need help for newly diagnosed PDD, GAD dd

[PrincessAriel]

nt

[HSMother]

My almost 14yo son was diagnosed with PDD at age 3. The story is long so I won't go into it. But my advice is encourage, encourage, encourage. Looking back I pushed too hard to try to get my son up to grade level when that just wasn't in his realm of capabilities. Do as much work as you can while keeping the atmosphere positive. Good luck and let me know if you have any specific questions. :-)

 

Michelle

[Guest momk2000]

:grouphug: We went through much of the same last year. Our dd was also dx'd with PDD (at age 9). She has been on medication, which has helped a great deal. This past year was quite difficult academically d/t her anxiety and fears. We had to work around a lot of her issues in planning her school year, and basically lightened things up a bit and avoided certain topics that caused her anxiety. We emphasized Math and Language Arts, and gently covered Science and History. She is a reluctant writer, and would meltdown at the thought of writing a single paragraph.

She also loves to do arts and crafts. She has always been very artsy and creative, and would keep on with crafts all day and night if she could. Art is one way she worked through her anxiety. If she had a problem focusing on schoolwork, she would stop working, do a craft, and then she would eventually go back to her work again. Some of our school days ended up being quite long last year, but she worked through it. She also loves to sing and dance, and would sometimes use those as her outlets. We would just stop working, turn on the music, dance around and eventually get back to work. Of course it wasn't always that easy. Some days we would have one meltdown after the other, and just call it a day.

Lightening her work load a bit allowed her more time to work through much of her anxiety, etc... She is doing so much better now compared to where she was last year. Her anxiety level has improved dramatically, she has a much more positive attitude toward learning, and is more involved in extracurricular activities. Don't get me wrong, things are not perfect. We still have our difficult days with a meltdown here and there, but they have become few and far between.

When I look at where we were with her last year, I never would have dreamed she would be where she is now.

Things will get better. :grouphug:

[acat]

My 9 year old daughter with anxiety and PDD-NOS, needs me to stay involved in nearly all parts of school, although she doesn't necessarily want this. She can do math on her own easily. All other subjects require me to look over her shoulder and give frequent direction. I sometimes wonder if children just mature on their own timeline. We have seen enormous progress in the past year with social maturity. I can't attribute all of it to swithcing from ps to homeschooling. I now believe her social issues stem mainly from anxiety. She is not as comfortable or open around people she does not trust. Hoping you find the right balance soon.