OK, this was definitely one of those "losing my sanity" weekends. The proverbial last straw was when I went upstairs to go to bed Saturday night, late, I discovered that my half of the room had effectively disappeared!
My husband, looking for something, had taken out what looked like every single article of clothing we owned and dumped them in a huge pile. As my hubby is something of a clothes horse, and we have a small bedroom, the pile filled almost all the room from just inside the door to the opposite wall. I could barely reach his side of the bed (which is closest to the door), much less mine. I just stood there in shock.
The worst of it was, for me, that he didn't even realize that this wasn't a good thing to have done at 11:00 at night. He didn't have a clue why I was upset. He could tell that I was - but didn't have any idea why.
I'm told this is fairly normal for ADHD people - poor impulse control, etc. Still, though, it's incredibly frustrating!!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
Special needs school shuts down in wake of drowning
Special needs school shuts down in wake of drowning
My thoughts and condolences go out to poor Jayson's family. Losing a child is a horrible thing to have to go through, I'm sure it's every parent's worst nightmare. I know it's definitely mine. I'm not sure I'd handle it as well as they seem to be - Connie McCuistion, his grandmother, says in a video interview, "I'm not blaming anybody at this point, there's nobody to blame. We're just trying to figure out how, we want to know why."
I wonder if parents of ADHD & autistic kids have those particular nightmares more often though, than the parents of (so-called) "normal" kids. It seems like so much more can go wrong, or maybe is just more likely to go wrong, because our kids don't always have that "common sense" that tells them "that's a bad idea."
My thoughts and condolences go out to poor Jayson's family. Losing a child is a horrible thing to have to go through, I'm sure it's every parent's worst nightmare. I know it's definitely mine. I'm not sure I'd handle it as well as they seem to be - Connie McCuistion, his grandmother, says in a video interview, "I'm not blaming anybody at this point, there's nobody to blame. We're just trying to figure out how, we want to know why."
I wonder if parents of ADHD & autistic kids have those particular nightmares more often though, than the parents of (so-called) "normal" kids. It seems like so much more can go wrong, or maybe is just more likely to go wrong, because our kids don't always have that "common sense" that tells them "that's a bad idea."
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Favorite hospital
Writing the last post made me think about needing to cheer for PCH a little.
<cheer>
If you're in the metro Phoenix area and you have a child needing special care, there's no better place to be than Phoenix Children's Hospital. We've been there several times now, for surgery, tests like MRIs, X-rays and CAT scans, and for specialist appointments. While I can't say that being in a hospital is exactly *fun* (I wouldn't go there instead of say, a movie ;) - they make the experience as fun as it can be. The walls are decorated with bright colors and kid-friendly artwork and sculpture, and most are meant to be touched. All the people are friendly and happy to be there and to be working with kids, which was such a relief and a reassurance to us as parents. When Matt was going to have surgery and we reached the point where I couldn't go any further with him, they let him ride in in a red wagon so he wouldn't be scared. (I was terrified ;). They were great about letting me know how things were going and how he was doing, and were very supportive when he came out (which was a big deal to the terrified mama ;).
</cheer>
OK, I'm done ;).
<cheer>
If you're in the metro Phoenix area and you have a child needing special care, there's no better place to be than Phoenix Children's Hospital. We've been there several times now, for surgery, tests like MRIs, X-rays and CAT scans, and for specialist appointments. While I can't say that being in a hospital is exactly *fun* (I wouldn't go there instead of say, a movie ;) - they make the experience as fun as it can be. The walls are decorated with bright colors and kid-friendly artwork and sculpture, and most are meant to be touched. All the people are friendly and happy to be there and to be working with kids, which was such a relief and a reassurance to us as parents. When Matt was going to have surgery and we reached the point where I couldn't go any further with him, they let him ride in in a red wagon so he wouldn't be scared. (I was terrified ;). They were great about letting me know how things were going and how he was doing, and were very supportive when he came out (which was a big deal to the terrified mama ;).
</cheer>
OK, I'm done ;).
New Doctors
I took my kids to their doctor's appointment the other day, and found out that their doctor had left the practice! We'd just been there the week before, and their doctor didn't say anything. According to the office staff, she's starting her own practice in another town, but not for a while... hmmmm. Odd.
So, we're moving to a new practice. Nothing against the old one, but if I have to retrain a new doctor with our complicated history anyway ;) it might as well be at the family practice my husband and I go to, Caring For Families on Ray Rd. in Phoenix. We had a happy surprise too when discussing it with Dr. Whitten - she's actually heard of Noonan's Syndrome! Although Noonan's is thought to occur about once in every thousand or so live births, none of the doctors we've dealt with outside of Phoenix Children's seem to have heard of it. As a result, starting with a new doctor always seems to involve lots of research and discussion. If she's at least heard of it though, that's a good sign. Maybe this time will be easier.
So, we're moving to a new practice. Nothing against the old one, but if I have to retrain a new doctor with our complicated history anyway ;) it might as well be at the family practice my husband and I go to, Caring For Families on Ray Rd. in Phoenix. We had a happy surprise too when discussing it with Dr. Whitten - she's actually heard of Noonan's Syndrome! Although Noonan's is thought to occur about once in every thousand or so live births, none of the doctors we've dealt with outside of Phoenix Children's seem to have heard of it. As a result, starting with a new doctor always seems to involve lots of research and discussion. If she's at least heard of it though, that's a good sign. Maybe this time will be easier.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Back to school already?!?!?
It feels like it just got out, doesn't it? I'm not ready to see Wal-Mart and Target stocked with back-to-school supplies! We don't even have the letter from the school yet with the kids' teacher assignments and school supply lists, and we're missing the sales. Yeesh.
