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Name: Lainey Gillies - Corcoran Age: 11 Parents: Elizabeth Gillies + Michael Corcoran
Although it had been a few months since the official diagnosis, the family were still trying to navigate around Lainey's ADHD. Supporting her was the simplest part, but actually helping her proved difficult for both parents.
The final bell of the day rang and students poured out of the middle school, making Liz curse and sigh from where she was parked in the car. Eventually, she spotted Lainey in the crowds and waved in a subtle manner, less embarrassing than she had done in previous times. Lainey opened the passenger door and sat down, placing her bag in the footwell and clipping in her seatbelt.
"Hey darling. How was school?" Liz asked, starting to reverse out of the parking slot.
"It was fine." Lainey shrugged.
"Sure?" Liz asked. "Nothing that you want to talk about?"
"Mom, I just need a few minutes." Lainey told her calmly, trying to relax into the seat.
"That's okay. Good job for communicating that." Liz praised, trying not to be patronising.
Over time they had all learned that after a full day of making it through the exhausting neurotypical world, the last thing Lainey wanted to do was talk about that. Sometimes Liz and Michael forgot that, or wanted to give her the option to talk and it usually resulted in some kind of emotional outburst so when Lainey managed to explain herself, it needed to be recognised.
The drive home was quiet with Liz occasionally interrupting the music to swear at another driver on the road. She pulled up on the driveway after twenty five minutes and both she and Lainey went inside the house. Michael was sitting in the kitchen with his laptop, working on something for his next music project.
"We're home." Liz called out, closing the door and fussing Otis when he came bounding towards her. "Hi baby!"
"Hiya honey. How was your day?" Michael asked Lainey, only after seeing Liz discreetly shaking her head to warn him.
"Dad I don't wanna talk about it!" Lainey exclaimed, tossing her bag against the wall.
"Lainey, I know you're tired but raising your voice and throwing things won't help that." Michael tried, not sure how much good it would do.
Lainey said nothing and sat down on the floor, letting Otis rest his head on her thigh as she stroked his fur. Liz and Michael exchanged a few looks and silently decided to keep quiet for the time being. Thirty minutes passed and Lainey stood up, walking over to the kitchen.
"You okay?" Liz asked, not getting an answer but instead just opening her arms when Lainey leant her head on her chest. "Anything you need to say?"
"Sorry." Lainey apologised, looking up at her mom.
"Not to me, babes." Liz shook her head.
"Sorry Dad." Lainey said quietly.
"That's okay, thank you for apologising." Michael smiled before changing the subject. "What do you want for dinner?"
"Tomato pasta." Lainey requested, wanting a comfort food for that night.
"I'll start that in a little while." Michael nodded.
"I don't know if I should do my homework now or not." Lainey sighed, thinking it over in her head.
"You can leave it, if you want to." Liz suggested.
"I know but then I'll forget or I won't have the energy and then it won't get done and I'll be risking another detention and I can't lose my lunch time again because if I don't eat I get cranky so I'm thinking that I should carry snacks around with me all the time just in case-" Lainey rambled in one single breath.
"Honey." Liz stopped her, placing a hand on her back.
"I'm sorry." Lainey said quickly.
"You dont need to be sorry, you need to breathe." Liz grounded her instantly.
"I just don't know what to do." Lainey admitted, on the verge of tears.
"Let's write you a list, hm? And then you know what needs to be done and in what order." Liz took Lainey's hand and lead her over to the kitchen table.
"Here." Michael smiled, setting a few colored pens and a notepad on the table.
Lainey sat down next to Liz and leant against her side, watching her mom write down a list of tasks. The ones written at the top were in red ink, the middle ones in blue and the final ones in green.
"Alright, the first three are the most important and those ones need to be done." Liz tells her, pointing her nail to the top three lines.
"Homework, dinner, shower." Lainey reads out.
"And the next two don't need to be done, but it would be good if you can." Liz said, moving her finger down the list.
"Set school outfit for tomorrow and pack bag." Lainey reads.
"And the last two tasks can wait until tomorrow if you're not up to it." Liz said finally.
"Tidy bedroom and make your snacks for the drive to Ari's on Saturday." Lainey looked up at Liz. "I can't do all this, mom."
"We're going to help you, Lainey." Michael smiled, handing her a bottle of water and a granola bar.
"So what do you want to do first?" Liz asked, rubbing her back.
"I just have to do my homework." Lainey shook her head and stood up.
"You can have your snack first, darling." Liz said, holding out the water and bar to her daughter.
"I have to get my homework done. I'll eat later." Lainey said, walking away to grab her school bag.
"What homework is it, kiddo?" Michael asked, wondering if it was a subject that he would be able to help with.
"It's a reading comprehension paper." Lainey told him, although that was the only information she knew about her homework since she had zoned out entirely in her lesson that day.
"Your mom might be better helping you with that." Michael chuckled, setting a small plate with some sliced grapes and a cookie in front of her.
"I can do it myself." Lainey said, opening the exercise book and finding the correct page.
"We're right here if you change your mind." Liz told her, starting to help Michael prepare dinner.
Fifteen minutes passed and Liz glanced over to the table to see it covered in papers and stationery pieces. Lainey was looking out of the window, twirling a loose curl of her hair with only one sentence written on her page. She looked up to see her mom looking at her.
"Can you get me a fidget please?" Lainey asked and Liz handed her a fidget tangle from the school bag by the door.
Another few minutes went by with Lainey playing with her fidget toy and singing to the playlist on the speakers. When she zoned back in at the sound of Michael calling her name, she sighed.
"Do you need help?" Liz asked softly.
"I don't know." Lainey groaned.
"I'll sit with you." Liz sat down next to Lainey and held her free hand. "Finish this sentence and then I can help you with the next one."
"I can't, mom." Lainey shook her head, throwing the pencil down and tossing her head backwards in frustration.
"Come here, it's okay, Lainey." Liz whispered, taking Lainey's head and guiding her to her chest. "It doesn't matter. Just relax."
It only took five minutes for Lainey to fall asleep. Her head resting on Liz's chest as her mom rubbed her back in gentle circles, chasing away the stress.
