Where to begin…. Well, I’m sure many of you have read my posts mentioning Evie’s lack of attention span and her inability to focus on a task. There have been occasions that Evie’s missed recess, music, etc. because she had to stay in class to finish her work. Luckily for us, she wasn’t disruptive to the class. She was only a distraction to herself. She’s cried so many times and said, “I guess I just can’t be good, Mom. I can’t do it. I must be a bad girl.” Of course, we reassured her that she wasn’t bad or stupid. We’ve helped her out whenever we could, short of giving her answers. At the end of last school year, we discussed ADD with her kindergarten teacher. We began the process in early August to have her tested & evaluated by professionals that specialize in this kind of thing, outside of the school system. We filled out lots of questionnaires that asked all sorts of specifics about her behavior, life, habits, medical history, family dynamics, social interactions, etc. Her first grade teacher answered lots of similar questions & submitted those to the doctor. They saw her several times and tested her on many different things.
Fast forward to the beginning of the school year. Evie is behaving in class, but isn’t completing her work. She isn’t even starting it. A full days worth of worksheets is coming home in a packet, stapled together. Kevin & I both spent 2 ½ to 3 hours each night for the first couple of weeks, just getting her to complete an assignment. Not a single time did we have to give her the answers to the questions. We just had to bring her back to the worksheet when her mind wandered. Some picture she had to write the first letter of reminded her of a movie she’d seen or something that happened at recess. She’d either want to as us about it or tell us about it. We’d have to tap the paper in front of her, “Evie, focus.” We were all getting exhausted & frustrated. On more than one occasion, I just broke down and cried. I was so afraid she was going to quickly learn to hate school and none of us wanted that. The last 2 weeks hadn’t been as bad. She still wasn’t doing more than half of her assigned work and was never, ever doing the self starting, self-directed work. The saving grace was that we’d fallen into a routine at home. After a snack, we headed straight to the kitchen with little argument. She completed her work in far less time and was only then allowed to play or watch a video. Of course, after the first month of school, incomplete work would start to count against her unless she did it in class.
This past Thursday, Kevin & I met with the psychologist to review her results & findings. Evie has moderate ADD, with no hyperactivity component. She scored average or above average on many of the things they test on regarding cognitive skills, imagination, understanding complex concepts, etc. It was obvious that she’s a bright, clever girl from most things. She showed well developed social skills & good impulse control. She showed none of the signs for aggressive behavior or acting out. The portions of the test centering on attention span and focus were below average, some well below. On parts of that test, Evie didn’t even show up on the graph but only because by the end of the 20 minutes, she’d totally checked out and was no longer paying attention at all. There weren’t even any false positive answers, which indicates she was focused everywhere but the test.
On Tuesday, Evie and I headed back to her pediatrician, who had already received the psychologists report. We discussed all our options and Dr. Barron wrote a prescription for a long acting Ritalin. She takes one dose in the morning before school and it last long enough to get her through the school day. She doesn’t need to take it on days she doesn’t go to school, (weekends, holidays, summer, etc.) She can take it on weekend days where we need her to focus and pay attention (like next Saturday when she’s in a wedding). I explained to Evie what her form of ADD is like. I highlighted all the things the doctors said her brain did really well. Then I pointed out what her brain does differently because of her ADD. I stressed that nothing is wrong with her, just different. I told her she’d be taking meds that would help her pay attention, focus, listen to and follow instructions.
Yesterday was her first day on the meds. Her teacher was well aware of the process we were going through, the diagnosis and where we were in the time line. I sent in a note to Ms. Fitzpatrick letting her know Evie had started the meds and asked her to 1) send me a progress report this week and 2) keep her eye out for a list of side effects.
I called Kevin on his cell phone yesterday afternoon to see if he was picking Evie up. She answered the phone for him and was just bubbling! She had a fabulous day. She finished every single bit of her work, even the self directed stuff. She completed her DOL, wrote all her sentences from the board with no help or interference. She completed her work in time to have free play before lunch. All of this is a first for us.
Ms. Fitzpatrick sent a note home with her and even read it to her at the end of the day explaining all of the above. She used the word “remarkable” to describe how well Evie did. Evie was over the moon proud of herself for doing the work and getting a good note home. Evie did use the phrase, “The medicine did it, Mom!” I was quick to point out that the medicine didn’t do it, SHE did. Medicine isn’t smart. Medicine doesn’t know the answers. Evie knows the answers and the medicine just helps her pay attention long enough to write them down. I wish you all could have seen how thrilled & amazed she was with herself and what she could accomplish, with just a little nudge.
It’s really validation for Kevin & me that we did the right thing. It’s proof that all along she was really bright enough to know the answers but just didn’t have the focus to finish (or sometimes even start) the work without someone hovering over her, keeping her on task. I realize one day doesn’t make a pattern, but it’s a DAMN fine start.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
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