Yesterday we received some news which has left me with some mixed emotions. You see… Lucas has been on a pediatrician wait list for roughly 8 months. This was the request of his kindergarten teacher after she expressed some concerns about how he behaves in the classroom. It has been a very long year for all of us and I have described in an earlier post that he can be quite an exhausting little boy. I was fairly anxious prior and during his appointment, and it wasn’t long until she gave him a clear diagnosis of ADHD.

It is a bitter sweet moment for the Edge family because his behavior is not in relation to our parenting. I’m relieved to know that he’s not being a little prick for the sake of it and it’s not entirely his fault that he acts the way he does. Prior to this diagnosis I would often have little talks with him about his feelings, especially if he was acting a little wild. I would ask him if he felt funny inside, pointing to his head. He always said yes and that it was all his fault. It was pretty heart breaking to see him struggling like this.

During the consultation we discussed his terrible reactions to sugar, and thankfully we have a head start as most processed sugars has been removed from his diet. Thankfully the pediatrician will be forwarding some techniques to his teacher, so she can better engage him in the classroom. This includes zero sugar! It’s pretty stupid to even think about the school providing poor food choices to the kids. However can you believe that in the past we have had some major issues with Lucas being given sugar laden treats.

The worst to date was Father’s Day. As Chris was unable to take the morning off, I went to the school in his place. I had a gut feeling that it was not going to go well, as there had already been a few occasions where the kids had been given junk. So it was pretty hard to remain optimistic. When I arrived just after 8am, I was shocked to see a chocolate bar station for the kids to make teddy bear cars. The decision was set that he was not going to make or eat any of it. I didn’t want to deal with the aftermath, because it would take Lucas days to come down from his sugar high. Of course Lucas ended up throwing a huge tantrum. I must have looked like such a shit parent to the other mums and dads but what else could I have done?

When I picked him from school later that afternoon I was handed a chocolate car that he made earlier that morning. I was pretty pissed off because that morning I was pretty firm with the teacher that he was not allowed near the chocolate. And of course he continued to nag me for the rest of the day, and for a few days after. I was ready to pull my hair out. It wasn’t long after that, that I emailed the principle with my concerns. I wanted ensure that it wouldn’t happen again, so I requested that more healthier options are provided for the kids so that Lucas doesn’t miss out. I don’t think that it’s fair for him to miss out because of his behavioral disorder.

So where to from here…

Lucas is too young for medication, thank goodness, because that is something we want to avoid at all costs. There is also some parenting programs on how we can better engage with him. The school will also be provided with techniques on how to improve his involvement in the classroom. Fingers crossed he won’t need to return for a couple of years as it a costly experience.

If you have any recommendations on how we can help Lucas please feel free to comment.

Much love

Melanie xx

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