puberty and school

[victoriasdad]

victoria is eight almost nine, my other daughters started puberty at about nine. victoria already has pubic hair and is starting to get hair buds in her armpits. what i would like to know how does the school handle this. who helps her with her needs and are they going to start sending her home over this. is this the school nurses responsiblity, what a nightmare for a dad!

[laurasmom]

We had a unofficial meeting on this subject, when we saw the changes you are seeing.
At our school, it was the school nurse's responsibility. We provided a cute purse to carry supplies in, which included clean undies, pad, and baby wipes. I also put an extra pair of jeans in the nurses office just in case. She would go to the nurse about every 3 hours or so. The nurse understood that she was to help Laura learn to handle this on her own, and she did an excellent job. They should under no circumstances send her home over this.

The American Girl book, "The Care and Keeping of your Body", is a great reference for all girls, including ones with DS. Very friendly narration and friendly illustrations. Both of my girls used this book, my 14 year old still looks at it some.

Sharon

[Googsmom aka Jennifer]

{{{{{{HUGS DENNIS}}}}}}

[steffipoo]

HI!!!! LOL My husband is soooo relieved I'm handling this issue with my daughter. Sooo I have to add that going to the school nurse is a great idea. When they did a sex ed class in 5th grade the nurse called me and asked to speak to me. I came in and she explained that the classes were going to do this did I object etc. I said NO but wondered if Olivia would get much out of it as she had given me the tape the night prior to view and man it was pretty fast paced for her to get the concept. So the nurse took Olivia when the girls viewed it and went over it with her one on one. Stopping to explain. She even made the extra effort to get materials Olivia would understand and went over it with her. She was AWESOME!!!! BUT I got the BEST book that me thinx you would like. I am sending a link to the page here. I went to a ds conference heard this lady speak and ran and got her book. I also love the fact that it helped me to ingrain in Olivias brain healthy boundaries before she is puberty. My daughter Olivia developed the same as your girl is and am happy to say she will be 12 and still hasn't gotten her period if that makes you feel any better. Once she got pubes(sp lol) at 9 I raced to make sure she got all the info and hexk its been almost 3 years and nothing. I am NOT looking forward to it either but thought I would tell you that.
Good luck pops you'll do fine... I'm not one to recommend many books unless I truly LOVE it and it helped me. And this book will be used by me for many many years to come. (((HUGS))) Stephanie

www.woodbinehouse.com/main.asp_Q_product_id_E_978-1-890627-33-1_A_.asp

[Emilysmom]

I think this is something that varies from school to school. But it would seem that the school nurse would be a very good person to help. Emily went through puberty very early.......earlier than any of her peers at school. I think it was just a few months after she turned 10) Of all the things for her to be "advanced" in, this was not it!! But, she has really done pretty well with it. Emily never went to the school nurse when she needed help, but she had an assistant because she was in regular ed classes for almost her entire day. The assistant would keep Emily's supplies in the restroom in the special ed classroom and would take Emily to that restroom twice a day. She would stand just inside the door and "talk her through" the whole process, including how to wrap up the pad and dispose of it and wash her hands. The assistant told me that Emily looked at her pitifully one day and asked her to help her, and she said "no way girl. I do this for myself and you can too". From that day on, Emily never asked for help and has done just fine. I had been afraid that the whole process would scare her........but we just explained to her that it was something that ALL girls do and it's no big deal. They gave her a booklet at school that was geared for kids with special learning needs that broke down the whole explanation in very simple terms and had pictures. I wish I could remember the name of the book, but it was very helpful.

[njandrin]

Puberty, YES the physical but what about the mood swings? Has anyone had challenges in that area and what have you tried? My daughter is going on 12 and she is incredibly MOODY- like angry and then crying at the drop of a hat. And I never thought I would say it but more stubborn and constantly says she doesnt want to go to school- just wants to sit around and watch TV- I am beside myself- what can I do?

[tchamness]

Hugs to you njandrin. I understand what you are going threw. My Lexi is going threw the same thing. One minute everything is ok and the next she is either very angry or she is sobbing her heart out. She doesn't ever want to leave the house. Give her a poptart, glass of milk and a tv and I think she would sit there until she grew cobwebs. LOL. I wished I had advice other than buckle your seatbelt. Lexi acts like a 7 year old one minute and the next pops out something that is totally teenager.

[tchamness]

If you have a woman teacher you could ask her. I assumed it would be the nurse to. But at my last conference with the teacher. She told me just to send in pads in like a paper bag, and she would take Lexi to the bathroom every couple of hours and help her. Like check to see if Lexi needed to change or not.

[lespring]

This video with both creep you out, yet make you happy at the same time. It addresses what happens when you get your period. It was produced in the early 70's, with a girl who has DS. It is simple, to the point, and repetitive. I make Angela watch it about once a week, and then she disappears for about 1/2 hour in the bathroom, reinacting the video! LOL Angela is 13 1/2 and hasn't gotten her period yet. (which is FINE with me!) Her chest is well developed, and she has everything EXCEPT armpit hair. So about once I week I do an armpit check, which drives her nuts. LOL

There are two parts, so I'll put both links here. I wish someone would re-do this video in a more current format! And, don't bother reading the comments to the videos. They will do nothing but infuriate you.

Part I
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHZEOweeoaE

Part II
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD-TG5_uF18&feature=related

[Deborah]

Glad to see this thread. Jennifer is now 10 and starting to show signs of puberty and I am freaking out! I just got her totally potty trained this past May at the age of 9..

[victoriasdad]

oh mood swings............ so thats whats wrong with her mother, i thought she was possessed by lucifer

[margaretbrownlee]

Puberty is a difficult period for a student. Schoolchildren don't think about their studies. Their academic rankings are falling. And it's good that service essayhelp org comes to help students.

[feldman]

Students don't have to worry about essay writing services. I've been looking for information on how to find the best site Pro Essay Help for writing essays. The secret lies in customer reviews and ratings. Of course, there are previous clients who have used the services. Reviews can be either positive or negative, and ratings can be either higher or lower. The best writing site gets the highest ratings as well as positive reviews.