For us, it's also already time to start the "advocating" process with the school. My daughter has a 504 plan, which was just established near the end of her last school year. But this year, she'll be in middle school - and her dr. just told me that the 504 plans don't always transfer automatically as they're supposed to. My son's at least in the same school, but a new teacher.
I think that the advocating for me is one of the hardest parts. I love my kids - but by nature, I'm a pretty laid-back person. I'm not really the battle-all-comers type, unless and until someone starts messing with my kids. (Then I go into the whole mama-bear thing ;) - but don't we all?). So the yearly battle of educating new teachers and new administration on my little one's abilities and disabilities is stressful. I wish the whole process was a little easier; that I didn't have to fight tooth and nail for every little thing. Keep your fingers crossed for me - I'm going to be needing all the luck I can get!
Jessica
For us, it's also already time to start the "advocating" process with the school. My daughter has a 504 plan, which was just established near the end of her last school year. But this year, she'll be in middle school - and her dr. just told me that the 504 plans don't always transfer automatically as they're supposed to. My son's at least in the same school, but a new teacher.
I think that the advocating for me is one of the hardest parts. I love my kids - but by nature, I'm a pretty laid-back person. I'm not really the battle-all-comers type, unless and until someone starts messing with my kids. (Then I go into the whole mama-bear thing ;) - but don't we all?). So the yearly battle of educating new teachers and new administration on my little one's abilities and disabilities is stressful. I wish the whole process was a little easier; that I didn't have to fight tooth and nail for every little thing. Keep your fingers crossed for me - I'm going to be needing all the luck I can get!
Jessica
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Welcome to Holland
When you become the parent of a special-needs child, it can be very traumatic. But you've got to remember the special things about the child you have, not the child you thought you were going to have, to help you make it through.
Welcome to Holland by Emily Perl Kingsley. Pack your tissues.
Jessica
Welcome to Holland by Emily Perl Kingsley. Pack your tissues.
Jessica
ADHD House - Chaos Central
Well, this blog is intended to be a way to vent a little bit. I'm a mother of two, Mariah who is 11 and has been diagnosed with ADHD / ODD and Matthew, who is 9 and has been diagnosed with ADHD and Noonan's Syndrome. My hubby is also ADHD/Bipolar. Please excuse the occasional rant. It gets a little nuts at our house.
ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Yes, it occasionally is mis- or over-diagnosed; yes, there are lots of opinions on both sides of the fence about the effects of discipline, medication and etc. I don't claim to be a doctor or any kind of medical expert; nothing I say here should be construed as giving medical advice. All I can tell you is my experience, what we've been through personally.
My daughter was diagnosed at 4-5 yrs old, after I took her to the doctor and said, "There's *something* going on and you need to do something about it!" She had been kicked out of three daycares at that point; every one of them complained that she wouldn't sit still, was too loud, got angry too quickly and hit other kids. She had no friends, because the other kids were "weirded out" or scared of her. She had uncontrollable fits of fury at home, which scared us too.
We tried reward charts, we tried punishment, we even spanked. Nothing helped. Finally we got our pediatrician to listen (he felt she was "too young" and didn't want to "label" her!!)and he started her on Adderall, which helped immensely. With the medication, she could suddenly sit through a whole story or meal. She really blossomed after that.
My son was diagnosed with ADHD much later, only just this year after his teachers said - OK, we've done all we can, it's time to talk to his doctor. Given the family history, we'd been suspecting, but we wanted to avoid jumping to conclusions. He's now on Concerta, which has made a big difference in his schoolwork.
Matthew also has Noonan's Syndrome, a genetic disorder that occurs in about 1 out of 1,000 live births. Luckily for us, he's very "light;" the symptoms he has are not life-threatening, just limiting. The Noonan Syndrome Support Group has excellent information on this syndrome.
Now you know where I'm coming from. If you're in the same boat or a similar one, drop me a line and let me know.
Jessica
ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Yes, it occasionally is mis- or over-diagnosed; yes, there are lots of opinions on both sides of the fence about the effects of discipline, medication and etc. I don't claim to be a doctor or any kind of medical expert; nothing I say here should be construed as giving medical advice. All I can tell you is my experience, what we've been through personally.
My daughter was diagnosed at 4-5 yrs old, after I took her to the doctor and said, "There's *something* going on and you need to do something about it!" She had been kicked out of three daycares at that point; every one of them complained that she wouldn't sit still, was too loud, got angry too quickly and hit other kids. She had no friends, because the other kids were "weirded out" or scared of her. She had uncontrollable fits of fury at home, which scared us too.
We tried reward charts, we tried punishment, we even spanked. Nothing helped. Finally we got our pediatrician to listen (he felt she was "too young" and didn't want to "label" her!!)and he started her on Adderall, which helped immensely. With the medication, she could suddenly sit through a whole story or meal. She really blossomed after that.
My son was diagnosed with ADHD much later, only just this year after his teachers said - OK, we've done all we can, it's time to talk to his doctor. Given the family history, we'd been suspecting, but we wanted to avoid jumping to conclusions. He's now on Concerta, which has made a big difference in his schoolwork.
Matthew also has Noonan's Syndrome, a genetic disorder that occurs in about 1 out of 1,000 live births. Luckily for us, he's very "light;" the symptoms he has are not life-threatening, just limiting. The Noonan Syndrome Support Group has excellent information on this syndrome.
Now you know where I'm coming from. If you're in the same boat or a similar one, drop me a line and let me know.
Jessica
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