One Ritalin for you, One Ritalin for me, One Ritalin for you...
Today we have a meeting with C's school psychologist.Over the past month C has been having tests done to see if she has any type of learning disability. C is very bright but Math and attention have been a real struggle for her the past two years. She has stayed out going, but feels stupid. It has really been heart breaking and frustrating as a parent. She is this fairy like creature that flits here, there, everywhere, rarely remembering what you asked her to do,or finishing a project. She loves art, poetry, writing, and science. She is very gifted in all of those subjects. When she was about 6 or 7 years old she was very frustrated with us. She shut herself in her room for about an hour. When she re-emerged she said," I've been writing alot of poetry. I feel so free!" That is a classic snapshot of the child I have.
We have been very blessed that the psychologist picked to do the testing was none other than a very good friend of mine. She is one of just a handful of Nero-psychs in the state and she has been in this field for around 30years. C felt very at home with her. She felt so comfortable that she let down her guard and had no idea they were working on tests. She thought she was just spending the day with Miss B doing some cool mind games. Excellent!
We were also sure to prep C by telling her she was going to have lots of fun. And that Miss B was going to figure out how C's brain works best. Then she would give us ideas on how to help her study and organize. We were sure to emphasize that everyone is different, we all learn, study,and organize differently. She seemed to take it well and has been very positive throughout the whole thing.
So I am looking forward to this meeting today. B called me last night to give me a very summarized version of her report. The results show a math learning disability and ADD. I just laughed. This proves with out a shadow of a doubt that our baby was not switched at birth. (She is so smart. That the Other Half and I have joked ,to ourselves, that the hospital gave us the wrong child and we are NOT giving her back!)So we have G with his ADHD/Aspergers, C's ADD & Math disability, The Other Half's ADHD, and my ADD. Kinda makes you wonder what number 3 will have. It would probably feel left out if it were a "typical" child. :)
4 comments:
I'm not knocking people have degrees in psychology but I often wonder if ADD can be chalked up to disinterest. I know I for one cannot be forced to pay attention to things I cannot stand (e.g. math/science), even if I try- the mind is just like "screw this, this is boring." But give me something I love, and I'll not shut up about it, nor will I not want to stop learning it. Maybe I'm just too accepting of my ADD? lol
Some theorize that ADD is also simply brains being out of exercise with paying attention. When brains are cultured in such an oversaturated "Now! Bright! Loud! Attention!" environment, things that are less than mass marketed in that form don't seem to catch or maintain our attention. I also blame it on multitasking- it is a requirement anymore to function in school and work- and when you're trying to balance so many things at one time, it tends to keep your brain constantly flitting like a hummingbird. Hell, you know the segways I ramble into- it's like 6 degrees of whatever the hell I want in a 5 minute conversation :D
Let Chloe know she's in good company. Seems today if you didn't have ADD, you're in the minority :)
ADD is a weird, weird diagnosis. Like the person above, I wonder how much of it is based off disinterest et cetra. But there is some neurological evidence that points to there being a definitive physical basis.
It's like this. Imagine someone who is depressed. You can tell them to cheer up, and they could be happy and do something for a while, but still the best approach is a combination of medication and therapy.
It is scary though. Ritalin can screw you up. I've taken it and alternatively had it do nothing and do too much. Adderall is also scary - it's an amphetamine, no different from the street drug speed.
But again if there is a problem you need to treat it.
Thank you both for your comments. I will definatly take them to heart!
Come join us at The Dyscalculia Forum for support :D
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