Well friends,
We continue along on our journey for an official diagnosis for K. It is going well and we have an awesome developmental pediatrician. So far we are definitely looking at High Functioning Autism and possible ADHD.
On Wednesday we did academic and IQ testing. We weren’t at all surprised to learn he is one smart kiddo. His reading skills are especially developed.
During the IQ testing there was a section of verbal riddles.
“They have buttons. You hold it in your hand. You use it to solve math problems.”
“Pen!”
“Good try, but not what I was looking for.”
He grabs the pen he’d just used to do a math assessment off the table.
“Look! It has clicky buttons. I hold it. I do math with it.”
“That is clever, but not what I was looking for.”
“Oh. A calculator then. But pen is still right.”
I love the way his mind works.
Things I’ve learned so far:
*Sometimes advocating for your child means being mean or pushy with the school. (His teacher is awesome, but the admins were dragging on some things. We are finally getting a 504 in place to officially allow him some of the modifications his teacher already does. And after his IQ testing, his teacher pushed for him to get to do some advanced math with the GT teacher once a week.)
*Some of his most endearing personality traits are also part of his autism. I adore his speech patterns and his creativity. I love the way his mind works.
*Helping him will be a balance of teaching him “normal” social skills and teaching those around him that “normal” is often overrated.
*Sometimes people get so caught up in not labeling kids, but we are all labeled to an extent. I’d rather him be labeled Autistic (a medical condition) than just be labeled a problem kid because he has a hard time staying focused.
*The more I learn about it, the more I see things in my own personality and childhood. I don’t know that I’m necessarily autistic as well, but K did get some of his personality from me.
*ADHD surprised me because I’ve never considered him hyper. But it does make sense with trouble focusing on tasks. But I love that the doctor said no medication for now. ADHD does not have to mean automatically being medicated. It may be needed down the road, but for now we are redirecting and eliminating sensory overload.
*The extra attention for K means a very needy E. This week has her wanting to be in my lap all the time. So I’m trying to balance time between each of them.
That’s all I’ve got for now!
Love,
Cori “Mama” Miller
Mama Miller Parenting 