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Just now, Terabith said:

No partial hospitalization options for teens in our area.  

Community college is a possibility.  But she has to be willing to GO.  I really think the Catholic school, where she'd have teachers who already know and love her, would be better.  Even part day.  Small classes.  Everything is orderly and quiet.  

 

That sounds really good if she’ll agree to it!

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1 minute ago, Pen said:

 

That sounds really good if she’ll agree to it!

Yeah, so far she won't agree to it.  Or going to the gym or to play D&D at the library or to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa or to the church youth group or the youth club support group for LGBT kids, or anything else.  She wants our family to sit silently in the house all the time.

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Honestly, in my area, I would say to drive to the nearest/best hospital that has adolescent psych emergency services and have them evaluate her.  I think they would treat these symptoms pretty seriously. The idea that a psychiatrist is blowing it off blows my mind. 

 

 

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She’s in therapy.  We all like her therapist.  Of course, the psychiatrist totally undermined that by telling her that clearly it was the wrong kind of therapy or her counselor was terrible.  

My husband is right, though.  She’s acting as if she has PTSD, but the trauma is all noise.  It’s like all noises are so physically painful to her that they literally are causing trauma.  And finding treatment for extreme auditory sensitivity seems to be a lot more complicated than for depression.  

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Assuming she’s not got ASD and didn’t have head injury or functional ear damage, I think you may need an excellent functional or orthomolecular MD who can look into what’s underlying her various problems.

 

http://www.ctds.info/noise.html

http://journeythruwellness.com/zinc-deficiency-highly-sensitive-person/

 

- Prolonged fasting: The Na/K pump mechanism that is responsible for the endocochlear potential is energy dependent and the inner ear does not store energy. Prolonged fasting (over 3 h) is related to energy deficit and alteration in the endocochlear potential...

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16 hours ago, Terabith said:

My husband is right, though.  She’s acting as if she has PTSD, but the trauma is all noise.  It’s like all noises are so physically painful to her that they literally are causing trauma.  And finding treatment for extreme auditory sensitivity seems to be a lot more complicated than for depression.  

 

I’d assume a physical basis unless proved otherwise.  I suggest you try to find a “functional medicine” MD.  Who will look at the whole person, rather than an otologist for ears only. 

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21 hours ago, Terabith said:

hearing how loud the hallways were while classes were in session, and seeing how my kid who LOVES school with every fiber of her being feels physically assaulted by the noise and chaos and really doesn't think she can keep herself safe at school

So back up here. Is the MAIN issue the noise in the halls, or is there more? Because if the main issue is the noise, hello ear plugs ($10 for a tub of them at Target/Walmart), ABLEKids filter, musician filters, whatever. She could wear really cool noise canceling headphones in the halls and look hip. It can be in her IEP/504 if they're not allowed otherwise. 

There must be more. I'm just agreeing with you that the noise could be that significant and trying to think how to problem solve it. Not like the rest of the world is quiet.

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20 hours ago, Terabith said:

My husband is right, though.  She’s acting as if she has PTSD, but the trauma is all noise.  It’s like all noises are so physically painful to her that they literally are causing trauma.  And finding treatment for extreme auditory sensitivity seems to be a lot more complicated than for depression.  

So the Wellbutrin helps my dd with it *some*. It chills the over-sensitivity *some*. And even some would be a help. But she's also going to need some strategies to protect herself. Withdrawal might be best. Like my dd really is not your candidate for rock concerts, haha. It precluded certain colleges for her that maybe had noisy chapel services, that kind of thing. But some things can be worked around with protection. So maybe explore those options too.

My two cents is try EVERYTHING and see what works for her. Try it ALL.

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Just now, PeterPan said:

So back up here. Is the MAIN issue the noise in the halls, or is there more? Because if the main issue is the noise, hello ear plugs ($10 for a tub of them at Target/Walmart), ABLEKids filter, musician filters, whatever. She could wear really cool noise canceling headphones in the halls and look hip. It can be in her IEP/504 if they're not allowed otherwise. 

There must be more. I'm just agreeing with you that the noise could be that significant and trying to think how to problem solve it. Not like the rest of the world is quiet.

