I am QUITE thrilled to report that after talking to DS6's teacher, he is doing VERY WELL and has shown marked improvement at school since starting his ADHD meds. (He only takes them during the school day, so I have no idea how he is responding to them.)
He is on track, zipping through the work, things that were "trying" for him two weeks ago are less trying now. His comprehension has improved and he is now reading through the "H" level with ease, whereas before he was struggling with the "F/G" level. When he got here, he was at the "D" level...we spend a lot of time reading here.
So I am particularly pleased because his therapist & caseworker insist he is not ADD and were not on board with me starting this medication. I told then we would try it for 2-3 weeks, see how it goes & take it from there. Yesterday I got an email from the caseworker that DCFS doesn't like long term medication and I might need to discontinue it's use. I called her & told her that DCFS can either kiss my **** or come & spend a week with him at school, but we're trying this and making a decision based on the results.
Sorry, but DCFS has never laid eyes on this kid. Perhaps they should worry more about ****ty foster parents & less about the ones who actively try to "fix" these kids. It's the lowest possible does of ritalin, for christ's sake, not haldol. :surrender:
Homework has been a BREEZE for the last 6 or 7 school days. Yesterday he read 52 words in his "H" level passage & had 2 errors on the weekly reading passage we do at home. 3-4 weeks ago, he couldn't get through 30 words without making 7-10 errors.
He is on track, zipping through the work, things that were "trying" for him two weeks ago are less trying now. His comprehension has improved and he is now reading through the "H" level with ease, whereas before he was struggling with the "F/G" level. When he got here, he was at the "D" level...we spend a lot of time reading here.
So I am particularly pleased because his therapist & caseworker insist he is not ADD and were not on board with me starting this medication. I told then we would try it for 2-3 weeks, see how it goes & take it from there. Yesterday I got an email from the caseworker that DCFS doesn't like long term medication and I might need to discontinue it's use. I called her & told her that DCFS can either kiss my **** or come & spend a week with him at school, but we're trying this and making a decision based on the results.
Sorry, but DCFS has never laid eyes on this kid. Perhaps they should worry more about ****ty foster parents & less about the ones who actively try to "fix" these kids. It's the lowest possible does of ritalin, for christ's sake, not haldol. :surrender:
Homework has been a BREEZE for the last 6 or 7 school days. Yesterday he read 52 words in his "H" level passage & had 2 errors on the weekly reading passage we do at home. 3-4 weeks ago, he couldn't get through 30 words without making 7-10 errors.
Thank you. I handle things much more easily when I feel like I am actively doing something to figure out what works and a lot of the time the bureaucracy of this really ticks me off. It's really frustrating trying to get the help we need when the people who have been involved longer than us, but who aren't willing to put in the day-to-day time, are unwilling to consider all of the options that need to be run through before we resolve ourselves to "this is just the way they are."
Currently the DCFS staff psychiatrist is hemming & hawing about approving the consent I need to have the girl recieve psychoneurological testing. Testing. Just testing. Not saying we have to act on the test results, just asking to start with some tests. WTF? I know they fear the possible "label" these kids will receive & that "label" making them difficult to adopt, but come on. You have to start somewhere in order to get necessary results.
I never even thought about the possibility of the system being in the way of helping the kids. So much for the "we're all a team!!!!" theme that was present at every training class. :surrender:
I am QUITE thrilled to report that after talking to DS6's teacher, he is doing VERY WELL and has shown marked improvement at school since starting his ADHD meds. (He only takes them during the school day, so I have no idea how he is responding to them.)
He is on track, zipping through the work, things that were "trying" for him two weeks ago are less trying now. His comprehension has improved and he is now reading through the "H" level with ease, whereas before he was struggling with the "F/G" level. When he got here, he was at the "D" level...we spend a lot of time reading here.
