After writing that last blog I dropped off the prescription while I attempted not to start crying in front of my children or the nice lady at the pharmacy. When I got back home your comments started coming in. I also began texting and emailing a couple of friends who have kids on medication. I was amazed by the support and encouragement I received. Everyone either verified what I was already thinking or helped me see a whole new perspective on how this can help her. I went from choking back tears and thinking I'd start "some day soon" to freaking out that I had waited too long! A couple of people told me how beneficial it would be to start her before school so that I could monitor side effects. That made such good sense especially since her new teachers won't know her well enough to know what is typical for her and what is a side effect. So she has had 2 doses of her medication. I know it can take time for side effects to kick in but so far so good. I'll have 4 solid days to watch her before she starts school on Wednesday. Like many of you said....it is a step in finding what works for her and we really need to work on finding something to help her before Anya comes home.
For those of you who have commented....THANK YOU! I was so nervous about putting this out there but now I'm so glad I did. You were all a great encouragement to me. The truth is that there are very few things on my "thanks but no thanks list" but autism is one of them. Now I know why...there is no aspect of who Oksana is that has been more challenging than the behaviors that may be related to autism. If it isn't autism they had better be ready to explain to me what it is! I am so so thankful that autism was not on her report from Ukraine because we would have easily passed over her if it had been. Believe me, there are days when I think "I didn't sign up for this", but overall I'm just thankful that God sometimes keeps us in the dark to accomplish His purposes for us.
My next step is to tell school and ask them for an IEP meeting sooner rather than later because with this new information about her there are some changes I want to make at school too. Our goal is to reduce stress at school...some ideas we have are taking her off of the bus, increasing her time in the special ed room, etc. The reality is that learning really couldn't happen last year and won't be able to happen until we deal with her emotional and mental health. My hope is that this is a step towards a healthier and happier Oksana who can continue to grow, learn, make friends, and become all that God created her to be!
3 comments:
I'm so glad you reached a peace with the decision. You are doing the right things with school too. If they know they can let you know when her hard times are, when and what she is obsessing about. As a teacher I made little checklists where all I did was put a hash mark in a column every time I saw a certain behavior. That way the parents could see what was going on, when and how often. Some behaviors can be managed if the teacher knows ahead of time or with practice at home. The meds should make the behavior changes easier. I'm praying.
I also am glad that you have been able to come to terms with the need for meds. It's hard on us moms. But if she need meds for epilepsy it would be an easy decision, right? This isn't very different. I hope this is the beginning of a life that makes more sense for Oksana - because the world can be incredibly confusing and frustrating for folks with autism
I have aspeger's, while I'm by no means an expert on autism, I can provide some real life experience from the perspective of someone living with it, not just being an observer. One thing you need to be aware of is the effect the meds can have on her teeth/oral health. If it dries out her mouth, it can cause her teeth to rot, that is what happened to me on adderall/zoloft. I suggest starting to use xylitol (it's a naturally derived sugar substitute)to benefit her/the rest of your families teeth. I much enjoy reading your blog and would love to talk to you more about autism and adoption!
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