Exhausted from parenting/ASD children/Welcome to Schmolland!

[HeatherL]

Thanks for the welcome! Right now, (although I hesitate to say) things are going pretty well with ds. He has good days and not so good days in school, but we are on a pretty smooth course right now. Of course that could change any second!

 

[Kat77]

So what did my DS11 enjoy the most from his birthday haul?
A Staples easy button!

 

[disneyobessed]

Thanks for the welcome.. I will definatly keep reading these posts.. and yes despite what the RX is.. we all do seem to have the same issues!! LOL now to explain to my son that despite its snowing I DONT FEEL LIKE GOING OUT IN THE SNOW!! (sometimes snow days are VERY LONG!!)

 

[lovethattink]

Reading so many of these stories have helped me realize my husband and I are not alone in this.. my DS is 11 and has cerebral palsy and we are going through some OCD ADHD sleeping issues.. we are exhausted.. frusterated and at times.. see NO LIGHT at the end of the tunnel.. if a day goes by without a major meltdown or he actually goes to sleep easily its like hitting the lottery.. I have another DS who is 9 and a DD 3 and we fear this is taking a toll on them as well.. Thank you to all who have shared their stories..

Welcome!

I can relate to those meltdowns! Thankfully since we started OT and doing the Wilbarger Brushing Protocol, he has only had 1 meltdown. Granted it's only been 2 weeks, but he was having meltdowns every day an hour or two before his next dose for seizure meds. The psychologist and social worker had told me I had to schedule his appointments before he "hit the wall" with the meds, because they couldn't work with him when he was so hyper or frustrated. We were ready for the neuro to change or increase his meds. However, reading on here and asking questions, brought us to occupational therapy which by far has made the biggest change in our lives...and for the better!! And without medication! I sure hope you can find something that helps ease your child from the meltdowns. Those meltdowns do take a huge toll on the family.

 

[lovethattink]

Thanks for the welcome! Right now, (although I hesitate to say) things are going pretty well with ds. He has good days and not so good days in school, but we are on a pretty smooth course right now. Of course that could change any second!

Hurray for good days!

So what did my DS11 enjoy the most from his birthday haul?
A Staples easy button!

That's an awesome idea! My son saw one on someone's desk and couldn't leave it alone. Never occurred to me to get him his own. He'd love it too!

 

[lovethattink]

Yesterday at OT he started qualitative listening. He is really minding the ear phones. Thankfully someone at the children's hospital donated a pair of $150 ear phones and he is starting out using the donated pair. He did well for the first 15 minutes, but the last 15 minutes he kept asking when his time is up. He said his ears are too hot and sweaty. Sure enough, when his time was up, his ears were all sweaty and gross. He has to do this twice a day for 30 minutes. Any tips to make the ear phones more comfortable and less sweaty?

 

[toodycat]

Welcome Heather! This is a great board. The people here are kind and knowledgeable.

Lovethattink---I am sorry to hear your kiddo is uncomfortable with the headphones. I wish I could make a useful suggestion, but I can't think of anything. DS never mentioned his ears feeling hot.

Kat77---Love it. My DS has one too. He loves desk accessories in general.

Good news chez Toodycat! My son was named Merit Award winner of the month for his high school for his conscientiousness, character and dedication. He was so happy. It is the first time he ever received an award. There is a special PTA meeting he has to attend and everything. I am so happy for him.

 

[lovethattink]

Good news chez Toodycat! My son was named Merit Award winner of the month for his high school for his conscientiousness, character and dedication. He was so happy. It is the first time he ever received an award. There is a special PTA meeting he has to attend and everything. I am so happy for him.

Way to go!! I'm so happy for him!

 

[HeatherL]

So I spoke too soon. Ds is getting teased on the bus...again. Sigh.... We had major issues with the bus last year, but it was dealt with and the little snot who was picking on him was disciplined. It sounds like what's going on now is "normal" kid stuff (for now), but ds is having a hard time handling it. He's starting to realize he's "different" and is feeling down about it. We talk about how everyone's brains work different. And that he's such an awesome boy who does so well in school, etc. And I told him what a boring world it would be if everyone were the same...using a spongebob episode as an analogy, which he loved. Just makes me so sad He's a little socially immature for an almost 8 year old, but honestly I think some of the boys in the neighborhood act too mature. He's such an awesome kid.

 

[disneyobessed]

Yesterday at OT he started qualitative listening. He is really minding the ear phones. Thankfully someone at the children's hospital donated a pair of $150 ear phones and he is starting out using the donated pair. He did well for the first 15 minutes, but the last 15 minutes he kept asking when his time is up. He said his ears are too hot and sweaty. Sure enough, when his time was up, his ears were all sweaty and gross. He has to do this twice a day for 30 minutes. Any tips to make the ear phones more comfortable and less sweaty?

What is Qualitive Listening.. I could just google it but Id rather hear it from here... how does it help kids...?? We are having SUCH MAJOR ISSUES AT NIGHT! Anyone else!? We cant get my son to sleep... we tried melatonin and it seemed to work for a short while then stopped.. His pedi put him on cholodine or chlonidine at a very low dose for at night and we are suppose to work up from a 1/2 pill to a full pill but the half pill leaves him sedated the next day!! NEVER MIND THE FULL PILL!! So last night he couldnt fall asleep at all with the 1/2 pill so we had to give him melatonin too which the dr. did say we could mix.. UGH! I hate giving him these meds!! ANY SUGGESTIONS??