So I am particularly pleased because his therapist & caseworker insist he is not ADD and were not on board with me starting this medication. I told then we would try it for 2-3 weeks, see how it goes & take it from there. Yesterday I got an email from the caseworker that DCFS doesn't like long term medication and I might need to discontinue it's use. I called her & told her that DCFS can either kiss my **** or come & spend a week with him at school, but we're trying this and making a decision based on the results.
Sorry, but DCFS has never laid eyes on this kid. Perhaps they should worry more about ****ty foster parents & less about the ones who actively try to "fix" these kids. It's the lowest possible does of ritalin, for christ's sake, not haldol. :surrender:
Homework has been a BREEZE for the last 6 or 7 school days. Yesterday he read 52 words in his "H" level passage & had 2 errors on the weekly reading passage we do at home. 3-4 weeks ago, he couldn't get through 30 words without making 7-10 errors.
What she meant to say was they don't like paying for it. F*ck them...you keep on doing what your doing if it is helping him. If he's make all that progress you can defend it to the end.
And :flowers:
I missed it, what is he taking? (if I can ask?)
**** that. I'll pay for it!
(Pardon my mouth, I am in a ****storm of pissiness coming from several directions today. :lol: )
It's ritalin, 5mg at 8am & noon. Wears off by 4pm...needless to say as soon as they get off the bus I am like, "Hurry up, HURRY UP!! We have 12 minutes before homework sucks the life out of me!!!!!" :lol:
What's really interesting is the girls pediatrician doesn't think the "standard" medication that the state will pay for (two brands only) will work for her because she is SO hyper & spastic. She said there is another medication that she has seen work wonders on kids like her, but it is $100 a month & the state won't pay for it. $100 a month to normalize her and have her stop terrorizing us with her impulsive behavior & manic singing & laughing? Sign me up. :surrender: I said, "Let's try what's covered & see how it goes. If it works, great, if not, we will pay for whatever she needs. I have to get some relief here." Bottom line is I/we/teacher NEED some relief. Her antics are mentally & physically exhausting me like I never knew I could be mentally exhausted.
Of course, guess who's consent I have not received yet? It's been 4 weeks since her drs appointment. I call every other day. My agency KNOWS she is the problem child here. It is not surprising to me that they are delaying on her because if this bombs, she carries the dx with her to the next place, and frankly they were lucky to find a "married couple, sahm, with older kids" scenario for her with her preexisting "emotionally disturbed" label. Unfortunately, if this bombs it is going to be because I can't handle her...it's a catch 22 for them.
The boy I already had consent for, because it came from his neurologist (with an ADD/ADHD specialty) and he started with the neuro doctor a longggggg time ago.
(Pardon my mouth, I am in a ****storm of pissiness coming from several directions today. :lol: )
It's ritalin, 5mg at 8am & noon. Wears off by 4pm...needless to say as soon as they get off the bus I am like, "Hurry up, HURRY UP!! We have 12 minutes before homework sucks the life out of me!!!!!" :lol:
What's really interesting is the girls pediatrician doesn't think the "standard" medication that the state will pay for (two brands only) will work for her because she is SO hyper & spastic. She said there is another medication that she has seen work wonders on kids like her, but it is $100 a month & the state won't pay for it. $100 a month to normalize her and have her stop terrorizing us with her impulsive behavior & manic singing & laughing? Sign me up. :surrender: I said, "Let's try what's covered & see how it goes. If it works, great, if not, we will pay for whatever she needs. I have to get some relief here." Bottom line is I/we/teacher NEED some relief. Her antics are mentally & physically exhausting me like I never knew I could be mentally exhausted.
Of course, guess who's consent I have not received yet? It's been 4 weeks since her drs appointment. I call every other day. My agency KNOWS she is the problem child here. It is not surprising to me that they are delaying on her because if this bombs, she carries the dx with her to the next place, and frankly they were lucky to find a "married couple, sahm, with older kids" scenario for her with her preexisting "emotionally disturbed" label. Unfortunately, if this bombs it is going to be because I can't handle her...it's a catch 22 for them.
