DD(7) is strongly thought to have ADHD. she’s on the CAMHS wait list - average wait is apparently 3.5 years.
She fairly bright and has done OK thus far because up until year 3 her school uses EYFS style teaching and she also goes to a tutoring centre once a week where they reinforce learning via gameification on the computer. She is bilingual and also attends/ed a Saturday morning class in that language- again play based until this year.
’The wheels’ as they say for her schooling were never well attached - but they’re coming off now. She can’t attend the Saturday class as it’s now switched to a stricter approach. Her first week back in year 3 went OK, but there were hiccups and I know she’s currently on best behaviour.
When she’s not on best behaviour, noise and being required to follow someone else’s timetable trigger her (along with sensory issues). She can’t be still and is always seeking different sensory inputs. In a bad session it is not unusual for her to rip up her work, run away or throw shoes.
The only extracurriculars she copes with are Brownies and parkour (constant movement and they change task every 20 minutes).
We are looking forward in time and can see her spending more time out of the classroom than in it. We gave up on the Saturday session today and she’s asked me to find something she could cope with. But when I look around, it’s all the same - bums on seats activities or really long sessions which she won’t cope with. So that might be reduced to DuoLingo as she will at least play computer games/do screen work.
i suppose that what I’m asking is - how can I give her experiences and things to develop skills that would work for her? Does anyone have suggestions as to activities that a nearly 8 year old who can’t concentrate for more than 20 minutes, won’t write and doesn’t like excessive noise could do? Nothing round here seems geared to kids like her.