help. We hound that they needed a much longer wind down before bed than you’d expect and absolute rigidity in that routine. Leaving them with an audio story or sone guided meditation aimed at DC helped a lot too.

As soon as they hit the bed, they fall asleep straight away. It takes time to get them to bed.