High Speed Parenting

Tomorrow we graduate!

I say "we", because for those that have managed to endure Kindergarten, it truly is a joint effort.

This school year has been probably one of the most challenging aside from Lil Man's first year. I cannot speak enough praises of preschool and early education, we personally used Goddard school and they were wonderful. This year he started at a private school due to the lack of decent public schools in the area, and I can honestly say that it was the best decision for both of us.

Around the Fall, the notes from the teacher started to tell me what I sensed I already knew but couldn't quite face, he was starting to encounter challenges that a smaller class and extra help at home wouldn't be enough to overcome. After several meetings, countless emails and endless documentations and modifications at home- I made the appointment and came home with an official diagnosis- ADHD. Now, neither his father or myself can ever do something small- so he has ADHD Combination  which means he has both hyperactivity and inattentiveness. 

Despite my efforts to get a strict routine, cut sugar out, eliminate as much screen time as possible and incorporate activities that would give him a healthy outlet for all his energy- he still just wasn't able to manage what was going on inside his head. As a mother, or I am sure any parent- hearing that there is something going on with your child that you can't "fix"- it is debilitating. I watched him struggle when he was so little, why now? Hasn't he paid his dues? This diagnosis felt like a sentence to him- teachers would label him before they even got to know the sweet and funny little man that he is. When they saw his paperwork they would see "ADHD" and that he took medication and just assume he was some weird kid with an odd obsession with arachnids that hates the sound of doors closing. 

We started medication- I am so happy that I had my mom and her husband in this time. It is no secret that I have odd and strained relationships with my parents at any given time, but I hold true that family IS family, and I have tried my best over the years to always find myself back to that mantra. My mom and "Gpa", as I call him, have walked the world of medical diagnosis with my step brothers over the years and their Autism. Being able to have someone talk me through it and make me feel normal and like I was doing what I should have been doing and that my baby was going to be ok- it is what I needed. Having family that understood what not only I was going through, but the struggles that he was having- it made the difference in those early months. 

The change in the last 6 months has been night and day for school. His teachers have been incredible- they have seen such a change, and his personality is still the same sweet, energetic, happy and funny self- he just is able to slow down enough to focus. My fear was that he would lose himself, and he has done the opposite- he has been able to flourish. This summer will be a challenge, our first long stints without medication and without strict routines- thankfully we are getting the county DD Board involved and hoping to get some more assistance so that we don't back slide at all. 

Our lives are just as crazy as ever, but I guess it wouldn't be us if we didn't have 5 tabs open with 2 frozen and music coming from somewhere, right?