December 17, 2008

I'm Frustrated

At Orin's therapy session last night, the therapist finally handed me his official report (to be submitted to our Pediatrician). His report states that the exaggerated blinking and hand flapping evidently isn't characteristic of his type of ADHD so it's been suggested we see a pediatric neurologist to diagnose any possible motor issues, etc. (Katie - you know what you're talking about!!!)

I can't get O scheduled with the Pediatrician until the end of January. He wants to do his own evaluation even though the therapist he referred us to already made a diagnosis. This frustrates me. Dr. Maxwell only does these evaluations on Thursdays at 11:15 because they're lengthy. (90+ minutes) Christmas and New Years are both on Thursdays and the following Thursday he's out for a meeting. I want it done NOW. He should reschedule something for us. Orin is much more important than anyone else. Right?!?!?! :)

I asked Dr. Gibson (therapist) to recommend some reading material. He handed me a book off the shelf in his office. He said "Instead of trying to help him, why don't you start by trying to understand what it's like inside him."

Of course I'm learning that many of the things I've been doing have been causing O even more frustration. A big one is when he does something completely obnoxious and I ask him why, he nearly always says "I don't know." In response I nearly always say "Yes, you do know and I want an answer." Turns out he really doesn't know. That's part of this disorder - being impulsive. Doing things without thinking.

I have a LOT to learn. I hope that I have people around me who will be supportive and offer constructive criticism when needed. I never want to do something for Orin that is not in his best interest. For example - medicating him because it offers ME an easier road to travel and not because it's what offers ORIN the best result.

1 comments:

Ohio_Momto3boys said...

Are you looking at Tourettes and/or Asberger spectrum issues? There are SOOOOOOOOOO many things that happen in a boy's brain that make them do the strangest things. Fortunately, they are mostly annoying and not life-threatening... although his life MIGHT be threatened by his MOM if he's particularly annoying HAHA.

There is also a school of thought that says chemicals can irritate kids with sensitivities: artificial colors and flavorings, chemical sugars, etc. Unfortunately it is VERY hard to track every morsel of food and drink these days. You do your best to feed healthful things at home and hope for the best when he's out and about...

PS: Orin IS the most important patient and should be seen NOW... but that's just my opinion. :-)