Reply #8: my 12 year old has had problems all along in school.

[ejpoeta]

I was picked on as a kid. Public and private school were pretty bad. had kids throw my books down the hall, spit on me.... it was awful. Now my daughter who is different and very smart has had a lot of issues. She has ADHD and acted out in school from an early age. the other kids would provoke her. They would say she was doing things and because more than one of them said she did it, she got in trouble. She acted out a lot. But her grades were good so it was tough getting her diagnosed for ADHD. She didn't start taking meds until 4th grade. There was a marked difference. But she still had problems. And the kids would push her buttons to get her to react.

She is in middle school now and has been doing well. Finally got her to see what the kids were doing. I have discussed her problems in the past on DU, about the group of boys that were harrassing her. One kid hit her with his locker door. A teacher saw it and talked to the boy. They always talk to the kids, supposedly. The kids just don't do it when the teachers are looking.

Emily is really smart. She is now in accelerated math and science. She loves greek mythology and her interests are not that of the other kids her age. She dresses different. I love that about her. I did tell her that she could expect to have problems because of this. It is the desire for conformity. But even if you conform it will not stop it. She acts like she is ok but I worry. At least she has a friend now at school. That helps some. She did a thing called the 'young americans' which she learns a routine and performs and it's all about positive stuff.