I've blogged before about Jude having trouble in school, and I've been reluctant to go too far into detail.
One comment Chris has made is that I should make it clear that we are not perfect parents and things are not easy for us. At the same time, because this is a public blog, I am careful in making posts that could follow or label my kids into adulthood.
Take Jude's behavior in school. I wouldn't want a future teacher (or future employer) being able to Google his name and having a negative preconception about him. Part of the reason I picked somewhat uncommon names for my children was so that very few people (myself included--as a teacher was exposed to a lot of names) would have preconceptions based on a name.
As a former teacher, I won't argue the existence of the conditions that are being diagnosed in children in greater numbers than before. However, I do wonder how many times we have the preconception that inattention or misbehavior outside a norm has to be attributed to ADHD, ODD, or the like.
Kids can be inattentive for a number of reasons. A family member began taking a prescription for ADHD at roughly the same time he became a big brother, started school, moved and left behind his dog, and adapted to his mother's new work schedule. A number of these other factors could have contributed.
For Jude, we had sought counseling first. The daycare was helpful in providing daily documentation of Jude's actions and their reactions throughout the day. I also found that searching this blog for Jude tags and printing anecdotal information was also useful.
Jude was observed, questions were asked, and my documentation was taken. At this stage, ADHD has been ruled out. We also had a possible explanation: Sensory Integration Dysfunction. We were told to read about it in the interim and determine if it sounded like Jude. Stories like his love of coffee, his interest in water and such, and his interest in music from Star Wars.
There was more: On one of the articles I read there was a connection between Sensory Integration Dysfunction and problems of the inner ear. Jude's had tubes for over two years. One came out and he still has fluid. We've asked for a long time about whether or not allergies could be contributing to his ear problems as every morning he wakes up with watery eyes and a runny nose. At his age, they wanted him to wait.
Recently, Jude had an ear infection. In his ear that still had a tube. I mentioned to his doctor about the allergies again, and he finally agreed to an over the counter allergy medicine.
After taking over-the-counter children's Zyrtec, Jude's watery eyes cleared up... and so did the problems at school. He still has some typical three-year-old behavior, and some atypical sensory interests, but the inattentiveness and fits are over. It's amazing what attending to the right problem and enabling a child to hear can do!
Leave a comment