Everybody Hustlin’…

Photo Credit: Daiga Ellaby

The family was having a conversation about one of Pierce’s classmates and how his friend was always late getting to school and coming to class.

This reminded me of senior kindergarten, when Pierce was so painfully slow at getting his clothes off, changing his indoor shoes and getting his stuff out, compared to his peers.  

At that time, My husband and I couldn’t understand his lack of urgency and his inability to hustle.  Every morning, a host of his classmates would get to their cubbies (minutes after him), throw their things off and on, and make their way to the classroom in no time. Our son would still be stuck in the hallway, SLOW-LY gathering and grabbing things, and getting ready.  My husband and I would try to make games of it, try to encourage him, challenge him, push him, convince him, bargain with him - to no avail.   There was no moving the needle on our son’s speedometer.

Looking back at this memory, and now having the benefit of a diagnosis and greater compassion for our son, it is so clear and evident that our son wasn’t lazy, it wasn’t for lack of trying - he was dyspraxic and was doing his best.