Randy,
I am so happy to hear Jon is doing so much better. Sometimes I think the doctors don't always believe what a parent says about a child, like our view is biased and not objective. I think it was good for his doctor to have seen the full blown unmedicated Jon. I truly think most of Jon's doctors have not taken you seriously when you expressed concerns.
I also homeschool and it has been a godsent for my son. Everything can be a lesson. Use cooking to teach fractions or chemistry. We use shopping to do math. Some days will be long as he struggles or rebells and some days will quick as you watch him grasp every concept with ease. You can go off on tangents because he is interested in something or asked a question the book did not cover. My son has great difficulty with the physical act of writing. He would write the shortest answers. We gave him a laptop to use and now he will write a page and half response when he used to write two short sentences. It is amazing to watch his fingers fly across that keyboard. I also make him do housework. I call it a lesson in "LIFE SKILLS".
reruho39573.0015277778Sounds like you guys have turned the corner. So glad for you all!I don't like this new format with the ads and blank space on the left.
Jon had such a great day today! It is one I can hold on to and treasure when the down times come!! We kept our other two children out of school- I officially unenrolled Jon yesterday with the blessings of his doctors- and we all went on our boat for the last time and fished (pretended we fished). We had so much fun, didn't get anything but a lot of laughter and sun. The boat has to be sold because of all the hospital/doctor bills....
Last night I learned that my dad up in NY is having emergency surgery for a bowel obstruction. I don't have the money to fly up there and anyway with Jon still so fragile I can't leave him. Jon was just a little 8 year old boy today full of such joy and laughter.
When we docked the boat, Jon tried fishing off the dock one last time even though daddy said not to. Jon fell in and absolutely panicked. He thought he was going to be instantly eaten by an alligator. I think they heard his screams 5 miles away. I ran over and leaned all the way over the dock and grabbed both his hand and lifted him part way out until my husband let down a ladder for him. All Jon could say until bedtime is how we saved his life and we must really love him. I don't think children with adhd and other disabilities can think they are lovable. It makes me remember to tell all my children a million times a day how much I love them. When one is in a tizzy or Jon is being difficult I will stop and say, "God bless you, I love you so much!" I will then turn and walk away and usually I hear an "I love you too, mama."
We tried no meds and did everything by the book and it didn't work. Jon was misdiagnosed and almost lost his little life. He was hospitalized for weeks while the doctors tried to stabilize him. He is our miracle son.
I started homeschooling him- taking it a little at a time. He grasped what mulitiplication was about today when I drew our family- each with 3 apples. When I asked him how many apples our family had he counted them out. I asked him how many people? He told me 5. I asked how many apples did each person have - 3. I said 5 people times 3 apples equals 15 apples. We then drew dogs with bones, spiders with legs etc. IT WORKED!
Yesterday we went to Miami for Jon's first outpatient appointment. The focalin is working great in the morning. By noon it has started to wear off and by 1pm he is his hyper, disrespectful, impulsive, whiney, nasty, angry, temper driven self. (Don't we all know those long hours until the next med dose?)
Fortunately, it takes us 3 hours to get to Miami and I thought our appointment was at 2pm. In reality it was 3pm and so Jon's doctor got Jon in full non-med state. She agreed to put Jon on 5mg quick acting focalin in the afternoon at noon-1pm and to keep the risperadol at 4pm for aggressiveness.
Unfortunately, we had to travel home for three hours with an unmedicated Jon who went beserk in the back seat throwing the dvd player, opening and closing the windows until we locked them, opening the door to see if he could (while we were at a light). We stopped for a rest and Jon gleefully threw rocks at birds in the trees until I told him that he would be in time out until bedtime when we got home if he didn't stop NOW! He stopped. You all know how it is when people give you side-glanced looks of pity and who-knows-what-else when your child is out of control. Well, yesterday I discovered that they could glance all they wanted- they weren't having to deal with an out of control 8 year old.
The doctor told me to try not to give Jon melatonin or benedryl to help him sleep at night. That he needs to learn to get to sleep himself. Easy to say when you haven't dealt for hours with a Jon. Needless to say, Jon was given a melatonin and with my husband no longer on graveyard shift, he was the one to keep Jon in bed once we put him in there.
This morning, Jon opened his bedroom door and the first words out of his mouth were "F..... You" to his brother and sister. He just got his focalin and within an hour he will be his old, wonderful self- helpful, polite, respectful, even tempered and wonderful to be around. It's scary. I hope the 5mg focalin works. I have to go get the prescription filled.
I think that this is what it is like with most of our adhd children and I think that the constant turmoil in their moods takes a lot out of them and more out of us as parents. I am hoping that they all will grow out of some of this as they get older. If it doesn't I'll just have to face it then.
To all of us- one day at a time; no- one hour at a time.
randyjim39568.1977546296Great News! Keep up the good work. I'm so glad your son is back home with you. Hang in there. I agree with your one hour at a time. Some days it is one minute at a time. I am always amazed at the difference in my son when medicated. Its like Dr, Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.