Honestly, I'm not sure.  Looking back, it's pretty clear the depression started when she started at this school.  And she really is having a PTSD type reaction to almost all sounds.  She's wearing noise canceling headphones at home but won't in public.  The noise, which she describes not as being physically painful but as producing almost an anxiety attack, really creates an almost PTSD response.  She's spending a lot of time anticipating sounds.  And it's not even loud sounds.  Relatively quiet restaurants full of adults are leading her to cringe.  I've ordered some noise canceling ear buds, but even with the headphones at home, things like "kids outside riding bikes and making kid noises" upset her.  I can sort of understand, because I have a physical, visceral reaction to bass in certain kinds of music.  Like, a whole lot of concerts are out for me, you know?  But that's an easy avoidance.  Someone talking on the phone is creating massive anxiety for her.  It's leading her to really isolate.  And she's inherently quite social.  So I'm really not sure what came first, you know?  

They put her on zoloft, but are saying it's going to be like six weeks if we know if it will work for depression.  We've pulled her from school, but I'm REALLY worried about developing agoraphobia.  As soon as we told her she didn't have to go back to school, she visibly perked up and relaxed.  Like, she's not back to normal, but she's visibly calmer.  

I've contacted the pediatrician about an auditory processing exam and if there are any OTs that do treatment for teens.  Like, I think she needs more than ear buds.  But that's a cheap start.  We're upping the therapy.  We've got her on zoloft, and I've contacted another psychiatry office, in the hopes that they might listen to us better or at least offer a second opinion.  I think she's definitely depressed.  But my husband's response was, "Well, she's been looking forward to this school and all the art, music, and drama there literally her whole life.  And she got there and it's literally hell.  And she's tried so hard to cope with it, but she simply can't.  She's social and people loving and a socially driven learner, and school has gone from being everything she loved to hell, so she's felt like she's had to quit everything she loves.  That certainly would create depression and a sense of failure."  

But, I could also see depression causing pain.  She describes noise as almost a panic attack feeling, not physically painful, but her emotional reaction is like she's being physically assaulted.  And I know that while sometimes you have to push past fears and do hard things anyway, there's a point at which it becomes SUPER counter productive and just a huge anxiety spiral.  She does describe depression as getting worse when she's not distracted, or in classes where she's not engaged.  So not necessarily overly loud, but just sitting and listening to a lecture.  But that came pretty far into the cycle, if that makes sense?  She spent all last year getting worse but coping and functioning at a high level.  And then the summer was a little better, but she was anticipating having to go back into it.  And wanting to go back and see her friends and stuff, but worried about the noise.  And then it just exceeded her ability to cope all at once.  Like, she's definitely, clearly depressed.  But I'm not sure what the cause is.

I've been reading about misophonia, and it seems to describe what's going on pretty well, but it's not that one particular noise makes her anxious.  It's almost all noises (but not most music) that she's not in control of.  

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5 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Like, she's not back to normal, but she's visibly calmer.  

So just to sift this out, was the Catholic school a lot quieter? Maybe find another quiet, affordable Catholic school?

13 minutes ago, Terabith said:

She does describe depression as getting worse when she's not distracted, or in classes where she's not engaged. 

Yes, which is why it (the sensory over reactivity) improved somewhat with the meds. There's also a CBT or cognitive component to it. Like you can't make it go away, but stewing and focusing on it can make it worse. Now ironically interoception says to focus on it, haha. But that's to put words to it and make it more quantifiable, not to the point of driving yourself crazy. So it's kinda both.

14 minutes ago, Terabith said:

It's almost all noises (but not most music) that she's not in control of.  

You said you were working on an OT. It sounds right now like any person who does a lot of sensory could help her learn some strategies. They can't make it necessarily go away, but she can have strategies to calm it down and feel more in control. There is SIPT certification to look for.

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12 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

So just to sift this out, was the Catholic school a lot quieter? Maybe find another quiet, affordable Catholic school?

Yes, which is why it (the sensory over reactivity) improved somewhat with the meds. There's also a CBT or cognitive component to it. Like you can't make it go away, but stewing and focusing on it can make it worse. Now ironically interoception says to focus on it, haha. But that's to put words to it and make it more quantifiable, not to the point of driving yourself crazy. So it's kinda both.

You said you were working on an OT. It sounds right now like any person who does a lot of sensory could help her learn some strategies. They can't make it necessarily go away, but she can have strategies to calm it down and feel more in control. There is SIPT certification to look for.

Catholic school was MUCH quieter.  Dramatically quieter.  The public high school is super loud by any standard.  At this point, she's not willing to try any school, and there's not another Catholic school.  And a lot of private schools are going to be tough for my bordering on atheist, kinda gender queer, gay kid.... I'm wondering if she can handle a class or two at the community college.  

