Happy New Year!

 

It's been about 6 months since initially publishing my website, and a lot has changed in our lives.  Kevin had a rough year.  We've spent the past 12 months trying to find the right combinations of medications to help him, with limited success thus far.  Because he seems to have "a little of a lot", it's been quite difficult to pinpoint exactly what treatment is best.

 

In October 2001, we (finally) had a full psychological evaluation conducted.  Now that it's over, of course, we can't help but wish we'd done it sooner.  All I could think was "how is it possible that one small child can have so many things wrong?"  Of course, it's important to remember that no one is perfect, and while Kevin has problems, there are a lot of good qualities.  We just need to find ways of helping  him with the struggles while accentuating all the positives.

 

In addition to ODD (which, yes, he is "Poster Child") Kevin was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).  This surprised not only us but the psychiatrist as well ... we all saw some signs of attention issues, but nothing major.  How could he mask ADHD at school?  Well, Kevin is also bright/gifted (which we knew) and because the behavioral problems aren't present at school (he keeps a low profile) and his grades are adequate, they never noticed.  Plus, it is the attention and impulsivity part of ADHD as opposed to the hyperactivity that is presenting problems for Kevin.

 

In addition to that, there seems to be some issues with regard to his fine motor skills (which is why writing assignments are a source of frustration for him) as well as possible auditory processing problems.  The next step in our journey is to get him in Occupational Therapy for the motor skills issues and set up a full auditory screening.

 

Medication was recently changed, taking him off the mood stabilizers and anti-anxiety pills and moving to Concerta for attention and impulsivity.   So far, so good. The change was slow, but in the past couple of weeks, we've noticed a significant improvement in his behavior and attitude.  He is more cooperative and more happy!  He is more aware of his behaviors, so even when he can't "control" himself, he is able to (afterward) see the impact.  Acknowledging the problems and taking responsibility for actions is an important step.  Counseling sessions continue, and we work very hard to try to remain as calm and patient as possible.  We have to remember that as difficult as all of this is for our family, the inner turmoil Kevin lives with 24/7 is much greater.

 

We are still on the long road to the answers for our son, but at least feel as though we're on the right path.  After struggling for years, we are finally feeling as though we are getting answers

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy, Happy New Year to all!  Well, we've made it a full year with progress for Kevin, and with almost no exceptions, no signs of slipping back to the way life had been.  On the Concerta (for ADHD,) it seems like all of the ODD behaviors (or most of them) have disappeared.  Oh, he still has a few ... still blames others for his mistakes, still deliberately annoys people ... but the majority of the issues (the meltdowns and the rages) are gone!

 

There are times when he seems to be slipping ... but usually when we look at things carefully, we'll see there's more going on.  AND, we got so used to blaming everything on the ODD that we sometimes forget that he is just a little boy (11 years old now!) 

 

Kevin continues to love playing baseball, and his behavior has improved so much that Bill has even agreed to coach the team (2nd season of coaching starts this month!)  That Dad-Coach title has totally changed the dynamics of the relationship, but despite some struggles, I think it's working out o.k. 

 

Kevin has managed to show such an improvement in his behavior and level of responsibility that he was given a (cough, cough) shotgun for his 11th birthday.  Long story with that one, and it's not something I'm thrilled about, and I can assure everyone that this came with a number of rules and conditions ... but it's also something that would never have been in the realm of possibilities a year or so ago and needs to be viewed as evidence of progress.

 

All in all, 2002 was a good year for Kevin, and I can only hope it continues.  He's making more friends ... doing o.k. in school ... and generally is a much happier kid than he ever was before.  He still struggles with some issues (academically, socially, behaviorally) but we're taking it all one step at a time.

 

I do want to look into auditory processing issues with him this year.  I wanted to before as I know this is a problem for him ... but we put him through so much testing and counseling and therapy and doctor appointments last year that I knew he needed to back off from that a bit.  At this time, we've dropped the counseling, and only go in every other month for a med-check.  (Wish I could say I'm enjoying saving the money ... but as soon as the counseling stopped, he needed braces.  Sigh!  Will this ever get easy?)

 

Love to all ... and all the best for a happy and healthy 2003.

 

It's been awhile since I've posted any updates, and BOY do I have big one.  We've taken Kevin OFF meds.  Yup, that's right.  As of mid-June 2003, Kevin has been med-free.  I should say 'successfully' med-free.  This probably was against the advice of our doctors ... but sometimes, mother does know best.  In January, things with Kevin were 'rocky.'  As his weight hadn't really changed much in a year, the doc didn't want to increase his meds (at the time, he was on Concerta.)  Instead, we tried the 'new' drug, Strattera.  That started the roller coaster ... we increased Strattera from 18 mg to about 40.  They tried adding a small dose of Concerta, then changed that to Ritalin LA, from there they took him off Strattera and tried Ritalin LA alone.  Then, they added a small dose of Focalin to that.  There was nothing that gave us 'good' results.  Ironically, for months, Kevin was telling us that he didn't NEED meds ... he didn't have a problem, we did.  Sigh!

 

Well, after a particularly difficult weekend (of which I will not go into details because I don't enjoy remembering it) I said "enough!"  Told Bill that as of Sunday morning, he was NOT taking anything.  (Actually, I was going to wean him off ... cutting out the Ritalin LA and only giving him the Focalin for a few days, but he missed his dose, turned out fine, so we ended up doing this cold turkey.)

Results:  He is fine!  OK, not perfect, but who is?  I can honestly say that in the 9-10 weeks he's been off meds, we've had less than 4-5 'bad' days, and those were NO WHERE NEAR the 'bad' we'd experienced in prior years.  And, truthfully, I can't say if Kevin was having a bad day or if I was.  LOL

 

The summer went well.  Kevin's put on a few pounds (probably needed to) and has started middle school successfully.  He's in all gifted classes (except for electives) and although it's only the second week, he's doing well.  He's riding his bike to school daily.  Sometimes, he's the last to leave the house, and has handled that responsibility like a champ.  Best of all, he's happy!  The first day he was off meds, he was playing a game of cards with Bill, and I was in the other room when I heard him laughing ... and it dawned on me that I'd not heard him laugh in months. 

 

He is playing on two baseball teams and is in the black belt club for karate (on target to earn a black belt in about 3 years.)  He's just started taking band at school and will be playing the trumpet. 

 

I can't say for sure that this is 'over' ... that the good behavior will last ... but I've learned over the years to take it one day at a time.  Appreciate all the good days (all the good moments.)  Maybe they will last, or maybe it's a temporary reprieve.  It really is too early to tell ... but I can say, honestly, that taking Kevin off meds when we did was the RIGHT decision for him.  (Putting him on, at the time, also was the 'right' decision.)  I am NOT anti-meds by any stretch of the imagination.  I think meds, in the right setting, can be quite helpful.  But, I also think that perhaps there's also a time to stop.  And, when a child is saying 'this isn't helping ... I don't need meds ... you're wasting your money' it's probably time to at least listen.