Category Archives: mental illness.

go go Gadgets, off to the races, get your motor running

Well, our David is going, going, gone… he has been running around all morning.  Still going, trying to get him to settle down. Meds are not working just now.  So gave him his lunch medicine and some lunch, we will see what the afternoon brings.

When he can’t get settled, it makes homework impossible.  Well heck, it makes everything just about impossible.  I couldn’t even get him to settle long enough to sit down at the table for lunch.  So he stood and danced during his lunch.

I wish that I could bottle even 1% of his energy level.  I would never again be exhausted from my Lupus or Fibromyalgia.  I would never again feel like a sluggard who is lazy because my medicine isn’t working.

His attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, is a powerful motivator for anyone to want to excel.  But it also is hugely limiting in that his self-control is non-existent even when his ADHD is not as strong as it is right now.

When he gets like this, we try to play word games.  I shout a word, and he responds with a word.  It is interesting some of the things he comes up with.  I shout pencil, he shouts red, I should red, and he shouts chunk.  What is with the shouting?  Easy, he is running from one end of the house to the other, and he has been doing that for a good 20 minutes.  In a couple of minutes we will break out the wii fit and have him do that for a bit.

Dad, I killed the car!

Another day done. For the most part, I would call this day a success.

My girls, who have both been licensed to drive for less than 6 months killed the car tonight. They thought that they were in trouble, because it wouldn’t start… They walked home, then we went and got it after mom got home. A simple jump start cured it. Probably a weak alternator belt isn’t allowing enough juice to be generated, coupled with someone not shutting the door all the way and an interior light blinking occasionally. No big deal. And even so, if they had wrecked it or something, a car can be replaced.

Lined up another IEP meeting for our oldest boy. Next week unless something shakes loose in the schedule this week. Tomorrow, our youngest son and I are going into the city for a psych consult. Hopefully he can get back on the med that they took him off, clorazil.

Overall, the few times that our youngest was misbehaving aren’t worth noting. There has to be a point where some of his beavior is just because he is the baby in the family and acting as a 10 year old boy. Life is good.

That reminds me, I need to follow-up with the people regarding Respite care for our youngest. That will help alleviate some stresses in our family.

This weekend I am in Bismarck for a class, and he will get to spend a couple of hours with his mentor, and then his Aunt.

Waiting on a call from Department of Public Instruction regarding the facilitated IEP request that we made.  More tomorrow. 🙂 Cheers!

Greetings on a New Day.

As we start week 3 after placement back at home for our youngest, I am struck with awe about how he can be two completely different kids.  There is the David we see when all of the kids are home, and there is the David we see when he is one – on – one with us.

We had to complete our weekly blood draw to monitor the ANC levels of his blood.  One of the meds he was on while he was in the residential placement caused issues with is blood.  It is a known side affect.  Now that the levels are returning to normal, he is struggling to get over a chest cold and sinus infection, so hopefully he will be able to go back on the med.  He was so much more stable mentally when he was on it. We didn’t see the large peaks and valleys in his affect then.

Moving forward, my wife and I are on the mend.  I at least don’t feel like my head is going to explode with every movement anymore.

Today, as part of our education plan, we had an outing.  We caught a ride up town to the clinic this morning, and then walked home. Along the way, we stopped and visited with the man from the hardware store, and then stopped at his store and ordered a new dryer for mom.  While we were there, we asked a lot of questions about things, and generally just interacted with the wonderful people working there.  New dryer should be here later this week.

Then we took our new garbage can and walked home.  Along the way we worked on making sure that we crossed the street appropriately, and talked about snow and how snow flakes are formed.  It was a very productive morning for the little guy, and he asked a lot of really good questions.  Now time for some free time, and then lunch.

Still working on getting the facilitated IEP set up.