I met with Nate's behavioral therapist yesterday and she causally mentioned that with "PDD kids they need more structure throughout their entire
day." Whoa. I had to ask her to back up and explain the PDD. She said that my son did not meet all of the classic criteria for Asperger's but that
he fit more closely with PDD-NOS. So, we now have a diagnosis of BP1 mixed, without psychosis, ADHD and PDD-NOS.
I read a little about it on the web and it appears to still be within the autism spectrum, but I am frustrated that I have "lost time" in trying to help him. I know many of you have probably gone through the multiple diagnosis issues, but is it so frustrating. I want to help him, but I keep feeling like I'm two steps behind. When I asked the BT about the new diagnosis, she said that the pdoc is extremely cautious in diagnosing children but felt like he had a better handle on Nate since he has worked with him so closely over the last year. I keep wondering when I would have been told if the casual mention didn't occur.
The positive side is that we mapped out a schedule from the time he hits the door until he goes to bed at night. He followed it really well last night, but it is still "new" so we'll see what happens with the newness wears off. No major meltdowns last night.
I think we are finally in a place
were we can address some of the things that have been going on behaviorally since the meds seem to have leveled him off.
He is scheduled to be discharged from his partial hospitalization on 11/6 (next Thursday). I'm hoping that everything goes according to plan so we can get him back into school for a little while before Thanksgiving. I think it will be an easier transition than waiting until after the Thanksgiving break.
On a side note, for any of you homeschooling moms -- do you have any type of website or cirriculum you can recommend? My son is in the 6th grade and is really intelligent, but he is behind in his writing. The BT wants us to look at supplementing some schoolwork until he is back in school so he can get back into the routine. He's doing the bare minimum of schoolwork right now in his program, so she is afraid when he goes back it will be overwhelming for him. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I read a little about it on the web and it appears to still be within the autism spectrum, but I am frustrated that I have "lost time" in trying to help him. I know many of you have probably gone through the multiple diagnosis issues, but is it so frustrating. I want to help him, but I keep feeling like I'm two steps behind. When I asked the BT about the new diagnosis, she said that the pdoc is extremely cautious in diagnosing children but felt like he had a better handle on Nate since he has worked with him so closely over the last year. I keep wondering when I would have been told if the casual mention didn't occur.
The positive side is that we mapped out a schedule from the time he hits the door until he goes to bed at night. He followed it really well last night, but it is still "new" so we'll see what happens with the newness wears off. No major meltdowns last night.
I think we are finally in a place
were we can address some of the things that have been going on behaviorally since the meds seem to have leveled him off.
He is scheduled to be discharged from his partial hospitalization on 11/6 (next Thursday). I'm hoping that everything goes according to plan so we can get him back into school for a little while before Thanksgiving. I think it will be an easier transition than waiting until after the Thanksgiving break.
On a side note, for any of you homeschooling moms -- do you have any type of website or cirriculum you can recommend? My son is in the 6th grade and is really intelligent, but he is behind in his writing. The BT wants us to look at supplementing some schoolwork until he is back in school so he can get back into the routine. He's doing the bare minimum of schoolwork right now in his program, so she is afraid when he goes back it will be overwhelming for him. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Chris
