Regression, difficult days, and trying to find our son again
You know it has been a long time in between blog posts when you have to go back and read what your last post was about.
IVIG! We finished day 4, and the next morning he woke without a fever. He was super happy, VERY chatty...oh, it felt so good to have our boy back!
All weekend, we were singing IVIG praises again. He's back! He's content! He's playful! He's social!
Well, until we brought him back to school on Monday and the anxiety started all over again.
The last few weeks at school have been anything but easy. Every day he had a meltdown, tantrum, rage, or incident of non-compliance. He would get in the car, telling me he had a "green day," and an email later that night or a phone call that next morning would let me know the exact opposite. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but he truly seems to forget what happens in his rages. He can give me the big picture, but he seems clueless about the details.
He snuck some toys in his bag last Monday when Paige had her big state assessment, and as we were busy trying to send her off with a big, protein packed breakfast and lots of love and hugs of good luck, we didn't know that those toys would lead to an ISS (in-school suspension).
At 7.
Our child.
Due to the state testing, he didn't have access to his usual de-escalation room, staff, and routine. He yelled at his classroom teacher when he was asked to put away the toys, and threw his IVIG bear across the room and hit a child. Thankfully, it was a stuffed bear, but he still was escorted out of the room. Since he was gone from the classroom for over a three hour period (with multiple attempts to get him back in), they had to code his absence in the system. I am going to fight this ISS at our next meeting, since I don't believe it was an appropriate coding without access to his special education setting or staff.
However the case may be, he threw, put another child in danger, disrespected authority, and sent us further back in this lovely regression that has been occurring since January.
I called Dr. G and left a message for the nurse, explaining all the details. She told me, after conferencing with Dr. G, that they wanted to try a different methodology to control his behavior.
Great, I thought. Another anti-psychotic.
Nope- a sedative.
I couldn't decide which sounded worse- crush a pill because your son is acting psychotic, or crush a pill to sedate him so he wouldn't act psychotic.
After a long week (although he slept through the night this past Thursday for the first time since April 14th!!), we decided to trust God's plan through Dr. G and start the medication. That night, an hour after we gave the first dose, as I put him to bed, I asked him if he was sleepy.
"No, I feel calm."
Prayers answered.
Sunday morning, we played outside and rode bikes with neighbors for an hour and a half. He spontaneously invited neighbors to play, started up conversations, and was generally pleasant all day. We took them swimming and although he seemed to get a little agitated towards the end of the day, he had the best behavior we had seen in awhile. He did act tired, but it will take some getting used to I assume.
Monday, his teacher told me there was a "marked difference." He had the best day he had in weeks. Tuesday was also a good day, and today, for the first time ever, he rode home with a friend who invited him over for a playdate.
Hunter. Is. On. A. Playdate.
NOT. AT. OUR. HOUSE.
I've checked in a couple times, but it just seems so strange to not have him here. He was stoked about riding in a friend's car, as he has seen Paige do multiple times before, and he was all smiles as I drove away without him from the carpool loop.
It's almost the end of the year. I'm feeling a little Jen Hatmaker-ish as the crappy end of the school year mom- I have sticky notes everywhere, calendars are stocked with details, and the to-do lists have been updated. Dinners have become routine (taco soup again???) and beds are not getting made.
But we are almost to the end. First grade is almost over.
Before I start to get emotional, I'll end and go PICK UP MY SON FROM A PLAYDATE.
Sorry, had to say it one more time. :)
IVIG! We finished day 4, and the next morning he woke without a fever. He was super happy, VERY chatty...oh, it felt so good to have our boy back!
All weekend, we were singing IVIG praises again. He's back! He's content! He's playful! He's social!
Well, until we brought him back to school on Monday and the anxiety started all over again.
The last few weeks at school have been anything but easy. Every day he had a meltdown, tantrum, rage, or incident of non-compliance. He would get in the car, telling me he had a "green day," and an email later that night or a phone call that next morning would let me know the exact opposite. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but he truly seems to forget what happens in his rages. He can give me the big picture, but he seems clueless about the details.
He snuck some toys in his bag last Monday when Paige had her big state assessment, and as we were busy trying to send her off with a big, protein packed breakfast and lots of love and hugs of good luck, we didn't know that those toys would lead to an ISS (in-school suspension).
At 7.
Our child.
Due to the state testing, he didn't have access to his usual de-escalation room, staff, and routine. He yelled at his classroom teacher when he was asked to put away the toys, and threw his IVIG bear across the room and hit a child. Thankfully, it was a stuffed bear, but he still was escorted out of the room. Since he was gone from the classroom for over a three hour period (with multiple attempts to get him back in), they had to code his absence in the system. I am going to fight this ISS at our next meeting, since I don't believe it was an appropriate coding without access to his special education setting or staff.
However the case may be, he threw, put another child in danger, disrespected authority, and sent us further back in this lovely regression that has been occurring since January.
I called Dr. G and left a message for the nurse, explaining all the details. She told me, after conferencing with Dr. G, that they wanted to try a different methodology to control his behavior.
Great, I thought. Another anti-psychotic.
Nope- a sedative.
I couldn't decide which sounded worse- crush a pill because your son is acting psychotic, or crush a pill to sedate him so he wouldn't act psychotic.
After a long week (although he slept through the night this past Thursday for the first time since April 14th!!), we decided to trust God's plan through Dr. G and start the medication. That night, an hour after we gave the first dose, as I put him to bed, I asked him if he was sleepy.
"No, I feel calm."
Prayers answered.
Sunday morning, we played outside and rode bikes with neighbors for an hour and a half. He spontaneously invited neighbors to play, started up conversations, and was generally pleasant all day. We took them swimming and although he seemed to get a little agitated towards the end of the day, he had the best behavior we had seen in awhile. He did act tired, but it will take some getting used to I assume.
Monday, his teacher told me there was a "marked difference." He had the best day he had in weeks. Tuesday was also a good day, and today, for the first time ever, he rode home with a friend who invited him over for a playdate.
Hunter. Is. On. A. Playdate.
NOT. AT. OUR. HOUSE.
I've checked in a couple times, but it just seems so strange to not have him here. He was stoked about riding in a friend's car, as he has seen Paige do multiple times before, and he was all smiles as I drove away without him from the carpool loop.
It's almost the end of the year. I'm feeling a little Jen Hatmaker-ish as the crappy end of the school year mom- I have sticky notes everywhere, calendars are stocked with details, and the to-do lists have been updated. Dinners have become routine (taco soup again???) and beds are not getting made.
But we are almost to the end. First grade is almost over.
Before I start to get emotional, I'll end and go PICK UP MY SON FROM A PLAYDATE.
Sorry, had to say it one more time. :)
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