Work time!

I think we finally have his meds adjusted! You can tell when it kicks in, he goes from a million miles a minute to steady and focused. He begins to pull out his puzzles, paper and pencils, computer, etc. I love it, just wasn't prepared for the change, so once I saw it and his desire to work I quickly contacted his teacher because I had no idea what he needed to work on. I mean I knew what he could work on, but I also wanted him to continue what he has been working on at school at home too! So this is what he is working on:

• working with large button and button holes to increase his manual dexterity
• 24 piece puzzles
• counting 10 objects
• working with large bolts and nuts (to screw on and off) 
• at this point he does well screwing the bolts off
• struggles putting the bolts back on and reversing the turning method
• Memory with 4 or 5 matches -- luckily we have Toy Story, so that was a bonus!!

He's working on quite a bit, but with the continual urge to learn I expect he will be increasing what he is working on. My hope is that by April he will start reading. I would hope sooner, but I do not know all the intricacies for him to learn. I just know that this summer I will need to have a game plan for him. I just can not sit idly by anymore and allow him to occupy himself, I will need a schedule so he can see what to work on next and have them readily available so he can either work independently or with someone. I enjoy watching him work and watching him problem solve he is very transparent in what he does if you just take the time to sit back and watch. He can figure things out well on his own, but it takes a little longer than average. It's a true test for me! After a few minutes I would be helping him or adjusting something for him to make it easier, but in all actuality if I just verbally praise him on his efforts or suggest without physically helping him, he does a great job! He has allowed me to watch and learn, wait on giving assistance, and praise without ceasing! I guess when you think about it, it is what God does for us. How awesome that must be to see them struggle, create, accomplish, and grow so transparently...if it makes his heart jump with joy like it does when I watch Jack, then those must be awesome moments!

So here are to more moments like that. Sometimes patience is just actively watching, learning, growing, and understanding the situation before trying to put your spin on things...it's an awakening experience that I have grown to love and appreciate, but not necessarily something I enjoy all the time!

Christmas Time (Always something new)

Last year was Jackson's first Christmas to understand the idea of presents. Not necessarily that there was something new inside, but understood that he could unwrap something. This was all he required, he was good with one gift after that he was preoccupied with the first gift and had no desire to see anymore. When it was required for someone else to unwrap, he was willing to help, excited that something else would need to be unwrapped. The previous years he was just happy to be there with no understanding of what we were doing.

With the knowledge of past experiences and the growth of each year, we always enter a celebration with a fresh pair of eyes and look at it as a new experience. We don't know how he will react, but we celebrate the changes and the excitement that comes with him. His excitement is so contagious it would be difficult to not be able to celebrate each moment with him! It always allows me to sit back and enjoy the simple things instead of missing moments because of commitments and traditions. It keeps us flexible as a family and tight-knit.

This year was met with the same experience and freshness. This year Jackson not only knew how to open gifts, he knew that they were for him! He enjoyed everything he got and commented "That's Cool!" to just about everything. He wanted to pass out gifts (which was new) and also waited patiently for his turn (unless we took too long looking at our gifts!). This year Jackson also became over-stimulated...this is not to say that his has never happened before, it was just shown differently. Typically Jackson would start crying or act out, which was typical everyday. This year maybe I was more aware, seeing as every year is also growth for me in my knowledge of how life affects him and how he will react to it. His over-stimulation this year was different as this year he requested a bath. Now I saw this coming and understood what it was before it happened (thankfully).

To back up for understanding the past few months Jackson has asked almost every day after school to take a bath. Not necessarily because he was dirty, but because it allowed him to unwind from the day. He would have his bubbles and his pick of toys that would join him in his conquest (whatever it was for the day). I would close the curtain and just let him go until he was ready to pull the plug. This also allowed me to help the kids with their homework and start dinner, so it helped the both of us! LOL At first I thought he wanted to take a bath because he enjoyed the water, but when I knew he had a hard day at school and he would request it I put 2 and 2 together.

Now back to Christmas...after our unwrapping at home Jackson asked to bathe on 3 separate occasions. Receiving each bath he was calmer and refreshed, but the mere fact that he wanted 3 was very unusual. So with that understanding we scaled WAY back! The next several days we were low key, going nowhere and expecting nothing so he could readjust. This is not to say that next year will be the same...we never know. But with the understanding and knowledge of this Christmas we will revisit our typical traditions and adjust to fit the needs of Jack. It will not only allow us to refocus our family but also allow us to question what is of the utmost importance -- traditions are always made to be broken if they no longer fit the needs of the family, and new memories will be made with the new traditions that are invented! I am sure this will not only benefit Jack but the other kids as well!

We had a wonderful Christmas! We had a restful break from school! Now to look forward to what the new year will bring!!

Continuum

For the past month we have been working on finding an ADHD medicine that work for our little man. We are now on the third medicine and I wonder if we will ever find something that works? The first one we tried he wanted to learn, he was very dedicated with his learning (which is great!), but we lost a piece of him somewhere.

So after a couple of weeks on the meds we tried something different. This new medicine didn't really work either. The impulsiveness was gone but he didn't want to work. So we changed it again. Once again the impulsiveness is gone, the hatefulness it not really there but he still wants to be by himself so he can focus. I think there is still something missing. Now that he is not in school I will have to watch him to see if I notice the small things as though I am monitoring a subject.

I also have to ask myself, is it the medicine or is he changing? He is becoming more independent: wants to dress himself, goes to the bathroom without being told. He's maturing and I see that, I have also noticed that he doesn't want to be babied in the tone of voice that comes across. He wants the ideas to be his ideas so now we have to word what he want him to do in such a manner that it is something he wants to do. So we get creative and patient!
I'm not sure how this will all work and I suppose that once he gets to school it will change again, I just wonder what sacrifices will ultimately be made or will we truly find something that works?

Time for change

I should have known that one try would never happen, it never has! LOL Everything that may work for my other kids, never works for Jack. A few weeks ago he was prescribed a medication for ADHD... I know you're shocked that he has it! The last couple of weeks we have had him on Vyvanse, which is a medication we use for 2 of our other kids. It worked to some extent. He finally wanted to learn. Before on his calendar he would put the educational stuff back in his basket and would only have on his calendar the fun stuff. Once he started taking the medicine he wanted to work. However, we lost something with this medicine. He was no longer funny, cute, and cuddly. He wanted to be left alone and was very unhappy. My little boy that would go visit everyone would no longer go without me being next to him. He began hitting his head with his fist as though something wasn't working right. Granted his appetite was suppressed, but nothing out of the ordinary and he slept fine, but his temperament and demeanor had changed. Luckily he has an awesome teacher that helps me to see what I can't because I am not there with him. She told me she would rather have the old Jack back then to see this boy the medicine has made. After this weekend I couldn't agree more!

So after talking with his Dr. we changed his medication and cut the dosage in half. I am hoping that it will help take the edge off his impulsivity but not lose who Jack is. He has set a precedent and people know what to expect, a huge hug and smile to greet you and a good laugh to leave you smiling long after he leaves. We will make sure this does not change, because it is what makes him who he is.

Sunday I took him off the medicine and a big huge shout out and hug to his buddy. She has been awesome trying to keep up with him! Today, day 2, off the medicine his teacher brought him to the car, wiped her forehead and went "whewww!" I laughed and said "forgot how energetic he was huh?" Yes he was a lot of work, but we got our loving little boy back...let's just hope this new medicine doesn't change him either!