DADA!! A BUGGY!!!

Have you ever seen these?

They're "Crane Flies". We refer to them as "Mosquito Eaters". They are HUGE mosquito-like bugs...but they feed on nectar. These suckers are ALL OVER the place right now. Toblerone has a fear of bugs...and especially these things. I don't know why...it's not like they can hurt him, but HE doesn't know that!

Because it's been so nice here, I was working in the yard and left the back door open. Little did I know, I let about 5 of these things in the house. I didn't realize this until it was time for their baths. Because Toblerone is so big and strong, I have to have Weenie give him a bath. He freaks out when you pour water over his head. He flails about and it takes every ounce of strength to keep him IN the bathtub! Well, this particular evening, Weenie put them in the tub for them to play for a while. While bringing his diaper downstairs to dispose of, we heard Toblerone SCREAM a blood curdling scream then we hear:

*Squeak* *THUD THUD THUD*

The next thing we know, there is a wet, stark naked child stomping around upstairs saying:

Toblerone: "DADA!!! A BUGGY!!! GET IT! GET IT!!!!"

We were BOTH cracking up SO hard! Weenie, being the hero that he is, grabbed the thing by the wings and set it free outside. We managed to calm him down enough for him to get BACK into the bathtub. Again, Weenie steps away for a second to let them play, when we hear it again....

*SQUEAK*....*THUD THUD THUD*


Toblerone: "DADA!!! BUGGY!!!!! GET IT!!!!"

Weenie runs back upstairs, but THIS time, no bug. BUT...we spy a Triscuit in the bathtub LAUGHING his head off.

We calm Toblerone down again and put him BACK in the tub. THIS time, Weenie stays there. Then, Triscuit does this...."

Triscuit: "Toblerone! Is that a BUG???"

Toblerone doesn't even stop to LOOK. He starts SHRIEKING again and cries:

Toblerone: "DADA!!! BUGGY!!!!" All the while trying to scramble out of the bathtub.

Ahhh....we found the culprit. An annoying Triscuit fly that likes to scare the crap out of his little brother.

Stinker!

The Continuing Saga Of Sir Spaz-A-Lot

I took Triscuit back to the behavioral specialist a little over a week ago. Things are better regarding his attention span/focus, but towards the 3rd week of him beginning his medication, I noticed it wearing off 4 hours after he took it. Since it takes about an hour for it to kick in, he only had 3 hours of focal ability. That wasn't working...considering he would only get a few hours of schooling in before he started jumping around like someone was putting coals down his pants. His behavioral specialist increased his dosage from 5mg (the lowest) to 10mg per day. The concern is now his weight. The kid is shaped JUST like Weenie. Tall/Lanky and skinny! He really couldn't afford to lose any weight, but he did. He lost 3 pounds. When they lose 10% of their body weight, the docs start getting concerned. He only had 2 and 1/2 pounds to go before that 10% benchmark was reached. The decision was made to put him on a high fat/high calorie diet along with an increased amount of the med. Triscuit gets a milkshake LOADED with junk right before he goes to bed. Whole milk, Vanilla Ice Cream, Chocolate Syrup, a packet of Carnation Instant Breakfast and a few scoops of peanut butter. Blend together and you have a chocolate peanut butter shake! She instructed us to give it to him right before bed. Not only with the Tryptophane in the dairy help him sleep, the full tummy will, too. Along with the decreased appetite, he was having problems falling asleep again. Good thing he had Spring Break the week the increase in med started.

He couldn't fall asleep until after 11:00pm...and a few nights after 1:00am. Then, he would wake up at 6:00am raring to go! A few hours later, he would be really tired. I don't know many adults who could handle getting only 5 hours of sleep and be happy...so what follows is extreme crankiness. Of course, when he gets cranky, he takes it out on Toblerone. The ONE thing Triscuit hasn't gotten through his head is Toblerone is almost his size...as a matter of fact, there is only a 2 pound difference between the two of them now. Triscuit is 56 (almost 57) pounds and Toblerone is 54 pounds. I don't know how many times Weenie and I have to tell Triscuit..."DO NOT TAKE YOUR FRUSTRATIONS OUT ON YOUR LITTLE BROTHER". But does he listen? No....of course not! So, what follows is this....

