i agree with this.
i was one or maybe 7 other kids out of a lunchroom that held 100+ that came to lunch 20 min early and left 20 min late.
they made the allowance because if i went with regular kids i would still be eating when they were mopping the floors.
i still can’t eat at regular speed without great stress. i have one speed and its my speed.
when rushed the rest of my day is thrown off:
1 i dread the oncoming eat rush which spoiled my morning
2 the rushed eat was frantic and my face would get red and i’d be agitated
3 the rest of the day i’d be miserable having had that experience.
and homework! forget that. after mistreating me so badly.
mind you this was me in 2nd grade before they realized i needed more eating time.
they changed it in 3rd and it made all the difference.
by middle i learned other coping skills – smaller meals in public meant fewer chews and i could keep pace
—
i was diagnosed with general anxiety disorder.
they wanted to put me on ritalin (this was 1982-ish) but my mother found an experimental psychiatrist who did guided meditation and biofeedback with computers and cassettes.
she was also into health food as it was in the early 80s so we had no artificial colors and ate homemade yogurt and carob soda was a rare treat and breakfast cereal was plain but we could add our own sugar
–
weird in retrospect as that was in new jersey but apparently was more of a west coast thing? never been there
-/