 

[lovethattink]

What is Qualitive Listening.. I could just google it but Id rather hear it from here... how does it help kids...?? We are having SUCH MAJOR ISSUES AT NIGHT! Anyone else!? We cant get my son to sleep... we tried melatonin and it seemed to work for a short while then stopped.. His pedi put him on cholodine or chlonidine at a very low dose for at night and we are suppose to work up from a 1/2 pill to a full pill but the half pill leaves him sedated the next day!! NEVER MIND THE FULL PILL!! So last night he couldnt fall asleep at all with the 1/2 pill so we had to give him melatonin too which the dr. did say we could mix.. UGH! I hate giving him these meds!! ANY SUGGESTIONS??

I don't know why I have been calling it qualitative listening?? I got out the paper from the OT and it says therapeutic listening. Here is the link they gave me at OT http://www.vitallinks.net/PDF/TL Background web std.pdf We are also doing the Infinity Walk, and here is the link for that http://www.infinitywalk.org/

The thing that has had the most calming effect on my son is the Wilbarger Brushing Protocol. It calms and relaxes him so much. OT has made THE BIGGEST difference for us. It has been a remarkable 3 weeks!

 

[toodycat]

Disneyobsessed---How old is your son? DS used to have a tough time sleeping. The melatonin did work for us. But, we also made bedtime extremely ritualized and he listened to a CD of the rainforest every night. A little lavender oil on the pillowcase helps too.

 

[disneyobessed]

Disneyobsessed---How old is your son? DS used to have a tough time sleeping. The melatonin did work for us. But, we also made bedtime extremely ritualized and he listened to a CD of the rainforest every night. A little lavender oil on the pillowcase helps too.

He is 11. We do use a white noise machine.. he has a hearing impairment too so it has to be certain noises or he cant hear it. Yes bedtime is very ritualized with us as well. It has been better that past week or so. I think the fact that Christmas and his birthday are over may help but now we havnt had a full week of school since Dec due to snow days we just cant get him into a regular routine.

 

[Kat77]

Right now my DS11 is taking 1/2 pill clonidine and 3mg melatonin at night. It seems to be a good combo. He is not groggy the next day.

 

[Nik's Mom]

Well, just when we thought that everything was going so well, we get a reality check. I had a parent-teacher conference for my youngest ds. First of all, they had a lot of positives to say. His anxiety issues seem to have gone away at school. It only rears it's ugly head during out of the ordinary things like class parties or tornado drills. But the teachers are concerned that they aren't getting more out of my son.

We all feel that he is capable of so much more, but getting answers out of him is like pulling teeth. He will just sit there and not answer, or he will say I don't know. Even though we all are pretty confident that he knows. And it can even be a simple question like "what do you want for lunch." He will struggle for an answer, saying "um" over and over, but won't give an answer.

The teachers and I have decided to experiment and see if his ADD meds might be the problem. I'm going to send him to school withouth his meds one day to see if there is any improvement. And the teachers are all trying to put their heads together to find a way to reach him.

It's times like these that I really begin to worry. I just wish I could understand my son and why he is reacted the way he is. I'm so frustrated.

Sorry for the long post. I just needed to vent!

 

[toodycat]

Hi, everybody. I am just checking in to say hi. Everything here is pretty much the same. Can't wait for the February school break. I just wish DS didn't have two term papers to do. This is supposed to be a collaborative model class. Don't the teachers coordinate at all?

Nik's Mom---Sorry to hear things are tough with your little one. Did you send him to school without the meds? How did it work? My DS became very reserved and shy with Concerta and very tired and oppositional with Strattera. It is tough going until you find the right thing for your child.

 

[Nik's Mom]

We are going medication-free next week. He seems to be doing a better this week though. It's such a roller coaster ride with him. We have tried so many medicines for him. We thought we had the right balance, but he still seems a little slugghish. The combination of 2 medications has helped, but it definitely isn't perfect.

 

[toodycat]

Hi, all. Just stopping by to say: what's up? Things here are OK. DS had two research papers to complete in the past two weeks. I feel that is onerous for an inclusion class, but he did get it done. I actually teach a course in research, so I showed him some tricks of the trade, such as taking notes on color coded cards and using easybib.com to make his works cited page. He finished everything in time to get to Gamestop to pick up the new Pokemon releases. Guess what? i've barely seen him come out of his room since! Does anyone else have an older kid? I'm trying to register DS for the ACT exam and am running into some obstacles re: accommodations. If you have any hints, let me know. Have a good week, all!

 

[lovethattink]

Hi, all. Just stopping by to say: what's up? Things here are OK. DS had two research papers to complete in the past two weeks. I feel that is onerous for an inclusion class, but he did get it done. I actually teach a course in research, so I showed him some tricks of the trade, such as taking notes on color coded cards and using easybib.com to make his works cited page. He finished everything in time to get to Gamestop to pick up the new Pokemon releases. Guess what? i've barely seen him come out of his room since! Does anyone else have an older kid? I'm trying to register DS for the ACT exam and am running into some obstacles re: accommodations. If you have any hints, let me know. Have a good week, all!

My son registered for the April 9th ACT. The only thing I saw was for extra time. There is a number to call, but it's hard to get a hold of a customer service rep. http://www.act.org/aap/disab/index.html

Research papers can be so stressful! Glad you were able to help him with research short cuts. My son could use that kind of help last year. He was so stressed out about everything having to be in MLA format that he couldn't think straight to write all his papers.

 

[bookwormde]

My wife has been 2 trips to game stop this week, one to laod manepe (SP) and the other to pick up black and white. The funny thing is that both DSs are very into it although my aspie is encreadably anylitic about it, where as my younger NT is much more into the challenge of the games. I guess that should not be a surprise. It is fun watching then work together each using their particular talents.

bookwormde