Triscuit: "Toblerone! Move your head! I can't see!"

Toblerone: "NO! Triscuit take a nap!"

Triscuit: "NO! YOU take a nap!"

Toblerone: *runs over to Triscuit and hits him*

Triscuit: *screams* "OW!!!!!!!!! MOOOOOM! He hit me!!!!"

Mum: *spanks Toblerone for hitting and puts him on the couch*...."Now...Triscuit! How many times do we have to tell you to be NICE to your little brother!"

Triscuit: "But Moooom! He's in my way and he won't move!"

Mum: "If you don't change your attitude, you're going to go take a nap."

OH BOY! You would have thought I crushed his world. Oh no! I said the "N" word to a 7 year old....

Triscuit: *begins WAILING*..."NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I don't wanna take a naaaaaaaap!"

At this point, I try and explain to him what the medication is doing to him and how IMPORTANT it is for him to get some sleep. Needless to say, it doesn't work.

Mum: "If I catch you ONE more time being mean and talking to your brother like that, you WILL go to bed. Now...repeat what I just said to you."

Triscuit: "Be nice or I will go take a nap."

Not even an hour later, it all starts again. Toblerone wanted to sit next to Triscuit and watch "Beverly Hills Chihuahua". Triscuit wasn't having it.

Triscuit: "No Toblerone! Get down!"

Toblerone: *gives him a confused look*

Triscuit: "I want to be by myself! Leave me alone!"

Toblerone: *sensing Triscuits hostility begins to react in a normal 2 year old fashion* "NO! Triscuit MEEEEAAAAN! *SMACK*

Mum: *sigh*

I stop doing dishes and break up the fight. Toblerone got spanked...yet again...while I sent Triscuit to his room for a nap. On his way up the stairs I hear....

Triscuit: "You don't love me! You don't want me around!"

WHOA! Where did THAT come from???? It made me feel bad but it also made me MAD. I understand that he's not in his right mind because he's tired and not eating a whole lot, but COME on! That was a LOW blow!

I follow him upstairs and while remaining calm, explain to him...YET AGAIN...that I told him ONCE to be nice to his brother. I reminded him of what the agreement was...if he was mean again, he would be taking a nap. He understood the "nap" thing, but here was his statement....

Triscuit: "You always send me away when I'm in trouble. You just don't want me around. You love Toblerone MORE than me!"

Ouch. That hurt. NO mother wants to hear those words. So, I tried to explain to him WHY he gets sent to his room. Not only to calm down, but to separate the TWO of them. They BOTH needed to cool off. I also explained that NO...I DO NOT love Toblerone more than him. I love them BOTH. There is enough "Mommy" to go around. I punish Toblerone in a way he can understand and then punish Triscuit in the way HE understands. I am not "wanting" him to be away from me, but instead, wanting him to think about what he did. My explanation seemed to calm things down....for now, anyway.

One of the things I've noticed since he's been on this medication is he's becoming more in tuned to his emotions. Instead of just crying when he feels an overwhelming wave of emotion, he's starting to express them with words. He seems to be a LOT more sensitive now when it comes to specific things (like the whole "you don't love me" thing). I am SO happy that he's able to recognize his feelings and express them appropriately, but imagine how HE feels. All those years of not really being able to express himself...then all of the sudden...BOOM! I don't know if it's a relief for him or more of a frustration. Only time will tell. I will be talking to his behavioral specialist about this at the end of the week. Hopefully, it's a positive thing and not just a side effect from the med.

Anal Retentive? Who....ME???

OK OK....I know....stop yelling at me. I've been absent, yet again, but I have resolved to catch up on my blogging duties.

Ever since Toblerone got sick, I've caught the cleaning bug. I've been using Pine-Sol in laundry, disinfecting bathrooms (hurp hurp), anally cleaning the kitchen every time there are dishes, etc..etc. Need I go on? I feel as though I'm "nesting" (minus the bun in the oven, of course). And no...there is NO chance of that happening again. Having a Tubal Ligation was one of the better decisions I've made!!!!

