You know, you would think that someone who writes for a living could find something to blog about easily. No, it’s not that easy. After all, this is my first blog on this site, and I want to make a good impression.
So why am I here? I thought it would be good therapy, perhaps find other parents who are in my shoes. I feel alone sometimes – that no one understands, save my husband, what my life is like with a hyperactive austistic youngster. I try to explain my life to my co-workers, and I don’t think they quite understand what we go through to help our son.
So what of my son? He is now 11 years old. Such a cute little guy when he was a toddler – but he didn’t like to play with other children. He didn’t talk. He didn’t look you in the eye. He didn’t respond to his name. He like to line up his cars in a row, but didn’t roll them around. He loved to put things in boxes and bottles and take them out again. He wanted his left sock put on first, then his right. He fixated on the color green.
At age 2, his doctor said if he didn’t start to talk soon, we should probably have him evaluated. We got him evaluated right away by our state’s early intervention program. The evaluators came to our home and observed our child and put him through some tests. He was deficit in many areas, thus qualified for assistance. A speech therapist came once a week to our home for an hour until he reached age 3. Then, he was admitted to our school district’s preschool for disabilities.
He was diagnosed at 3 1/2 as having an autistic spectrum disorder, and a short time later, also having ADHD. He was bored shitless in the preschool class at age 5. He already knew his colors, alphabet, and numbers at age two, but there was no more challenging work. Plus, he was not wanting to sit still; he created a lot of noise – screeching – and time outs did not work. He liked the attention he got. Behavior Modification did not work. We had him tested again, and he was a few points shy of being diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. PDD-NOS was the diagnosis. We had him on a special diet – gluten & casein free, because some parents had success with it. It may have worked for a short while, but before he entered kindergarten he was off the diet and on Ritalin to help him sit still and not create a problem.
A lot of parents criticize those who choose to medicate their child when they have ADHD. I am of the opinion that if a child has a disability – that the child’s brain doesn’t make enough of the chemical to help them sit still and learn – then you need to find something to help. If a child needed glasses to read or see the blackboard, no reasonable person would withhold that assistance. We also have him on Omega-3 (fish oil) supplements for help in developing his brain.
At least he started to gain speech after he began preschool. I used to keep a chart on the wall in the kitchen, keeping track of the words he would say. Then, as he picked up 2-word phrases; then sentences! Finally, he gained so much there was no need to continue the chart.
Kindergarten was OK. Again, the material taught was below his abilities. One of the first things his teacher said to me after he began school was “He is so smart!” Yeah, don’t I know it! Our son had an Individualized Education Plan, and he had a 1:1 aide to assist him in class and keep him on task. Miss Sue stayed with our son until the 4th grade.
He was in mainstream classes from Kindergarten until third grade. We were informed that an inclusion class was being opened for the 4th grade, and it was recommended that he be in it because he would have two teachers in the class plus a classroom aide.
~ More later on the inclusion class and the disaster it was on my next entry. It’s time to relax with my husband and watch the Tivo. G’night! ~
C NJ Mom