We have been told that it’s possible that my son Blake, age 9 and in the 4th grade, could have a form of autism. Not officially though. PDD-NOS was mentioned by Blake’s ADHD Doctor (actually she’s a NP and I really respect her opinion) and also by my best friend who is in a school psychology program and is currently doing her internship. She said she did a case with a little boy that was so much like my son, it was eerie. He had Aspergers.
I wrote a letter to the school district today and requested that Blake be evaluated. Since he goes to a private school, I deal directly with one of the district head school psychologists, which is good. From ADHD/ODD to ADHD and possibly bipolar….we’ve had a line up of suspected disorders, but nothing really matches up.
Currently, his being on ADHD medication does make a huge difference, so ADHD has to be part of it, but I know that with his many anxieties (ie. he sleeps in bed tent to feel safer, he has frequent trouble separating from me), his emotional overreactions to being told no, also to any criticism, to losing, his inflexibility, the way he shuts down when he wants to get his way and doesn’t get it, all this and more….I know there is something more going on.
It’s starting to sink in that he really might have something on the autism spectrum. It’s hard, because he does do so well with conversation, pretend, being social (not that he is a social butterfly or anything, but he’s not antisocial either….) and many other things. He’s super bright, gets all A’s, plays in band and loves it. (obviously with the losing thing, sports were out, but we sure did try!!! 4 years of trying different sports and approaches to handling his meltdowns when he lost or made a mistake, got “out”, etc.) This week, I have been going on all the websites and reading checklists until my head spins.
James was home sick today with a fever. Blake had a fantastic morning getting ready, but when my friend came to pick him up, he refused to go with her, went and hid and pleaded with me to take him to school myself. I’ve learned that when he gets into that type of anxiety frame of mind, that pushing him/bribing him/pleading with him never works. It always makes him worse and makes the whole ordeal way too emotionally intense (on both our parts!) So I apologized to my friend (Thankfully one of my dear friends BTW and Blake knows her well and likes her) and called X (our twice weekly housekeeper) who was able to come early so poor sick James could stay at home with her and I could take Blake to school. He went off to school just fine, but just apparently needed me to get him there.
I just want answers. I want to know what to do to help him and I don’t want any guesses. I love this little boy with every ounce of my being and I just want to know how to help him be the very best he can be and to be who he truly is under all this.
Oh, and the ornament grabbing one from the title? Yes, you probably guessed it…14 month L thinks that really, the ornaments look better in her mouth and on the floor.
No comments:
Post a Comment