So...on to my blogging. It may take me a few days to catch up, but I will get there!

Klutzy Much?

Both boys have been EXTREMELY klutzy these past few weeks. I think I've kissed more boo boo's in the last few days than I have in a LONG time.

Triscuit has been tripping over his feet and bumping his head quite frequently. I thought "Hmm...maybe it's the medication that's thrown him off", until he put his pants on (the SAME pants we bought for him in December). It looked like he was expecting a flood! He's also been complaining that his shoes are hurting him (yup...we bought THOSE in December, too).

As for Toblerone...well, he's just clumsy because he's 2 and 1/2, but lately the klutziness has been a LITTLE more prevalent than usual. He's mastered the stairway, but tonight, he must have either miscalculated or twisted his ankle on the way down....THUD THUD THUD...SMACK! Right into the hallway door. A squeal, a breathless cry and wailing followed. Don't worry...he's alright. No boo boo's to kiss that time, although if I could have kissed his ego, it would have done a WORLD of good. Honestly, I think he hurt the door more than he hurt himself!

So...that got me pondering..."Is there something WRONG with my children?" The answer? Well, yes, because they have Weenie and I for parents, but that doesn't account (fully) for the uncoordination. AND...since Triscuit's pants would have suited him well during a flood, I thought I should measure them.

Ready for this?

Triscuit

Age: 7 years, 6 months.

Weight: 59 pounds

Height: 4'3 and 1/2 inches tall.

Toblerone

Age: 2 years, 7 months.

Weight: 52 pounds

Height: 3'7 and 1/2 inches tall.

TRISCUIT was a few inches taller than Toblerone at the age of 4!

We're in for it....

Now accepting canned goods and monetary donations to feed my beasts (Yes, I'm kidding).

A Harrowing Week

Man. I think I'm ready for a mini Mommy vacation. Any takers? Here's what life has been like since my last post.

I have been working pretty hard with Triscuit, trying to get him situated on this medication. I'm still not super thrilled about the inability to sleep side effect from the Dexedrine, but at least he's able to sit still better and focus. He's actually beginning to notice that he's able to retain more. One example is, we started a lesson in magnets and magnetic fields in science. Over a weeks time, he was able to retain ALL of that information and breeze through his test on that chapter. He said, "MOMMY! I REMEMBER!" It was a moment I will not soon forget!!!

Now, here's where it gets harrowing. Toblerone came down with, what WE thought was a typical cold. He spent a whole day sneezing his poor little head off. The next day was OK, until he went to bed that night. Once he got into a deep sleep, he began coughing. It wasn't a cough that was irritating, but it was a barking, dry cough. When I went up to check on him, he was wheezing. Granted, Toblerone has had many colds in his 2 and 1/2 years of life, but NEVER wheezing. The next morning, it was more of the same...coughing and wheezing. Because I used to have severe asthma, I knew the signs of "struggling to breath", so I took him to the doctor around 10:00am that day. The doc took a quick look and said, "Well, he doesn't SOUND like he's wheezing, but I do suspect Croup". To be honest, I suspected it, too. He gave us the instructions to get a humidifier and keep him as calm as possible. Yeah...right. You try and keep a 2 and 1/2 year old calm!!! It's almost impossible! Around noon that same day, he was REALLY wheezing and only getting one word out at a time when he talked. I took him to the bathroom and put the shower on as hot as possible. We sat in the bathroom for a good 15-20 minutes reading books. That seemed to calm the coughing down a bit, but it didn't help the wheezing. Around 3:00pm, he threw up and the breathing was becoming increasingly worse. I called BACK to the doctors office where they instructed me to bring him in RIGHT away. Now, the situation takes a weird turn.

We arrive at the doctors office. They take us back to the room (all FOUR of us) where Dr. L comes in. We do the normal chit chat about what may be happening with Toblerone when he asks THIS question...