I'm looking for an OT.  I'm not having much success, but still at fairly early stages.  

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Anxiety can make sensory a lot worse without anything else having changed. The fact that she wants to micromanage your behavior at home to control her environment is ANXIETY, not a sound problem even though she's trying to control the sound. It may be the straw that broke the camel's back though, and it may be one of the easier things to control. It sounds like she's trying to control way more than the noise level though--she doesn't even want people to go anywhere. So, maybe she's agoraphobic, or maybe she's just so anxious that she wants company only in a controlled environment. But being an extrovert, that means she has to have you all home to get the social she needs. IDK. I think it's all symptoms of anxiety, not specific things like agoraphobia or sound sensitivity.

The sound problem is more than likely parallel but manageable under normal conditions.

Controlling other people is a big anxiety thing. 

Anxiety and depression can seem the same from the outside, but I think it's possible that unaddressed anxiety can lead to depression. So, some of the anxiety triggers are eased, so the depression is eased or was really just a manifestation of the anxiety. 

It's not about the sound. Is the sound a factor and problem? Yes, but it's not about the sound. IMO. My two cents might be worth just that.

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4 minutes ago, kbutton said:

ANXIETY

I'm not up on meds, but is the zoloft for serotonin? The Wellbutrin also hits norepineophrine. That's what is doing it for dd. I'm not saying what your dd needs, just observing that there are multiple chemicals and that if one is not hitting it try another, keep talking with them.

How does she respond to calming sensory input? What calms her body? When my dd's body gets set off like that, she needs a dark room, weight, soft pillows, tight clothing, etc.

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Oh, there's definitely a HUGE anxiety component.  And she's wired for anxiety.  Both parents and sister and at least two grandparents have severe anxiety issues.  But she doesn't really have the same "anxiety temperament," exactly. She's definitely trying to control stuff.  But  my gut feeling is that it's really tied into the sound thing.  I was talking to a friend who had an intern with misophonia, and her experience parallels what Anna is describing almost uncannily.  Except instead of being bothered by sounds of people eating, it's much more generalized.  She gave me some information about some hearing aids that produce white noise that was specially calibrated to help her.  Going to contact that audiologist.  Apparently it was so bad for her that she became suicidal and developed major self harm stuff....  

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Just now, Terabith said:

She's definitely trying to control stuff. 

This is something they talk a lot about with autism, the controlling. And you're on the right track to help her lower her stress so she can trust again and not need to control.

1 minute ago, Terabith said:

She gave me some information about some hearing aids that produce white noise that was specially calibrated to help her. 

Interesting! 

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1 minute ago, PeterPan said:

I'm not up on meds, but is the zoloft for serotonin? The Wellbutrin also hits norepineophrine. That's what is doing it for dd. I'm not saying what your dd needs, just observing that there are multiple chemicals and that if one is not hitting it try another, keep talking with them.

How does she respond to calming sensory input? What calms her body? When my dd's body gets set off like that, she needs a dark room, weight, soft pillows, tight clothing, etc.

Yeah, the doctor went with zoloft because she had multiple family members who had responded well to it.  But, it takes like six weeks to kick in.  We do weighted blanket, compression clothes, darkness, soft plushies, etc, too....

I honestly can't believe the difference that just telling her she didn't have to go back to school has made.  She's not like fixed or anything, but the depression and anxiety has gone from about a 10 to about a 4-5.  

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3 minutes ago, Terabith said:

But she doesn't really have the same "anxiety temperament," exactly.

I'm going to nicely push back on that, but the only thing I can think to say is, "So what?" I don't mean that in a snarky way, but not everyone wears anxiety the same way. 

I think if you fix the sound problem, something else is just going to crop up, or you're going to limp along.

Also, you mentioned something about her body changes that makes me wonder if this is hormonal and if it would be a good idea to find someone that can look into that. There are lots of explanations including really severe PMS-related stuff. I had some of that after one of my kids was born, and my sensory was out of this world. It was hormonal--I started early perimenopause not long after having both kids. It's a terrible swing. They liken it to backwards puberty. Anyway, some of what you said makes me think her hormones might not be in ideal balance. Stress can make that worse.

I agree with previous suggestions to find a doctor. I recently found a women's health NP with bent toward functional medicine, and it's like a night and day experience compared to other practitioners.

