The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of appts for Boston and wrapping my head around the results. I haven't blogged much because I had all that going on, on top of all I talked about in my last post. It's been crazy. But today I realized that I cannot move forward and post anything else until I talk about it.
We have been going through testing for Boston because I was almost positive he had a severe case of ADHD. We tried everything all natural last school year (including gfcf) but nothing helped at all. I was convinced that he would need to go on medication in order to function and get anything done at school. He is a great boy and everyone loves him but the poor child just can't keep focused and keep still for the life of him. Someday he will be able to channel that into something and be uber successful....but until that time I needed to figure out how to help him be able to do the best he can in school.
My pediatrician wanted us to just put him on meds right away. No questions asked. But inside me, my motherly instinct said I needed to dig deeper to be sure that medication was the best route. The only thing I knew to do was to go to Dallas' neurologist because I knew she could get me in with the Neuropsychologist I loved so much that diagnosed Dallas. I also had the teachers and some staff hinting that there were some social issues going on with him. I knew when they mentioned it that it could mean Aspergers (especially with all his stemming- for him stemming is the typical jumping and flapping his arms that a lot of kids with Autistic Spectrum do.) But honestly I really didn't think he had Aspergers because to me Dallas and him are so different.
Making this long, long story shorter: after Neurologist visits, 3 visits with neuropsychologist (including an evaluation that took the whole day) he was diagnosed Aspergers. I was shocked in so many ways but then after it settled in and the psychologist was explaining things all the dots started to connect and I felt like I finally understood him better than ever.
It doesn't change him, it doesn't change his future, it just means that I can understand him better and we can help him to understand the world better.
From a mothers perspective it was the harder diagnosis. It's not like finding out your child has ADHD and you can use medication to help him. This one means your road down parenting isn't the rocky one that most people go on but one that includes a bolder, snow, ice, floods, and a mountain. It's still beautiful but you have to be prepared for anything. Things are always changing and you have to think outside the box. You can't do things like all the other parents do. You will be judged. You will feel like you are failing. But somewhere down the road there will be much reward. And I have to keep moving on knowing that.
We have been going through testing for Boston because I was almost positive he had a severe case of ADHD. We tried everything all natural last school year (including gfcf) but nothing helped at all. I was convinced that he would need to go on medication in order to function and get anything done at school. He is a great boy and everyone loves him but the poor child just can't keep focused and keep still for the life of him. Someday he will be able to channel that into something and be uber successful....but until that time I needed to figure out how to help him be able to do the best he can in school.
My pediatrician wanted us to just put him on meds right away. No questions asked. But inside me, my motherly instinct said I needed to dig deeper to be sure that medication was the best route. The only thing I knew to do was to go to Dallas' neurologist because I knew she could get me in with the Neuropsychologist I loved so much that diagnosed Dallas. I also had the teachers and some staff hinting that there were some social issues going on with him. I knew when they mentioned it that it could mean Aspergers (especially with all his stemming- for him stemming is the typical jumping and flapping his arms that a lot of kids with Autistic Spectrum do.) But honestly I really didn't think he had Aspergers because to me Dallas and him are so different.
Making this long, long story shorter: after Neurologist visits, 3 visits with neuropsychologist (including an evaluation that took the whole day) he was diagnosed Aspergers. I was shocked in so many ways but then after it settled in and the psychologist was explaining things all the dots started to connect and I felt like I finally understood him better than ever.
It doesn't change him, it doesn't change his future, it just means that I can understand him better and we can help him to understand the world better.
From a mothers perspective it was the harder diagnosis. It's not like finding out your child has ADHD and you can use medication to help him. This one means your road down parenting isn't the rocky one that most people go on but one that includes a bolder, snow, ice, floods, and a mountain. It's still beautiful but you have to be prepared for anything. Things are always changing and you have to think outside the box. You can't do things like all the other parents do. You will be judged. You will feel like you are failing. But somewhere down the road there will be much reward. And I have to keep moving on knowing that.
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