Dr. L: "Wasn't Triscuit sucking on something plastic earlier?"

Mum: "No. I am VERY aware of what my kids put in their mouths."

Dr. L: "I could have SWORN it was Triscuit that I saw sucking on a blue piece of plastic.". At this point, he turns to Triscuit and asks, "Triscuit? Do you remember sucking on that piece of plastic?"

Triscuit: "No. I don't."

Dr. L: *speaking in a rather frustrated tone..."It was just this morning. You SHOULD be able to remember."

Triscuit: "I don't remember."

Dr. L: "I suspect Toblerone may have sucked something down his windpipe and it's stuck. He still doesn't sound wheezy to me...but, we will go ahead and give him a breathing treatment to see if it works."

Now...have you EVER tried to give a breathing treatment to a toddler that has NO clue what is going on? Yeah...needless to say, Toblerone FREAKED out. He cried and screamed. It was a good thing Weenie was with me, because there was NO way I could have held his hands and arms away from his face AND keep him from running away! Because Toblerone was freaking out so bad, TRISCUIT was freaking out. I had to keep TRISCUIT away from the breathing machine. He made several attempts to turn it off. He kept saying, "Mommy!!! It's HURTING him! It's BURNING him! TURN IT OFF!!!!" Regardless of the countless explanations, Triscuit still had it in his head that Toblerone was being tortured. Because Toblerone threw SUCH a fit, the breathing treatment had NO effect on him whatsoever....and because of this, the doc now had it in his mind that Toblerone HAD sucked something down his throat. He sent us to Urgent Care for an X-Ray. We get to Urgent Care and the UC doc comes out, ALL apologetic, saying, "If it's not metal, it won't show up on an x-ray. Since Dr. L is SURE he sucked something down his throat, he needs to get a CT scan at the hospital."

I bet you're thinking, "What?" Yeah...that's what WE were thinking! Toblerone is old enough to tell me if he swallowed something he shouldn't have. He IS talking now and he's a VERY smart little boy. So, to be safe and not sorry, we head to the hospital.

We get to the hospital about 4:30pm. As with ANY hospital during cold and flu season, it was PACKED. Fortunately, we were set as priority 2 (not extremely urgent, but urgent enough). Regardless, we still sat there for 3 hours. All the while, Toblerone is coughing so much he's throwing up. They FINALLY have a room for us at quarter till 8:00pm. We get in the room and the doc comes in...

ER Doc: "So, can you tell me WHAT the heck is going on here?"

Mum: *looks at Weenie*..."Well, Toblerone was having problems breathing this morning. I took him to the doc where he tells us it's probably Croup. We head home, where Toblerone's breathing becomes increasingly worse. We head BACK to the docs office where he says that he suspects Toblerone had sucked a toy down his throat that said Doc THOUGHT he saw my oldest son with. We were told to get an x-ray. Then, we were told to come here for a CT scan, because plastic can't be seen on an x-ray. THAT'S why we are here."

ER Doc: "What?"

Mum: *rolls eyes*..."Yup. Can you PLEASE tell me what the heck is going on with my kid?"

ER Doc: *listens to Toblerone breathing*..."Ummm...yeah. He's wheezing! His pediatrician didn't HEAR this?"

Mum: "According to him, Toblerone wasn't wheezing...he was choking."

ER Doc: *A look of disgust comes over his face*..."We are going to give him 3 breathing treatments to polish him up. If THAT doesn't work, then we'll talk about the CT scan. I won't do a CT scan on him if YOU don't think he's sucked something down his throat. A CT scan is an equivalent of 200 x-rays....in other words, too much radiation...especially for child."

Here is where it gets FUNNY.

The respiratory therapist comes in and sets up his equipment. He walks over to Weenie (who is holding Toblerone) and hands him the apparatus for Toblerone to start "sucking on". As you can probably guess, Toblerone starts FREAKING out again. I mean, not just crying, but kicking and screaming to the point of turning red faced and sweating. The respiratory therapist just looked at Toblerone like he was crazy. He tries to get Toblerone to calm down, but the way he was talking to Toblerone was on a 5 year old level. I was thinking, "Surely, they look at the charts to see the patients ages before they talk to them". So, I say:

Mum: "Have you seen other kids his age act this way before?"

