Goodbye Medication Nation

Before Dylan was ever diagnosed with Autism, we went to the local pediatrician for her Preschool check up. It was our first visit to this doctor, and the first thing out of his mouth was that I could not keep up with her. My response was not to blame her for me being overweight. He recommened we place Dylan on Ritalin, three times a day on the lowest does possible.

Since she was having some issues at school, I did what the doctor told me in hopes that is was in the best interest of my child.

Her medication is highly controlled and because of the wonderful people in the world today, it can only be filled on specific day. Last month, the state of Illinois denied her refill because of her age. (This medication is usually denied to those under six) Since she pulled the lovely dump her "drink" down the drain 4 times in September, we were already one day short on the medication, the denial caused me to go into a panic since she had not gone without the medication since being put on it and without it she would go through withdraws, which is something no mother wants to put their 5 year old through. I called the doctor's office, to which i received a lovely receptionist that told me Dylan's doctor was out of the office that day and it was "out of their hands"

And there we were again. I was absolutely unable to help my child. I asked the nurses to call me back with any suggestions, their suggestions only included "You can't get any more medication."

So we went, cold turkey.

I called the pharmacy the next day to find out that it had been filled the day prior, and yet no one had called me. I had only stalked them since the Monday before telling them that she would run out, why, and that it needed to be filled first thing on Thursday when it could be.

The first thing I noticed... less screaming.

Normally when you had told Dylan "No" it would be followed by horrible screams of rebuttal. Now it was followed by the persistant "yes". No screaming, throwing herself on the ground, or banging her head on the closes object. A couple yes and no's back and forth and then she would simply understand. I had a much happier little girl.

Is it harder for her to focus, yes.
Must she be put back on track sometimes, yes.

Dylan has now been to school three days without medication. Day one - no stamp. Day two - no stamp. Day Three - A beautiful blue leaf stamp on her right hand. (I have never been so excited in my life for a stamp.)

My daughter has Autism. My daughter is ADHD. My daughter is not medicated.


Goodbye Medication Nation - I hope others find their way out too.




(Side Note) - Make sure to trust your instincts when it comes to your child. Despite what the professions, your family and friends, or hell, even strangers might say or suggest, it's still your child. I drugged my child for an entire year because I listened to others who were suppose to have my child's best interest at heart.

Planes, Popcorn, and Persistance

As summer is coming to a close last night I decided Dylan and I would have date night at the drive in watching Disney's Planes. 

We spent two hours talking about what was going to happen. 

-time of departure

-the town we were going to 

-the length of the drive

-the importance of staying in our seat belt

-what to do if your stomach starts to feel funny

-what a drive in was

-the lines at the concession stand

-that we would stay in the car

We made the 50 minute drive without getting car sick. 

We made it to the parking spot with zero issues. 

Then the infamous line. 

We danced at the begining. 

She spun in the middle. 

Here is where the greatest find of our adventure came for me.

What's the best way to keep your child from getting distracted and running off while you do things like get popcorn and drinks?

A free ride for Dylan on Mommy's foot. 

Dylan was very friendly and wanted to speak to everyone. 

I still find myself getting frustrated when people choose to ignore her. 

We made it back to the car with our large popcorn (dylan insisted) and soda to wait for the movie. 

The front seat might have been a little to much for her with all the button options but once the movie actually started she was glued. She knew the storyline, the characters, and the ending before it all happened (thanks trailers).  She loved the fact that should could control the volume of the movie, talk to me as much as she wanted, and could move around the entire time without disturbing anyone else.

Which also allowed me to enjoy the movie without worried about what some jerk two rows back might say.

We ended the movie with her being a monkey on my back as the movie ended. 

The car ride home resulted in a sleeping girl which then gave me 20 minutes of pure silence.

 

I am so in love with last night. I wish I could have recorded it to replay over and over again. 

 

 

Jack the Giant Slayer

Today Dylan and I ventured to our local movie theater.

 This was Dyl's second trip ever to see a movie. 

This was our first non animated 3D movie.

I timed it to run in right when the movie started. (Let's face it, her attention span is pretty short live d at times)

We had our large popcorn and juice, our "special" sunglasses to see the movie, and booster seat in tow and we found perfect seats near the back. 

Mission Control has confirmed lift off. 

We managed to make one gentleman upset with our enthusiasm. The round of applause through the first 3 minutes of film might have been too much. Perhaps it was the 20 high fives.

We made it 15 minutes into the movie before she asked to, "Go Home?"

That was it. No screaming. No yelling. No horrible "end of life as we know it" meltdown. 

Just one simple question. "Go Home?" 

So we came home. Were I will continue to the fight the good fight, the stigma of Autism and a clean home. 

Fight on friends. Fight on.

The clouds have cleared.

D-Day 11.28.2012

90 days of waiting was finally over. I sat in a child size chair, in an elementary school library and listened to 5 professionals read multiple page evaluations of my daughter. 

I cried. 

I've thought about this day for a long time. 

Official Diagnosis : Autism (mild) and ADHD. 

 

Main Cause for Concern: Outburst/Meltdowns; lack of communication; lack of interaction with other children.

- - - - - - 

The clouds have cleared. 

I sit her today. Listening to my daughter count her HOT hot dog circles (Yes, we have finally moved up from the all time favorite cold version to hot!) and I can't help the overwhelming sense of pride I have in being a mother. I am a mother of a beautiful 4-year-old named Dylan; She's named after Bob Dylan and was born on the 4th of July! I like to mention this to people, as I have known since day one, what a beautiful firework she would be. 

Dylan has since moved schools; she attends speech therapy 4 times a week and occupational therapy once a week. She now takes a bus to school, which she things is "awesome." 

First came the eye contact. 

 Then a real sentence.(Not something she heard from her current program.) 

She amazes everyday by what she learning. Now, Dylan can even write her own name. 

It's Amazing. 

She's AMAZING. 

Did I not mention, fearless?

So here we start, on this adventure known as life.