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We're definitely pursuing the hormonal route.  We haven't found a functional medicine doctor, but we went to an adolescent gynecologist, who did some blood work, but everything looked normal.  Her vitamin D was even up to 73.  He started her on birth control pills that are designed to work with really bad PMS.  Honestly, her issues don't seem tied to her cycle, and they dont' seem to have impacted her anxiety or depression, but they've improved her acne and shortened her cycle.  

I definitely think anxiety is an issue.  And that's why we've got a therapist, may be looking for a different one in addition who can do different kinds of therapy, are exploring meds that work on both anxiety and depression.  I definitely am not arguing that there's not an endogenous anxiety or depression problem.  I just don't know if it's a chicken or an egg thing.  The sensory thing is clearly pretty huge.  Talking to people, I'm not sure it's super solvable, either, but we'll definitely pursue it.  They're saying there are ways to make it better but not to eliminate it.  

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1 minute ago, Terabith said:

We're definitely pursuing the hormonal route.  We haven't found a functional medicine doctor, but we went to an adolescent gynecologist, who did some blood work, but everything looked normal.  Her vitamin D was even up to 73.  He started her on birth control pills that are designed to work with really bad PMS.  Honestly, her issues don't seem tied to her cycle, and they dont' seem to have impacted her anxiety or depression, but they've improved her acne and shortened her cycle.  

I definitely think anxiety is an issue.  And that's why we've got a therapist, may be looking for a different one in addition who can do different kinds of therapy, are exploring meds that work on both anxiety and depression.  I definitely am not arguing that there's not an endogenous anxiety or depression problem.  I just don't know if it's a chicken or an egg thing.  The sensory thing is clearly pretty huge.  Talking to people, I'm not sure it's super solvable, either, but we'll definitely pursue it.  They're saying there are ways to make it better but not to eliminate it.  

I think I see a drawback about making it about the sensory, and that is why I brought it up. If it's "all about sensory", then that could change her perception in her head that things are outside of her control because, sensory.

I think that's what I'm trying to put my finger on when I mention the anxiety--that focusing on sensory might become a real thing in her mind but actually be a red herring in real life, and she'll not move forward in a way that's productive (due to how it goes down and gets stored in her brain, not that you'd not get her the help she needs). 

I am glad that you're on the hormonal angle. I will note that I've had bloodwork done and then I've had real testing done, lol! Apparently there is a lot of nuance to testing, and some doctors just plain don't care whether they use bloodwork or other testing, and some do their due diligence. I hope you got a good one. It doesn't have to be tied to her cycle to be hormonal, though obviously that's how some people figure out hormonal problems. I wonder too if it could be hormonal but "delayed"--like her body amped up to get her through a stressor, and then it kind of wigged out, like how some people are calm in a crisis but fall apart later. 

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56 minutes ago, Pen said:

What did the psychiatrist think was wrong with the therapist’s approach?

 

What does Anna think she ought to do now and in future  in terms of schooling?

The psychiatrist said that the only therapy worth doing is CBT.  And....CBT is great.  We'll look for a CBT therapist.  But, they've done really hard, good work, in a more supportive, talking, relational approach.  

Anna thinks she should do homeschooling.  She wants to focus on precalculus, English, and Spanish for the rest of this semester.  She has a Spanish tutor she wants to work with and is hoping to meet with her more frequently if she has more availability.  She wants to take art lessons and try aikido.  She wants to work on improving her writing skills and read stuff from world literature like Dante's Inferno.  In the spring, she wants to try taking a couple classes at the community college, one of which she definitely wants to be geology.  She wants to find a choir to sing in.  She's willing to try the homeschool drama group that is having an open house soon and planning to put on Midsummer Night's Dream.  She's not sure about next year, but she thinks she probably wants to do a mixture of classes at the community college and online.  

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3 minutes ago, Terabith said:

The psychiatrist said that the only therapy worth doing is CBT.  And....CBT is great.  We'll look for a CBT therapist.  But, they've done really hard, good work, in a more supportive, talking, relational approach.  

Anna thinks she should do homeschooling.  She wants to focus on precalculus, English, and Spanish for the rest of this semester.  She has a Spanish tutor she wants to work with and is hoping to meet with her more frequently if she has more availability.  She wants to take art lessons and try aikido.  She wants to work on improving her writing skills and read stuff from world literature like Dante's Inferno.  In the spring, she wants to try taking a couple classes at the community college, one of which she definitely wants to be geology.  She wants to find a choir to sing in.  She's willing to try the homeschool drama group that is having an open house soon and planning to put on Midsummer Night's Dream.  She's not sure about next year, but she thinks she probably wants to do a mixture of classes at the community college and online.  