RT: "Not HIS size, no..."

At this point, I'm taking a wild guess and coming to the assumption that NO, HE DID NOT LOOK AT TOBLERONE'S AGE.

Mum: "What do you mean?"

RT: "Kids his age usually understand what's going on."

Mum: "He's only 2 and 1/2."

The look on this poor guys face was PRICELESS! It was a mix between shocked, sympathy and a bit of humiliation.

RT: "OH! Well, THAT explains A LOT! I was wondering why he was only giving me one word answers and throwing such a fit! For two and 1/2, yes...this behavior is completely normal!"

Mum: "I'm sorry. I guess I should have said something to you earlier. I figured you looked at his chart and saw his age."

RT: "No, I didn't. I can't BELIEVE he's only 2 and 1/2! He's HUGE!"

At that point, I believe we became the topic of the ER. We had nurses and assistants coming in looking at him saying, "So...he's only 2 and 1/2?" I'm thinking I need to get him a T-shirt with "I'm only 2 and 1/2...please TREAT me as such".

We finally get out of the Emergency Department around 11:00pm that evening (armed with an at home breathing machine and meds).

The next few days were good. Toblerone was requiring less and less of the breathing treatments and by Sunday, it looked like we were out of the woods....UNTIL that evening. He started getting pretty cranky and when I went to comfort him, he felt REALLY hot. I gave him some Tylenol and put him to bed. I had been sleeping with him since this all happened to make sure I stayed on top of the breathing issue. That evening he was SO restless, poor kid! Then, 5:00am rolls around. He sits straight up in bed, says something and starts PUKING. Good thing his tummy was empty, otherwise I would have been cleaning up puke for the next few hours. Because he was running a temp, my concern was maybe the bronchitis WASN'T viral....maybe it had turned bacterial. So, I call his pediatricians office to voice my concerns. Yup...they felt the same way. So, BACK to the pediatrician we go. Dr. L comes in and we do the usual chit chat of just WHAT may be ailing Toblerone THIS time.

Dr. L: "So, what did they diagnose him with at the hospital?"

Mum: "Croup and viral bronchitis."

Dr. L: "Oh. OK. And then this morning, Toblerone started throwing up, huh?"

Mum: "Yes. I thought since he was running a temp that maybe the bronchitis was bacterial."

Dr. L: "Well, let me listen to him."

He listens to Toblerone's chest (while Toblerone is yelling..."No...ALL DONE!") and says:

Dr. L: "He sounds pretty clear except for the gunk in his chest. If you were in the ER on Thursday and he came down with THIS today, my guess is he picked up the flu bug from the hospital. I'm going to give you a prescription for steroids that I want you to start administering as soon as Toblerone's tummy settles down. That should help with the remainder of the croup holding on and also help keep the breathing treatments away while he's coughing all that up."

So, we get the prescription filled and head back home. We TRY and get Toblerone to eat, but every time he smelled food, he would start gagging. This continues ALL day and into the night. The next day, he's eating a little, but his temperature was gradually rising. I tried to give him Tylenol, but he just gagged when he smelled it. Finally, the temp reached 103.4. I freaked! Again, I call the docs office. The nurse picks up...

NP: "What's happening with Toblerone?"

Mum: "We were just in there yesterday and Dr. L explained that he has now contracted the stomach flu. His temp is 103.4 and I can't get him to take any medication. At what point do I need to start freaking out and be REALLY worried?"

NP: *laughing*..."Toblerone will be just fine. Try your best to get that Tylenol down him. If all else fails, hold him down and squirt the med in his mouth with a medication syringe."

Mum: *laughing back*..."He's 52 pounds and 3'6 inches tall. That's going to be a LOAD of fun, let me tell you."

NP: "Really? Have you tried putting it in his juice or bribing him with a piece of candy?"

