Mom is Exhausted so Daddy Dabbles in the Blog Pool........

As Sarah has noted, the summer has been in some ways awful for James. He has always had a tendency to test the edges of what's allowed, but lately he has also been testing the top, bottom and center! Sometimes it seems like every time one problem is gotten under control, another is revealed. He has made great progress over the years since his diagnosis of classic autism in overcoming the hurdles of his condition and fitting in to the alien "neuro-typical" world. This has happened primarily because he has had a wonderful and knowledgeable advocate in his mother, who found and secured for him great support services that kept moving him forward even when parents and educators alike were at wits' end. But take away the daily structure that channels his impulses and focuses his attention, and watch out! In its absence he has been manifesting what can only be describes as full-blown ADHD (not clinically diagnosed yet but we are on the way!).
Yesterday morning we took him out of town to a clinic that tests children for this condition and educates parents on the same. There was a long wait, and he did not take it well. As the waiting room filled up with other children and parents he became interested in a game a neighboring child was playing on his parent's phone. Sarah turned over her own phone for him to game on, but it was to no avail; he wanted to play what the other boy was playing! Soon he was actively trying to wheedle a "turn" and was very unhappy when we told him no! Throwing things, attempting to leave, head butting and hitting Daddy when prevented (Sarah, at this point said, "Just give us the diagnosis so we can go home!!) -- oh, it was a grand old time! I have seen him with a group of "normal" children and be the best-behaved child in the group; here, with a group of kids suspected of ADD/ADHD and other mental health concerns, he was easily the worst! Fortunately, he was not AT his worst. Still redirectable, and at least he wasn't screaming.

When the time came for parents and children to file into their two separate rooms and sessions he calmed down. With things finally happening, interest in the proceedings took the place of boredom-born misbehavior. While the rooms were not soundproof enough to mask really loud noises, we didn't hear a peep out of him the whole time, and when it was time to go he was happy and smiling, and even shared a high-five with one of the adult coordinators. For our part, we got a lot of good information, even if the questioning on our child was rather perfunctory in comparison to that on others. This last concerned us, as it appeared to indicate a feeling that his autism diagnosis covered all the bases and no additional one was necessary. We as his parents are not looking to slap labels on him but we need the educational community to get a clear understanding about just who they are educating and the best ways to do it.  We know other families whose children have multiple diagnoses through the same insurer, and the appropriate diagnosis for a given disorder can be vital in getting proper treatment. Would any doctor decline to diagnose a patient's pneumonia because he knew that patient already had, say, AIDS? Of course not; the fact that the latter might have contributed to the former would not prevent him from treating the illness actually presenting itself! But while all physical ailments get their due, mental/emotional ones are all too often lumped together. There may be trouble ahead on this one.

*** Sarah did minimal editing and adding some political correctness.  She also created the image.