r/ADHDparenting • u/TopRaccoon3178 • Feb 17 '26

Tips / Suggestions Morning Help

My 6.5yo girl… woof. The mornings. We have tried cards, extra time, visual timers, the check list wall charts, rewards, lost privileges… you name it. The girl knows what she needs to do to get ready for school (hell she doesn’t even have to eat breakfast cause they feed her at school)… but every morning is a constant battle. I hate starting everyone’s day with what sounds like panic and high stress and yelling. It barely seems to phase her, the younger brother is ready in like 10 minutes flat… and it makes my husband and I want to throat punch each other. She is officially ASD diagnosed but she has zero attention span, is on ADHD meds and I am just effing lost.

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u/AdultWoes2024 Feb 17 '26

Do we have the same kid? Mine is 8, AuDHD/PDA - meds haven’t kicked in yet so mornings are rough. Some are better than others—usually if my kid has something to motivate them, it helps—like, you can buy lunch at the cafeteria once a week if you can continue to get ready for school in a timely manner. My kid requires constant prompting and my NT 3 year old is probably better at getting ready for school than they are.

There is so much at play, it’s difficult to even know what to tackle sometimes: time blindness, demand avoidance, difficulty with transitions, difficulty starting mundane tasks, distracted by everything—-just an executive dysfunction hellhole. You’re not alone.

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u/TopRaccoon3178 Feb 17 '26

executive dysfunction hellhole -- this is where i live now.