Mum: "Yup. I've tried all that. He tells me "Mommy...juice...yucky" and refuses to drink it. Then, he will throw a fit if I take the candy away. He just doesn't understand."

NP: "I guess you have no choice but to force it in his mouth. Plug his nose to make sure he swallows it. Good luck!!!"

The first time, he gagged, but didn't throw it up...so that was good. As his temp came down, he got more and more hungry.

Toblerone: "Mama...hungy. Burger."

Mum: "We don't have any burgers. Let me call Daddy to see if he will bring home burgers."

While I'm on the phone with Weenie, Toblerone lays down on the couch and falls asleep. Being the loving Daddy that Weenie is, he brought home burgers for the boys. Weenie goes over to Toblerone and says in a quiet tone:

Weenie: "Daddy brought you burger."

Toberlone didn't hear him at first, so Weenie repeats himself. Toblerone heard it the second time.

Toblerone: *sits straight up* "Dada...Burger?"

He's still not awake, but flies off the couch and stumbles over to the dining room table. I swear, I don't think Weenie and I have EVER seen him snarf down a burger so fast! Once he ate that and kept it down, we knew he was on the road to recovery.

So...that has been MY life these past few weeks!

Now...for that vacation. I want at least one day on the beach with a nice bottle of white wine....

SUCCESS!!!

Now that Triscuit is on the medication, he is doing SO much better! I'm IMPRESSED!

The beginning of the week was a little difficult. The side effects from Dexedrine are headache, stomach ache (often them feeling full and not hungry at all) and sleeplessness. Triscuit had ALL of those, poor baby, but he stuck it out and is now doing much better. We saw an immediate difference in his ability to sit still. On Sunday, when we went to the in-laws, he sat down and played chess with one of his uncles. I don't think I've ever seen him sit still for longer than 20 minutes. He sat there for a good hour (I believe it may have been longer) and concentrated on the game! I was SO happy! But the real test was school. I wondered if it would carry over to the next day.

Monday came and I wasn't going to expect too much of him. He had only slept for about 5 hours the night before, so he tired out really easy. We got through about 2 and 1/2 hours of school before he actually ASKED me if he could take a nap (that's unheard of coming from Triscuit). Tuesday was a rough day because he had Scantron testing to complete. I had him take the reading portion first (the most difficult for him). He FREAKED! "But Mom, it's too long! I can't do this!" He WAS able to sit still, but again, because of his short attention span, he would get half way through the story and then do the questions. Needless to say, he got about 18 wrong out of 26 questions. Once he saw his score, he had a meltdown. It seemed like it took me forever to calm him down and explain to him what the purpose of the testing was. He wasn't happy. He actually said, "Mom...will Mrs. L still be proud of me?" (Mrs. L is his degreed teacher. He REALLY cares what she thinks). I had to assure him all would be fine. The second portion of the test was math. As soon as he hears the "M" word, he usually tries to argue his way OUT of doing it. This time was different. He sat down and did it...WITHOUT an argument. He was still trying to get me to help him, but after about the third time that I said, "No Triscuit...Mommy can't help you", he got it through his head. He got a 75% on that portion! Then, today, he sat down, focused on his work and got it DONE! I was SO happy and SO impressed with him! He seems to be trying a LOT harder, too!

Because he has been doing so well and trying so hard, Weenie went out and got him a new Lego set. He got the set about 45 minutes ago. He's been sitting there NOT moving and TOTALLY silent! It's just AMAZING to see such a night and day difference in the area of "spaziness".

I took a few pictures. He looked like such a grown up sitting at the table, concentrating on putting his Lego's together!

Then, as soon as Toblerone saw Triscuit sitting there working with his Lego's, TOBLERONE had to get in on the big boy action, too!

I have faith that this won't be the ONLY week Triscuit will do well, but regardless, I will keep you all posted!

Again, I want to thank those of you who have been there for us! MUCH appreciated!!!

And We FINALLY Have Answers!!!

The waiting, the anxiety, the dreading of the appointment today....ALL OVER! And we have ANSWERS! I'm so happy right now, I could kiss a monkey (I know...completely random).