The boy I already had consent for, because it came from his neurologist (with an ADD/ADHD specialty) and he started with the neuro doctor a longggggg time ago.
**** that. I'll pay for it!
(Pardon my mouth, I am in a ****storm of pissiness coming from several directions today. :lol: )
It's ritalin, 5mg at 8am & noon. Wears off by 4pm...needless to say as soon as they get off the bus I am like, "Hurry up, HURRY UP!! We have 12 minutes before homework sucks the life out of me!!!!!" :lol:
What's really interesting is the girls pediatrician doesn't think the "standard" medication that the state will pay for (two brands only) will work for her because she is SO hyper & spastic. She said there is another medication that she has seen work wonders on kids like her, but it is $100 a month & the state won't pay for it. $100 a month to normalize her and have her stop terrorizing us with her impulsive behavior & manic singing & laughing? Sign me up. :surrender: I said, "Let's try what's covered & see how it goes. If it works, great, if not, we will pay for whatever she needs. I have to get some relief here." Bottom line is I/we/teacher NEED some relief. Her antics are mentally & physically exhausting me like I never knew I could be mentally exhausted.
Of course, guess who's consent I have not received yet? It's been 4 weeks since her drs appointment. I call every other day. My agency KNOWS she is the problem child here. It is not surprising to me that they are delaying on her because if this bombs, she carries the dx with her to the next place, and frankly they were lucky to find a "married couple, sahm, with older kids" scenario for her with her preexisting "emotionally disturbed" label. Unfortunately, if this bombs it is going to be because I can't handle her...it's a catch 22 for them.
The boy I already had consent for, because it came from his neurologist (with an ADD/ADHD specialty) and he started with the neuro doctor a longggggg time ago.
:hb: with the state and their short list. They aggravate the crap out of me. I'm curious about the med that they thought she would benefit from? Honestly $100 a month for psych meds is a steal (as crazy as that sounds!). Hopefully her consent will come soon :huggy:
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Oy. Does the state actually want you to parent these kids or not? Because that typically involves actually making decisions on their medical care. With all the approvals you have to get and all the input they get into decisions, it's a wonder anyone sticks with foster kids with issues.
H
hsmomof6
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Today we take my ds8 to the doctor. He was diagnosed by a psychologist with ADHD (severe) and ODD when he was 4. Oh, do I understand what you said about "homework sucks the life out of me." I am so exhausted (physically, mentally, emotionally) with this boy. He is the sweetest boy and the most difficult all rolled into one. I could exhaust myself jumping hoops to educate him when he was younger, but now that he is in third grade we have just come to a critical point. He does absolutely nothing if I am not right there completely on him. I can't look away or let up for a second. He's a master of looking like he is going to work without ever actually doing anything. I can't give him anything to do on his own. When we went to the homeschool convention in June one of the speakers on ADHD suggested to (homeschooling) parents of ADHD kids that the child finish any uncompleted work at the end of the day with dad. Uuuuhm, that lasted a couple days until dh said "No way." He couldn't do it. So, we have an appointment with a doctor this evening. This doctor was a family type doctor, and ds8 actually saw him once when he was a baby. The doctor now does a lot of nutritional stuff and I know some people who have gone to them who had ADHD type kids who are much better (without meds). We shall see. I am somewhat skeptical as I tried eliminating all sorts of things from his diet 4 years ago. I did it for 9 months, and it just took the edge off his ADHD. We only did one doctor visit back then (with a different doctor) and then I tried to do it all on my own. This time I am hoping we can see it thru with the doctor (hope it isn't too outrageously expensive). Oh, and my ds8 has an addictive, repetitive type personality. He gets horribly addicted to video games so that it is all he thinks about. I go round with dh about this because he used to use the DS system to babysit ds when I was out taking the other kids to activities. A few weeks ago he offered ds time to play MineCraft if he finished his school work. All that causes is for ds to only thing about MineCraft. He has notebooks (multiple) where he writes stories and makes lists about MineCraft. He is constantly looking it up on the computer/youtube. I can't take my eyes off him/leave the room without him doing it.
hsmom, that sounds very stressful. :huggy: My DS will also act like he's getting down to business & not do anything at all. Once I went to check on his work & it was a page full of numbers...not the work at all.