 

That all sounds wonderful! 

CBT

Homeschooling and the extras Anna wants to do.  It all sounds like an excellent plan to me!

can you help her to achieve that?  

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I can totally help her with the homeschool stuff.  We're working on a list of world literature classics for her to choose from, and I gave her a list of precalculus texts to choose from.  On the list for in the next couple of days is to talk to the community college about placement tests to make sure she's eligible to take classes, but based on her previous test scores, I don't think that will be an issue.  She'd also like to do the Spanish placement test just to figure out if she could slide into their sequence.  We have an appointment with her therapist for tomorrow afternoon, and we'll talk about CBT, but honestly, I've got a long list, and it's towards the bottom.  (A better, more in depth psychiatric evaluation, getting the paperwork in to withdraw her from public school/ register for homeschooling, and figuring out hearing test and OT are higher.)  

She went to the grocery store today.  She wore a trench coat and stylish boots and a scarf that are all elements for a costume she's designing for a science fiction convention next summer.  She's sitting in the living room without the noise canceling headphones.  Tomorrow we have an appointment with the counselor; she has an art lesson, is meeting with the Spanish tutor at the public library, and has agreed to try aikido in the evening.  So she's doing okay with going in public, as long as it's not noisy or crowded, and she's not inundated with eight hours of forced crowded chaotic noise on top of it.  

I really can't believe how much better she looks now.  She is so much more animated and relaxed.  She isn't cringed in on herself.  She even has a bit of sparkle and style back.  

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Consider suggesting to her that she start Spanish at the beginning at the CC— that way she’d have a relatively easy content start as she got used to the CC system. Plus as she moved on she wouldn’t have holes in their progression. She could still do things with the Spanish tutor.  

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17 minutes ago, Pen said:

Consider suggesting to her that she start Spanish at the beginning at the CC— that way she’d have a relatively easy content start as she got used to the CC system. Plus as she moved on she wouldn’t have holes in their progression. She could still do things with the Spanish tutor.  

That is a really good idea.  My only concern is that they don't offer 101 in the spring; they only have the second semester of first year college Spanish.  However, second semester college Spanish would still be a pretty easy start coming from Spanish 3/4, probably?  But it also might be better to just wait till the fall.  I dunno.  I can't think that far in advance really right now.  

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1 minute ago, Terabith said:

That is a really good idea.  My only concern is that they don't offer 101 in the spring; they only have the second semester of first year college Spanish.  However, second semester college Spanish would still be a pretty easy start coming from Spanish 3/4, probably?  But it also might be better to just wait till the fall.  I dunno.  I can't think that far in advance really right now.  

 

2nd semester Spanish at CC is probably roughly equivalent to 2nd year in high school — however you indicated that Anna didn’t have a good and thorough Spanish 2 class. So Second Semester CC Spanish is probably around correct for her, but probably won’t be easy mostly review. 

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7 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

2nd semester Spanish at CC is probably roughly equivalent to 2nd year in high school — however you indicated that Anna didn’t have a good and thorough Spanish 2 class. So Second Semester CC Spanish is probably around correct for her, but probably won’t be easy mostly review. 

Good point.  It might be better to work with tutor and then start at the beginning in the fall.  

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7 hours ago, Terabith said:

The difference in her between today and yesterday and Monday (which was worse than yesterday) is amazing.  Just so much lighter!

The Prozac kicking in or being out of school or both? To me that sounds like the meds kicking in, which is good!! 

Were there some *advantages* to her with school? It sure sounds like she has super thorough plans and didn't need school to get where she's going. If she's that directed, a good worker, and going to work the plan, and isn't giving up anything major she really wanted, it isn't an issue. But if she wanted school for some reason, she could consider going back with the meds in her system. Thing is, the noise will still be there. And for my dd, the things that are hard in the setting are *easier* with the meds but not poof magic go away. And in her case it would literally be like college/no college, which isn't the same as either way I graduate. 

That's just such a huge relief that she's feeling better on the meds. As long as the academics are able to go forward, it really doesn't seem like school is contributing a lot that's essential at this point. She's going to have those same challenges again with college, so she's going to need some time to work out the kinks and find her strategies. 

