No one said it would be easy!

As most of you know, my son was recently diagnosed with ADHD and ODD. Some things have gotten better while other problems have arrived. He has been on his medication for three weeks now, but I did stop giving him his Ritalin. His pediatrician said that 5mg of Ritalin at 4pm was way too late and said to stop giving it to him. I have decided, though, to buy a pill cutter and try giving him 1/2 a dose because the ODD showed its head again when I took him off it. Not as bad as it was, but he hits himself when he is frustrated or not getting his way. I have also noticed that while he is doing excellent in school now he has the HARDEST time falling asleep at night now.

He has always been the type of kid to fall asleep quickly. Ever since he started his medication it takes him hours to fall asleep now. Yesterday I had to let him cry himself to sleep and it was horrible. I, thankfully, had my dad keeping me strong. I couldn't let him cry himself to sleep when he was a baby without my parents pretty much barricading me out of the bedroom and its not easier when they are older. He only cried for 15 minutes last night which was a blessing.

I decided to use my Kindle to help him sleep, and at times it works. I will put on Jeff Dunham (my son is obsessed with J.D.) but put the kindle where he can't watch it and only hear it. Usually he falls asleep before its over, sometimes he falls asleep right after it ends. My son can now quote, word for word, 5 minute segments of his shows. I have tried having him listen to music on Pandora, but he has the weirdest musical taste and that made using Pandora very difficult. I was the type of kid that had to have noise to sleep and was like that until I was 21. So, its no biggie when I have something on for my son if it helps.

Another thing I knew would happen, but didn't expect, was how busy I would get with all the appointments my son would have to help with this (I am going to attach a picture of this months calender at the bottom of the blog). He sees a Social Worker 1x a week to talk about whats going on and get tips on how to work on his problem areas. He sees a Dr. 1x a month about his medication and all that good stuff. He goes to OT therapy 1x a week (except right now its more like 1x every other week) to work on his sensory issues and all that. He has a speech therapy evaluation coming up to see if he needs speech therapy. His mouth works faster than his mind and he stumbles to get out what he wants to say or repeats himself until he knows what he wants to say. If he needs speech therapy that will be another 1x a week thing. On top of that he is in school (3rd grade) and missing class for all these appointments, and he is in Cub Scouts 3x a month. With me not having my own car (I used my dads) I only have a car to use until 4pm M-Th and 2pm F. So if my son isn't missing an hour and a half in the beginning of the school day he is missing 2 hours in the middle of the day or 45 minutes at the end of the day.

To my surprise though, my son gets As and Bs with the occasional C. I tell his teachers when he leave earlier than 45 minutes at the end of school to send home everything he would miss so I can have him do it at home. He gets his homework packet done no later than Tuesday every week also. I knew that he was going to be missing a lot of school this year while we take him to these appointments to help him out, but his principal is not happy with how much school he is missing. I can't blame her. It is 2 months into the school year and he has missed (total) 4-6 days of school with all his appointments.

On top of all this I have at home things I am supposed to be doing (I forget sometimes) to help with his OT therapy. I was given one of those surgical scrub brushes that Drs use to "scrub in" for surgery and was told to use that on my son. I am to push it down firmly against his skin and "brush" his arms, hands, back, and legs at least 3-4 times a day. Then after I do that I am supposed to do joint compressions. I hold either side of his joints (hands, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, ankles) and gently push the joint together. Both of these things are supposed to be relaxing to his nerves and help desensitize him from some of the sensory issues he has. I am not the best at remembering to do the things I need to do for myself and it is challenging to remember to do what I need to for my son. AND I am a full time college student and I work part-time. So with everything I have to do for my son and my jobs I still need to get my school work and homework done.

I love my son, I want all the help I can get for my son, and I really don't mind how busy I am now. I know that my son is happier now that he has been before, except for bedtime he is miserable. Its not easy, but its not hard all at the same time. I just know that one day he isn't going to need all this help anymore because he is going to have all the skills he needs to live a happy life without his ADHD and ODD taking over his life. And THAT is the greatest gift my son could ever have!

All the red is my son, and its only the first day of the month!