Life with a special needs child

[nikki1]

Hi, all. A trying day, and I'm in need of encouragement.

My husband and I have a 7-year-old son we adopted at birth. He is our AD/HD poster child, likely with some fetal alcohol effects, too. He is a fabulous boy, and the absolute center of our life. He is curious, smart, enthusiastic, and loving. In many ways his AD/HD can be an asset. Lord knows, I wish I had his energy!

The problem is that some days his energy is, well, misdirected. Today was like having a blender without a lid. I won't go into details, but suffice it to say his teacher was run ragged, he got very lippy with the recess lady, and I personally sent him to see the principal. (I'm a teacher at the school, so I made a command decision.) At home he was simply coming out of his skin. We are just exhausted tonight.

Tomorrow is another day. His behavior is wildly different from one day to the next, so we'll pray for a better one tomorrow.

Anyone else out there parenting a wonderful, darling, adorable, frustrating special needs child?

--Nikki

 

[b.hromada]

I haven't experienced this, but

. I pray tomorrow brings you a much easier day.

 

[LiLRedCV]

Hi Nikki!

I live in rural Eatonville... WES

My oldest was ADHD, so I can totally relate! When he was 3yrs old, he threw such a temper tantrum that he dislocated my right arm at the shoulder. Ripped it so bad that 30 days later, I had to have surgery on it to keep it in place as it kept slipping out of socket just closing a kitchen cabinet door. When he became a teenager, it was like a switch was flipped and we ended up with a different child. He went from being extremely hyper to a virtual slug by comparison. He's 25yrs old now and doing well.

My youngest (8yrs old) has a Sensory Integrative Disorder - not ADD/ADHD nor Asperger's Syndrome - but he also has a sleep disorder and lacks 3D eye perception that compounds his issues. It can be very trying at times because the littlest things can set him off - especially the school bells.

He was almost kicked out of kindergarten and sent to alternative school for it!

He has since undergone sensory integrative training and he takes sleep meds (under doctor supervision) to help him reach the proper REMs each night. It's made a HUGE difference in his behavior at school! Went from being in the principals office every week with her sighing in frustration to becoming one of her favorite students when she finally retired last year. We have a new principal this year, haven't met her yet!

We've almost made it to Thanksgiving and I haven't been called to the school once!

I'm there every other Friday anyway and the staff know they can reach me at any time on my cell phone if there's any problems (I think they still have it memorized from when they used to have to call me almost every day!).

If you need someone to chat with, PM me. I'm just around the corner and around most days.

 

[piecemaker]

Quote:
Nikki I have been in your shoes. I have 3 boys, 2 ADHD 1 ADD. My youngest was very impulsive. I was a special ed teachers aid and he was in our class 4 hours a day. Very hard some times to keep what happen at school separate from home. I too sent my child to the office. He has grown into a pretty normal 23 year old.

 

[sheila3935]

I have 4 special needs children. I know its not easy. My oldest has OCD from the time she was 8 years old ( think Monk) My 2nd has anxiety disorder which she takes meds for. My oldest son had Authority problems which he has pretty much overcome he is 23 now and a graet kid and father. My youngest son is dyslexic. I feel alot of the problems kids are having now is enviromental. There wasnt so much of this back in the day and I think alot has to do with all the junk that is put in food and pumped into the air and water. We are slowly poisoning are planet and children. Nuff of my soap box. Hope you day gets better. Just love him is all you can do.

 

[marlene]

I have a 11 yr old child that is deaf, has adhd and is autistic. He is very hard work and as you say "you don't know what you will get from one day till the next", he is super loving and so sensitive most of the time, but when he looses it, my you know about it.
Most days it really is hard work as he has to be watched every minute, when the day is finally over and i go and check on him sleeping and see his sweet face it makes it all worth while.
I have learned to live one day at a time, i don't dwell on what happened yesterday and i don't look at what might happen tomorrow.

 

[anbhean]

I'm a "one day at time girl" myself. I have three kids, ages 13 months to 10 yrs. My eldest son has Asperger's Syndrome (on the Autism Spectrum) and my daughter we believe, has ADD. Today I got a call from the principle of their school and both kids had had major meltdowns in school 15 minutes apart. Some days all you can do is sigh, try to keep a sense of humor and not choke 'em.

 

[piecemaker]

Quote:
agree 100 %