New Year, Same ADHD

Happy New Year! We made it through the holiday season and now the real fun begins... wrapping up the first half of the school year. This may include midterm exams, state-mandated testing (extra fun for neurodivergent kids!), or just surviving the end of the term. Whatever that looks like for you, I wish you the best and want you to know we're all in this together.

PSA for other parents: it's probably time for a backpack clean out. This haul includes holiday thank you cards for teachers (that weren't handed out), 2 candy canes, and a mangled protein bar.

But aside from the newness of saying 2026 instead of 2025, the start of a new year doesn't mean school is going to be any easier for kids with ADHD. In fact, many kids (mine included) were not on much of a schedule over the holiday break and are going to struggle getting back into the school routine. And the same goes for a lot of us parents who got a break from the day-to-day stress of schoolwork and carpools but are now back to setting 3 alarms just to wake everybody up.

The good news? A new semester = a fresh start. Whether your child was a rock star and made the honor roll or barely survived last term, everyone gets a clean slate. And it's never too late to establish new habits and systems for staying on track. Let's just remember to give our children (and ourselves) some grace during the process and be realistic when creating goals. I'll admit that I'm guilty of comparing my children to others and feeling like a lackluster parent at times. But I have learned that comparison is toxic, and social media is an unreliable narrator. So here's to a new year, new semester, and our same amazing kids.