Most of you know I was really worried and apprehensive about the testing. I didn't know what to expect. I was told "Neurological testing". They didn't tell me what kind. If any of you have ever googled a random subject, it seems the information that pops up is the type of information that would scare the crap out of you. I read everything from PET scans to probes and wires. That was SOOO not the case! The testing was considered "Neuro Behavioral" testing. Small, random (sometimes a little weird) and simple tests. There were three phases to the testing: Motor skills, written testing and communicative testing. I will try and break it down the best I can.

Phase one. Motor skills.

Triscuit was asked to touch his fingers together in the same order SHE did (without looking at his fingers). Thumb and index finger, then thumb and pinkie...so on. On the RIGHT side, Triscuit did PERFECTLY...but on the left side? No so well. He got the pinkie and index right, but the other two? Completely opposite. She had him pretend to throw a ball, pretend to brush his teeth, then had him look up at the corner of the room through a tube. He switched the tube from eye to eye, so he passed (I know...I still don't understand that one). She had him touch his nose, show her the difference between left and right...things of that nature.

Phase two: Written testing.

He was instructed to look at detail. Most of it was recognizing shapes. It would go from simple to complex (complexity being shapes in shapes and the key was to recognize the exact position of the shape. In other words, it couldn't be just a rectangle. It had the be the rectangle slanted to the left)...things of that nature. When it came to THOSE types of tests, he did REALLY well. Then, he went to letters. She wanted him to write his alphabet in LOWER case as quick as he could. He knows his alphabet...but writing is not his forte. He likes to mix up his lower and upper case...something I thought was normal. I guess, that's NOT normal...especially for his age. He understood when he made a mistake, but got really frustrated AT the mistake. He got to "g", when she decided to stop the test. She also observed his behavior when he was writing. Most of us understand that when you are testing, you need to sit still and you need to be quiet. He couldn't do either. He was fidgety, distracted and the poor kid just doesn't know how to work QUIETLY. The other thing that was worrisome, was he kept asking, "Is this right? Is this right?" He has NO confidence. The last part was numbers. He had to recognize the sequence of numbers then find that same sequence through 10 lines of numbers that were in SIMILAR order.

Phase three: Communicative testing.

THIS part of the testing was the most difficult for him. The first thing she did was read him a story. Then, she asked him what the basics of the story was. He had no problems telling her that. But when she began asking him the details of the story (like "How was the weather in the story?" Or, "What emotion was the character showing?"), he would often answer it with a questioning tone (and no, he didn't get it right). The next thing was giving him verbal instructions. She could only say them once, so he had to really pay attention. I forgot exactly what she asked him to do, but all I know was he just looked at her...confused beyond confused. He would make a frustrated growl and say, "I don't know what you mean". She repeated this three times (different questions every time) and he couldn't do ONE of them. The last thing was asking him to do was repeat back a sequence of numbers in the same order she spoke them. He did great when it was only 4 numbers long...but when it came to 5 or more, he didn't get one of them correct. It was too complicated.

She stepped out of the room for about 10 minutes to score his testing. During this time, I tried to keep Triscuit out of the bio hazard trash can. He wanted to know why he couldn't touch it. He wanted to know what bio hazard meant and why he couldn't just throw something away in ONE trash can. That was fun. He had to wash his hands twice because he just HAD to mess with it! GROSS!!!!

Anyway, she came back with a LOAD of paperwork along with his scores. Here's how it played out.
Motor Skills - She didn't tell me EVERYTHING she saw, but she did tell me a few things. He's a little behind on his motor skills. Something she fully expected. To be honest, I did too...but she didn't tell me what the cause could have been (as I've mentioned before, the concern was the nature surrounding his birth). She wasn't too concerned, stating that he will catch up...it was just going to take a little longer than normal. I have still to pose some questions about that.

