10 September 2009

First tantrum of the year.

Very short b/c I've got to clean up the desk and write thank you notes!

But . . .

Two hot dogs buns this weekend; loose poop on Tuesday. No therapy on Tuesday; first in school tantrum on Thursday.

Related?

Circumstances do not make this scientifically controlled (no wonder no one can can say what the GFCF diet does!). Julia's teachers were out of the classroom doing assessments with other students. They were replaced with two staff members who do not do classroom teaching and who, an aide told me, had no idea what to do with the class. It was chaos according to this aide. It sounds like Julia tried to keep it together but finally failed just before lunch.

I was working lunch room duty yesterday and Julia was very strange when she came down to lunch. She had been in a time out after her tantrum and did not see or greet me like she had last week in the lunch room. It was as if she was drugged or with heavy blinders on. I had to get very close to her to get a response from her, and then that response was minimal. It shocked me to see her like this but the truth is that she was like that -- dull and unresponsive -- so often in the last three years. I have no idea if it was worse after tantrums and melt downs but maybe. She is so attentive now, and so much clearer -- she has a defined sharpness. I wonder what tantrums do to her. Do they release some chemical into her body that dulls her senses?

Another piece -- I don't quite know what to make of it, but another piece.

2 comments:

Elaine said...

I wouldn't be surprised if the answer to a released chemical is yes. Trauma does that to the body and tantrums are a kind of trauma. I know that LJ gets that way after one of her explosions/melt-downs/tantrums sometimes. It is almost like she's in shock. I hope that Julia is able to pull herself together. Maybe some kind of activity would help? Shaking and jumping is supposed to release the bad chemicals.

Snickerdoodle said...

Of course, it *might* be related, but then what were the staff thinking to remove the regular teachers, with people who the children didn't know, with people who didn't know what they were doing, who probably caused the children stress, with people who shouldn't be just 'thrown' in to a classroom with children who need stability, AND all of this happening in the first couple of weeks of school!!

WHAT on earth were they thinking???

Julia reacted as she should!

Schools!!
Best,
Snick :)