New Blog

I've started a new blog (obviously). This one will be anonymous and comments monitored. It's a shame I have to do this, but I learned my lesson!! As you can see from the title, this one will be much like the last, focusing on my son who has an alphabet soup of diagnoses. One of my biggest frustrations is the fact that we have NO clear-cut diagnosis, but as I read other blogs and forums, I realize my son is not the only one who does not "fit" neatly into any diagnostic box. The diagnoses he has been given, by different evaluators and therapists are as follows: ADHD, "possible" Asperger's, HFA, PDD-NOS, Sensory Processing Disorder, dyspraxia, Expressive Language Disorder, and "possible" dyslexia. Of course he doesn't have ALL of these, but he does have symptoms of all of them. The problem is so many symptoms overlap it is hard to weed out what the core problem is. Some days I think it doesn't matter, as long as I am treating the symptoms. Other days, I think it does because I wonder if we should be pursuing a more targeted treatment plan. Right now my son receives OT and Speech Therapy, and that's it. He has an IEP at school that focuses on communication and paying attention/staying on task/completing work. We follow a sensory diet at home which includes lots of jumping, brushing, and Therapeutic Listening. I have come to believe most of my son's issues are sensory in nature - he is both sensory seeking and dyspraxic. Therefore, for now, most of our interventions focus on sensory integration.

For the record, I have 4 children. My oldest is Ben (for the purposes of this blog anyway since names are now anonymous). He is 11 and has ADHD but no other diagnoses and has managed fairly well. He is very creative and intelligent. He likes music (guitar specifically) and sports (football specifically). He is hilarious and sarcastic - love that!!!!
Next is Isaac who is 10. He is completely NT, a great athlete and a "leader". He is my "easy" kid.
Next is Alex, he of the many diagnoses. He is 6. He is exceptionally sweet (don't believe for one second that kids on the spectrum do not show or express love. This boy tells me he loves me and gives me kisses every day, several times a day.) He is a smart kid who has a lot of trouble expressing himself, getting himself "together" and entertaining himself constructively. I love him the way he is more than life itself but that doesn't mean I wouldn't take away his problems if I could.
And last but certainly not least is Sara, age 5. She is also very sweet and loving. She is outgoing and friendly and always a bright spot in my day. She is adopted from Russia and there will be some blogging about adoption here as well. She is smart as a whip but struggles with language-based academics.

I have followed many blogs for quite a while, both about the autism spectrum/SPD and adoption. I have learned a LOT from them. I want to put my thoughts and ideas down for myself mostly but also for others to read if they are so inclined. Cheers!