Both of these kids came with an IEP for 1:1 classoom aids. We are testing them out on using the "classroom" aid, not having their own individual aid. So far it's going "ok." (The last two weeks have gone swimmingly for the boy. :lol: )
I had a hard time coming to terms with medicating him. Honestly, he was nuttier at the drs office than I've ever seen him here...he isn't hyper, just unfocused and 6 years old. I filled out the questionnaire and my answers didn't indicate a problem. Then I saw the teacher's answers. WOW. When I realized how much time SHE was spending on HIM and how much time the aid was spending on HIM and how much time he was spending off track & NOT learning, I began to look at the meds as more of a "tool" to help him achieve what he needs to achieve.
I talked to MrsMom and realized I wasn't alone in my fears that he would be a zombie, and that it was ok to give it a try and see what happens.
I hope that your drs appt brings both YOU and your DS some relief. Being so scattered has to be exhausting for him, too.
My DH wold NEVER go for that homework routine. :lol: Yesterday he came home from work early to watch them while I took DD14 to her last travel practice before high school ball starts. I told him their snack & workbook pages were on the table. He said, "I'm not doing workbook pages that aren't homework. I'm turning on the tv, I have to work from home!" I said, "Well, you can either have 30-45 minutes of snack & workbook peace & quiet now, or you can have tv quiet now & be screwed after dinner because tv & tv isn't going to get you through the next 4.5 hours." :lol: (They did the worksheets.)
Both of these kids came with an IEP for 1:1 classoom aids. We are testing them out on using the "classroom" aid, not having their own individual aid. So far it's going "ok." (The last two weeks have gone swimmingly for the boy. :lol: )
I had a hard time coming to terms with medicating him. Honestly, he was nuttier at the drs office than I've ever seen him here...he isn't hyper, just unfocused and 6 years old. I filled out the questionnaire and my answers didn't indicate a problem. Then I saw the teacher's answers. WOW. When I realized how much time SHE was spending on HIM and how much time the aid was spending on HIM and how much time he was spending off track & NOT learning, I began to look at the meds as more of a "tool" to help him achieve what he needs to achieve.
I talked to MrsMom and realized I wasn't alone in my fears that he would be a zombie, and that it was ok to give it a try and see what happens.
I hope that your drs appt brings both YOU and your DS some relief. Being so scattered has to be exhausting for him, too.
My DH wold NEVER go for that homework routine. :lol: Yesterday he came home from work early to watch them while I took DD14 to her last travel practice before high school ball starts. I told him their snack & workbook pages were on the table. He said, "I'm not doing workbook pages that aren't homework. I'm turning on the tv, I have to work from home!" I said, "Well, you can either have 30-45 minutes of snack & workbook peace & quiet now, or you can have tv quiet now & be screwed after dinner because tv & tv isn't going to get you through the next 4.5 hours." :lol: (They did the worksheets.
)That's my husband!!
Since he lost his job, everyday is like that Groundhog Day movie, he got up at 8 a.m., eat his breakfast, acts like he is really busy for a few hours, before you know it, it's 4 p.m., he will start helping with the home projects, cut a few pieces of wood, daynight goes off, too dark/too cold to work in the garage, eats his dinner, then watch a few hours of tv/internet, time for bed, repeat the next day.
Every night, he would excuse himself from doing dishes so he could get online to list a few toys on Ebay, but got distracted and ended up browsing Yahoo news for a few hours and didn't list any!
It's 2 p.m. now, he hasn't eat his lunch yet!!
I have him stopped taking the ADHD med because he gets him too edgy and PITA, like a fly that going in all direction, but with no direction.