Also, does she have a 504 or other documentation? She doesn't *have* to have it for college, but she's going to want documentation from an audiologist on the noise stuff. For dd, the only thing she flags (so far, with ABLEKids) on testing was the background noise. But they were able to generate paper trail saying she requires accommodations like preferential seating and even saying which side of the lecture hall it needs to be on. Technically I think she can get notes. I think it says something about ability to use tech. Yes, there are profs who are like no laptops, no recording devices, etc. 

So your high school hurdle is solvable but you want to start lining up documentation to make those DE classes in a year go better. And at the small CC they may not be as bad as at a big university. You get into BIG LECTURE HALLS and issues are magnified. And also teeny tiny specialty class rooms where maybe there's some ac unit going making noise and you can't hear the professor because he's 2 feet from it. Dd has run into both.

Also, you want to keep your relationships strong with the MDs prescribing the meds, because they can write documentation of the anxiety. My dd has fatigue from processing noise and life all day, and then she has the anxiety. With the medical documentation, you can get dorm accommodations. Technically dd should have a single room, but at this university they roll 3-4 into a room, meaning her best ask was a 2 person room. So if she's going to try on campus somewhere at some point, it's documentation to have. Between the audiology and the MD you'll be there. The psych paper trail gets you the academics. It literally takes that much paper trail, lol. The university has asked for the MD letter to be refreshed each year but not the rest.

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Yeah, we're going to have to generate a paper trail.  We have NOTHING on paper about the sensory.  Honestly, the best description is misaphonia, which is not in the DSM, but sounds creating panic attack feelings.  

Yes, she's giving up a LOT.  She loved school.  She has friends there, and it's ridiculously hard to get together with people outside of school here because everyone is so busy.  And she loved the choir passionately.  She enjoyed the theater program.  She was hoping to be in forensics.  Choir and theater, in particular, are going to be really hard to replicate.  In theory they should allow her to take electives, but I think she's a ways away from feeling able to deal with it on even a limited basis.  

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16 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Yeah, we're going to have to generate a paper trail.  We have NOTHING on paper about the sensory.  Honestly, the best description is misaphonia, which is not in the DSM, but sounds creating panic attack feelings.  

 

Keep looking for possible nutritional approaches.  Have you tried inositol? NAC? A good mineral and multivitamin plus B complex?  Stress depletes a number of vitamins etc and that can lead to physical symptoms causing more stress in turn depleting more vitamins etc

16 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Yes, she's giving up a LOT.  She loved school.  She has friends there, and it's ridiculously hard to get together with people outside of school here because everyone is so busy.  And she loved the choir passionately.  She enjoyed the theater program.  She was hoping to be in forensics.  Choir and theater, in particular, are going to be really hard to replicate.  In theory they should allow her to take electives, but I think she's a ways away from feeling able to deal with it on even a limited basis.  

 

 It will be.  But maybe a little can be found. Is there any church choir around ?   Could she take an acting class at the CC? 

12 minutes ago, Terabith said:

I think it's the knowledge of not having to go back.  I think it's too sudden to be meds and correlates to tightly with being told we were pulling her.

 

Thats what it sounded like to me too!

  That she responded in a positive way to not having to go back to school .

AND to seeing a new positive road ahead that she could take.  

Ending  a lot of anxiety about school and ending a lot of depression about feeling like only 4 AP classes would do for her life. 

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My biggest worry about everything is cost.  Community college is cheap as college goes, but a lot more expensive than the free high school.  And lessons and tutors and stuff all cost money, plus if we get into OT, etc.  And I had to quit my job because we couldn’t leave her alone with her emotional state and she needs someone to be around to keep her on task, talk about what she’s learning, drive her places.  None of it is horribly expensive, but it’s sudden and unexpected, so it’s throwing a wrench in the budget.  I can sub some, which will help, but she’s alone on those days or Dad juggles his schedule around.  Doable.  But it’s my biggest worry about everything.  

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There may be some scholarships to cc she would be eligible for now.  

Even perhaps odd offbeat ones.  Like in our area the electric company has some.  There may even be some related to kids who have dealt with depression or siblings of ASD kids.   Art related ones.  Art contests...   

And look at what could be free.  Spanish church service, Duolingo...   KhanAcademy

 

In a year or so she may be able to get a part time job and be much more emotionally stable and more capable of being on her own.  

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