Written Skills - He is behind...no doubt about it. Again, something I wasn't too shocked by. She noticed that, of course, he couldn't sit still. He had to move at all times. He couldn't be quiet and do his work, he had to talk it out. When he made a mistake, he got VERY frustrated and anxious. Performance anxiety...big time. He tried to make a joke out of it...and often did nervous laughter. This concerned her....BIG TIME. She said that when he makes a mistake, he gets ANGRY at himself. He is looking to us adults for verification BEFORE he makes the mistake (hence asking, "Is this right?"). She told me that she would LIKE for him to see a counselor...just to make sure he doesn't have an anxiety disorder. I told her I was wondering if MY frustration rubbed off on him causing him to be anxious. She said I had a good point. She talked to me a little about it and told me that no matter HOW good my intentions are, we are all human and we ALL get frustrated. She said she could only imagine what I go through on a daily basis being both mom AND teacher. She gave me some pointers on how to deal with both of our issues...so I have yet to test those out next week.

Communicative testing: Here is where it hit home. He failed. He failed BIG time. What she told me was that because he didn't start the act of talking until he was 4, it essentially put him behind by 2 years. A child is supposed to begin talking at around 2 or 2 1/2. Although Triscuit knew what things were (he could identify things if you asked him to point out, say, a horse), he never followed through with SPEAKING it. She said that he may be 7 and a half, but his verbal/comprehensive skills are at a 5 year old level. When I told her in the first appointment that he was a year behind in language arts and phonics, she knew something wasn't right...she just needed to verify it before telling me her findings. Because he is 2 years behind in communicative skills, he will also be behind socially. How true THAT is. He talks on a 5 year old level, comprehends on a 5 year old level and THINKS on a 5 year old level. She did reassure me he will catch up to his peers, but it's going to take a LOT of patience and encouragement. She advised me to stay away from the institution of school until he's stable. If we put him back now, it would cause things to get worse. She also thought that holding him back a year would be a VERY good idea (something we had already decided on). He will also need behavioral modification classes. All my frustration towards him...expecting him to "act his age" wasn't something he was capable of. I'm having a rough time with that. I felt so out of touch with my own child when she told me all of this. Poor baby.

So...here's the plan. He definitely has ADHD. He is in need of behavioral therapy (as I said above) and yes, it was strongly advised for him to be put on the lowest dosage of Dexadrine available (Spantules). It's a long acting pill...it will last 8-10 hours, then it wears off, just long enough to get him through the school day. She explained it before like a "buzzing that will go away once the medication takes effect". Also, because he is a VERY visual person (learner), we will be using a LOT of manipulative's during school (thank you to all my teacher friends who told me about this aspect a few weeks ago...you all were SO right on). Make the instructions as simple as possible and don't expect him to understand things the first 3 times it's explained. A lot of patience and encouragement is needed. We were given a 504 request letter (you teachers will understand that one) for his schooling. This will allow more time during testing along with other things.

The most important thing that she noticed is, he wants to be "a good boy" SOOO badly, that when he DOES make a mistake, he gets angry at himself. Some of his argumentative behavior is the fact that he's frustrated, doesn't understand why he's getting in trouble and doesn't know how to communicate his emotions. What I'm about to say may sound harsh. Know that I love you all but as his mother, I have to say this. Those of you reading this that have direct contact with him....UNDERSTANDING, ENCOURAGEMENT and LOVE is HIGHLY needed. Yes, he may be annoying at times and yes, he does seem immature...but we all know WHY now...so please...cut him some slack. I will no longer sit back and except impatient behavior towards my son. Yes, I was often impatient too, but because I understand now what is happening with him, MY perspective has changed. My job as a mother is to do the best I possibly can. This includes making sure they are healthy, loved and PROTECTED. I will do anything and everything to make sure they are getting the best we can give them.

I realize this has been a long post, and I thank you for taking the time to read it. It's been an emotional journey for me, so I've writing this with a lot of emotion on my sleeve. I realize this blog is a little out of character for me, but I'm sure you all understand.

Last thing. I want to thank ALL of you that have been so supportive of everything I've/we've done to help Triscuit...from home schooling, to listening to me babble, to suggesting techniques, to thinking and praying for us, etc. You all have really kept our spirits up and assured us that all would be fine. I can't say thank you enough!!!!