My youngest daughter is my fave 8 year old in the world! When she was a baby she didn't sleep (and I mean that litterally) so I guess we got closer by all those nights when it was just her and I. It wasnt untill she was three and I got sick from being exhausted, that the Dr. believed me. From a very young age, we knew there was something else different about her. She didn't talk, connect with people, and it seemed that she couldn't hear anything except sharp noises. To get her attention, we had to blow a high pitched whistle. The Dr. was sure at this point that she was deaf. While we didn't think this was it, we went along with all of the testing, just to show that she had perfect hearing. She was sent to a developmental pediatrician, who immediatly knew what was going on. She put her on some meds and got her enrolled into a special ed preschool. Every day since then is amazing to us the progress she makes. She is now the most loving, fun filled, 8 year old. Yes, she still has trials, and some days are better than others, but I wouldn't trade her for the world! Oh yeah, she was diagnosed with NOS-PDD. This is a fancy was of saying that she is delayed, but noone knows shy (got to love Dr.s and diagnosis) Her school is reevaluating her this year to see what they cah figure out, I will befinately keep you updated.
So, as promised, I am introducing my son today. At first glance he seems like every other normal healthy 10yr. old boy. In many ways he is, but in many ways he isn't. When he was a little boy, we noticed how smart he was. He would sit down with a box of legos and come out with these amazing buildings, vehicles, ect.. all without any instructions. But we also noticed something else. If things got "out of the ordinary" any little bit, he would completely melt down. This would happen even if it was a good change. His room from the time he could walk, was always spotless. He hated messes, would change his clothes multiple times a day. He would freak out if anything touched his skin. Many people kept telling us that he was just spoiled because he was the only boy with three sisters. I knew this wasn't the case though. I didn't realize how bad it was though till one day his preschool called and asked me if I could prepare my son for the fire drill that was going to take place the next day. It didn't take long for us to figure out that we were going to have to get much stricter (more strict?) about our scedules. At about 7 years old, after he was in school long enough for them to get to notice how he was, they tested and diagnosed him with ADHD, OCD, and aspergers. Now at 10, we have discovered that he is gluten intolerant, and has scoliosis. I probabally should add that he was a premie and was born with weak lungs. He has had severe asthma ever since. But little by little we are figuring out how to make the best of everything.
This is my first blog ever! Please bear with me as I figure this all out. I am a mother of four great children. I will be introducing them one by one as time goes by. There will be stories of funny things they have done or said. Also I will tell serious stories that I hope can help others. Hopefully everyone will feel free to also share stories, advice, questions, even pictures of their children with "special needs". We moved, over 2,000 miles away from everyone and everything we knew, a year ago. This itself has added many things for me to blog about. I am hoping to have fun with this and shed some light on how being a caregiver can be as fun and as rewarding as it is a learning experience. All of this that I wouldn't change for the world!
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