The long awaited feedback meeting arrived today. Blake has been to UCLA three times this month for very comprehensive neuro-psych testing and my husband and I met with the doctors today to discuss the results and their recommendations.
The Doctor said first that he is a very bright child and that educationally speaking, they did not see any concerns, other than his fine motor control (they recommended OT for that) and his ADHD. They saw his ADHD symptoms (lack of sustained focus, need for movement, impulsivity) and agreed that he had ADHD.
Primarily, they believe he has a lot of anxiety and some depression. They do not believe he has bipolar mainly because he does not experience the sleep disturbances and the grandiosity. They recommended cognitive behavior therapy to help him reframe his thinking and said that they believed his anxiety triggered a lot of the opposition.
They recommended that Blake continue taking the mood stabilizer (Lamactil) but agreed with me, that it was probably best to just do the Lamactil and add the Abilify later if needed once the Lamactil was at a therapeutic dose. They also recommended that we consider medicine for his adhd once his mood was stabilized. They agreed that Blake having the in-home therapy would very beneficial to both him and to our family. Lastly, the main psychologist told us that she felt very optimistic about Blake's future.
I left feeling good about everything, but also a little confused. My head has been swimming with more and more questions as I absorb all of the information. The doctors will complete the written report and mail it to me along with their specific suggestions for the cognitive behavior therapy so that we can share that with the in-home therapist.
I have been reading the book, "Lost at School" by Dr. Ross Green. http://www.amazon.com/Lost-School-Behavioral-Challenges-Falling/dp/1416572279/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308706026&sr=8-1 Though I had read his most popular book, "The Explosive Child" years ago, This more recent book of his is truly revolutionary. His ideas about discipline and behavior are so dramatically different, but make perfect sense.
I was struck with many things, but one thing, especially, stands out to me from the book - "Diagnosis" isn't really all that important, it's the children's lagging skills that need our focus. And right now, that makes more sense then ever. It's a good feeling to be able to have some clear goals for Blake (based on his lagging skills) and to be working with a therapist to reach those goals.
Good day. Hope springs enternal, right?
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