Well, jeepers, I'm not the best blogger now-a-days am I? We've had some things going on this past month, including Sydney turning 2.
We've also had some changes with Landon. Nothing bad, just changes. He's been doing really well without the trach and we've actually had a pretty descent winter as far as getting sick goes (KNOCK! KNOCK!). He's been doing pretty well in school too. He got a good report card and is actually reading above his grade level already! His teachers always compliment me on how smart he is, but he's having trouble keeping focused on what he's doing. I see that happening a lot at home too. He needs constant reminders to finish what he's doing, whether it be putting toys away or just going to the bathroom. He just can't tear himself away from what he's doing or what he's thinking to get things done sometimes. I find it very frustrating when I'm in a hurry and he can't remember where his shoes are kept or how to put on his hat. It's a struggle I have on a daily basis.
So, I brought it up at Sydney's 2 year check up (I'll get to that on another post) to Dr. LaCroix. She suggested that we get him evaluated by a neurologist and psychologist to see what may be causing him to be like that. I don't want you to think we are going to the extreme here. It's not just the staying focused. He wants to play the same activity all the time and he's having a hard time with coming up with words to say to finish a sentence. He'll sit and say "um" for a good solid minute before he can think of what he was talking about. Kim says that word retrieval is very common to people with brain injuries, so that comforted me a little to hear that it was normal for him to be doing that considering what he had been through. I just want to make sure that I know if some of the issues he is having are from the lingering effects of the brain injury or just him being a five year old. I also mentioned to Dr. LaCroix about it possibly being a little bit of autism, which covers his obsessive tendencies (like numbers, doors and doing the same thing over and over). She told me not to be surprised if it wasn't a little, if not, all of the above. Which I'm cool with. I just want to get tools to help me understand him better. I want to be sympathetic if my child is taking forever to complete a sentence due to the fact that he can't retrieve a word because of his brain injury. He doesn't deserve me getting frustrated at him if he can't help some of the things he does. I just need to learn the differences.
I find myself getting frustrated at him a lot because he can't do the things that I would like for him to be able to do. Like putting on his shoes, or his coat, or climbing into the car. There are so many things that other parents may take for granted that their child can do, where mine struggles. He can put on his shoes, his coat, and get into the car on his own, but it takes him double (or sometimes triple) the time that it would take any other kid. I can never be in a hurry with him. If I am, it's me doing everything for him just to get it done and get out the door. It's tiring.
I try my best to be patient. To teach him and slow down a little. I walk him through tasks over and over so he can learn what he needs to do. Please don't think that I am impatient and just yell at my kid all day! That is definitely NOT the case. I just want to help him. Help him to be a more independent, strong, and smart boy. I want him to know he can do anything he puts his mind to. As a parent, I need help to help him. I need to know what I'm doing wrong or what I'm doing right. It's very true that kids don't come with manuals, but sometimes I really wish I had one for him!
So, we are waiting for insurance to go through with all of that and then we'll be able to start that process. I'm not even sure what they will be doing exactly, but we'll just go with it and see what knowledge we can gain.
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