Eventful

Our summer days have begun and we have yet again managed to pack our week full. You are managing speech 2x per week, Kindergarten tutor 2x per week, therapy with Linda 1x per week, PT 1x per week, social skills group 1x per week, and swim lessons 3x per week. When you figure in the commute and eating times it keeps us on the go until Friday. This is the one day that we have nothing actually planned and it was very nice today to sleep in (I have taught you the fine art of this over the past year) and to make last minute plans.

You impressed me this week of being able to participate in speech and PT services without me in the room. In the past I have always had to be present in order to provide a level of behavioral support and how nice it was for me to have one hour, during each of these therapies, to sit in the waiting room and do nothing! I even bought a novel for the first time in a year in hopes that this trend will continue and I can once again engage in leisure activities - what a concept!

Part of this behavior change may be due to a change, yet again, in your medications. We were on our 4th ADHD med with little to no improvements in your overall behaviors - your attending was better but the self injurious and tantrums never seemed to change or got worse - they were all wonder drugs for about 4 weeks and then your body would adjust or the dosage would build up and the behaviors were worse then if you were not on medication. Given that your emotional state and your behaviors are my number one priority it was time to try something new.

So, off we went, back to the psychiatrist and fingers are crossed we have a winner this time. You have not engaged in self-injurious behaviors since Monday! A few tantrums here and there but NOTHING compared to what our life has become accustomed to. I see the smile back on your face, you are engaging again with peers, and not quite as oppositional to show us skills. Now, lets be real here, because you are Bryson and part of this is just your personality and the reason we love you but I do see marked improvement. This is a double edge sword though because it is wonderful that the medication is helping I also believes it confirms the diagnosis I have suspected for a very long time (I will share that for a later post). What it all boils down to though, is I simply do not care what is black and white on the paper - I care that you are stable, happy, and making progress everyday.

We cannot put all of our eggs in one basket, we never know what tomorrow will hold, and I certainly still cannot predict what each day will bring but that is part of what I love about our life. As much as I have to be prepared for what curve ball you might throw me next you have to be prepared for whatever new demand I decide or whatever new skill I think you should know :)

This week we are working on adding my phrases to your device, and yes, I have given you the option to say "stop it" or "leave me alone" finally. You are making marked improvement in your speech and your receptive language and this is the first in better understanding the world around you. We continue to work on you actually showing us that you have mastered your colors, as we know you have but you don't like to show everyone, and we continue to work on your alphabet.

I love you baby
Keep on truckin'
Mom