What kind of supports do you think the public school could offer?

[BooksandBoys]

He sounds a lot like my son. I can't really speak to your questions about PS other than to say that my son's PS has not offered him any supports other than those that his long-suffering teacher does herself. He might be back home next year. If not, we'll fight for at least a 504 if not an IEP. They didn't want to work with me on that this year. I'll fight harder next year. Since I can't really help with ideas for PS supports, I'll just share what is helping here to make life bearable.

 

Edited: Oops, the school is great about his allergies! I had to teach his teacher and other staff how to handle it, and I send all of his food, but we have not had even a bit of trouble.

 

Mine has more than one food allergy/intolerance. I discovered the milk first and that made a shocking difference in his tolerance for life (he was 9 months old and had cried almost every waking moment for those 9 months), but he also reacts to all legumes (peanuts, peas, green beans, black beans, etc), wheat, and food coloring. As we removed each of these, his behavior improved. He has a PTSD/anxiety diagnosis, but ODD/ADHD are on the table, as well as ASD. Weighted blankets help. Routines. Saintly levels of patience (mine - if only I were saintly!). Staying home more often than not. All these help.

 

But, for us, medication made all the difference. We've seen miraculous changes in behavior with Intuniv. He's been on it for 4 months, and, even his bad weeks are better than his previous good weeks. We are discussing switching to something else to see if it's a better fit for him, but even though it's not perfect, this med has given us back our family.

 

The meds helped him stop moving all the time. This child never stopped moving. Ever. He literally shook his body as he fell asleep every night. Being less driven to move has given him the chance to control his reactions (fewer tantrums), play/do projects/etc (he never could because he had to run/bang/roll/jump), and think before he moves (some). He is steadily growing happier and less anxious. These improvements are incremental and slow, but with him, no throwing a tantrum is truly life-changing. He smiles! He laughs. He says he wants to build a puzzle and he does (taking many breaks to run around) and then he wants to take a picture and show his dad. Before meds, he would have shouted that he wanted to build a puzzle while running crazily about the room, then, when I got it out, he would have thrown himself to the floor screaming and melting down because (I think) the work required to build it was overwhelming to him and spiked his anxiety.

 

Yes, I am officially pro-med for this kid. The meds we are using are part of the alpha-2 family of ADHD meds. He did not have an official ADHD diagnosis when we started it, just (finally) a doctor who listened when I said that his level of meltdowns and movement was off the charts. (He is monitored by a psychiatrist now).

 

Sorry for going on and on. I feel for you.

Edited March 26, 2017 by BooksandBoys