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S can be hard to motivate. She is very smart and very capable of doing her schoolwork, yet at times it is near impossible to get her to do it. I am usually able to talk her into it, but it takes at least an hour longer than it should. She is supposed to read to me each night, but it takes much longer than it should. She especially hates spelling. I am not sure why the hatred is there, but it is.
It is easier to give a cat a bath than it is Savannah. This is especially true when it comes to washing her hair. She also puts up a fight when it comes to brushing her teeth and taking her medicines.
She also seems to have gotten it into her head that if she gets other people in trouble or points out their shortcomings, then she looks better in the eyes of adults. I am not sure where this comes from.
I have tried everything. I tried punishments. I tried rewards. I tried a combination of the two. I tried a reward system. Nothing seemed to work.
Now, I am trying something new. I am doing a behavior contract with her each week. I will put desirable behaviors in the contract. If she performs them all week, on Saturday I will take her to the Marble Slab for ice cream. So far this week it is working. She is writing her spelling words a couple of times each as I write this.
Here is a copy of the behavior contract. I know some will be upset that in it I forbid her from coming into our room at night bar an emergency. However, I have a reason for this. She is very restless and ends up kicking us all night long, preventing us from sleeping. J has to work and I have to get her to school and the other kids to lots of appointments as well. We need sleep. We cannot sleep if someone is kicking us all night long. (She also talks loudly in her sleep.)
Behavior Contract – Week of Feb 19, 2012
This is a contract between S and her parents, J and D. By signing the contract, S agrees that she will do the things mentioned in the contract in exchange for the reward mentioned in the contract.
1. S will read aloud for 15 minutes every night.
2. S will write her spelling words 2 times each every night and then take an oral spelling test. Any words she misses will be written two more times each and she will have to write a sentence for each word missed, using the word correctly.
3.S will take a bath each night without argument. She will wash her hair every other night without a fight. She will brush her teeth while in the bath.
4.S will neatly complete her math homework each night.
5.S will take her medications each morning and night without fuss.
6.S will stay in her own bed at night, getting up only in an emergency or to use the bathroom (and she will use one of the hall bathrooms, not the one in mommy and daddy’s room).
7.S will not instigate fights with her siblings.
8.S will not tattle unless someone is in immediate danger.
If S abides by this contract, on Saturday she will be taken to the Marble Slab and allowed to purchase a small ice cream with one mix-in.
Sign: _________________________________________________________
Just hoping this continues to work! She thought it was cool signing a contract!
Showing posts with label ADHD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ADHD. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Friday, December 16, 2011
Updates on Kids ...PT, OT, ST..Oh my...
I looked over my blog and realized it has been a month since I gave any updates. I have just done a feww book reviews since then..which I hope you enjoy. I love reading and think its great that I can get books for free just for telling people about them. Anyways, I decided it was time to update on what is going on with my family. There might even be more than one blog post today.
S updates
S's last MRI revealed no "significant" changes in the size of her brain tumor. They say it is "tight" but it is not growing enough to intervene at this time. They just decided to add another medication to help with the nausea and headaches. It seems to be working, but I am just so tired of more and more medications. She is up to 8 pills a day - 4 in the morning and 4 at night. Although I am proud to say she can now swallow them whole (even all at one time) with a drink!
Back in the summer she was getting too thin. I was worried it was the Daytrana she was on for her severe ADHD. Her doctor at the time kept saying that was not it. He said I was skinny so she was too. There is one problem with that. I have always been skinny. S had always been around the 50-75th percentile. In one year she dropped from the 75th % to the 3rd %. I was more concerned about that drop than anything. So, we switched doctors. The new doc agreed with me that the % drop was not good and took her off Daytrana and put her on Straterra. In the past 6 months she has gained 15 pounds and 3 inches in height. I do not think that is a coincidence. Stimulants (such as Daytrana) have been shown to stunt growth. I think it was stunting her growth. Now, her hyperactivity is not as much under control with the Straterra but it is manageable (as long as you have patience with her). I had rather deal with a little residual hyperactivity than hurt her health.
Her grades have been pretty good. She really struggles with handwriting, but they say the location of the tumor along with her ADHD can cause that. They have also found that a decent percentage of people with neurofibromatosis struggle with handwriting. I never had that problem, so I was unaware of it until I did more research on the disorder. She is in occupational therapy though. She goes 1 hour 1 time a week. 1/3 of the time is spent working on sensory issues (such as her need to crash into everything and seek pressure), 1/3 is spent on increasing her attention span, and 1/3 is spent on handwriting. It seems to be helping, but it is a slow process.
Her next MRI is in March. They are putting a little more time in between. Something new they are doing in the study.
I just worry about her lack of friends sometimes. She still complains that some of the children will not play with her. She says they say she is "weird" or "too loud". She is loud at times, and I have tried to teach her how to know when she is getting too wound up. I just worry she will get incredibly depressed or something. Boys are actually a lot more willing to play with her than girls. However, she says she wants a friend that is a girl. A best friend. I feel so bad to hear her say that. I never lacked for a best friend. In fact, I usually had more than one. I just pray for her that she does find a best friend soon. I hate to think of her missing out on that. I am still in touch with many of the friends I had at her age. I would love for her to find a life long friend, or BFF as the kids say now days.
IE
What can I say about my little scholar. He is such a smart kid. He is getting more social. Eye contact is still not 100% there..but I have taught him how to look at someone's ear or nose so he is looking AT them...but not having to look at their eyes since that "hurts" him (his word). I always get the strangest looks from people when he starts talking. He has this same spill he gives every time we meet someone new. "Hi, I am I (his name) and I am 4 years old. I am almost 5 my birthday is in December. This is C (insert name). She is my little sister. She is 2 almost 3..but she cannot talk. We have a big sister, her name is Sannana (how he says S's name). She is 7 and in school. She talks too much." People then ask me, "How old is he again?". I reply that he is 4 going on 30. They usually say they can see that. :)
If he really likes someone he will go into a long spill about Angry Birds or Star Wars.
His meltdowns have gotten a lot better. He still has some eye and foot ticks though and likes to spin and run around in circles. He has finally figured out how to ride a tricycle though. This is big because he had some motor delays at birth and has had problems with left side neglect. After lots of prayers, therapy and us working with him at home though, this seems to be almost resolved!
C
Her next MRI is on Monday the 19th. We will meet with her oncologist after to talk about what was found. I am a little nervous, but I know that it is in His hands and things will work out as they should. I know that with apraxia things are slow moving and we have to be willing to do things on her time rather than our own.
She is still not saying many words, but she has gotten more vocal. She babbles a lot, it is just hard to understand her and sometimes impossible. She is able to communicate in nonverbal ways though..at least part of the time. We also just got an iPad that we are going to use with her. We put the ProloQuo2go application on it. We are going to use it with her in speech therapy and at home. The goal is not only that she learns to communicate pushing buttons on it, but might learn to emulate some of the speech.
She is now wearing braces on her feet. They are helping with her walking. She can even do a fast walk now..not quite a run (and it looks very clumsy) but she is getting there. She can go up and down stair now..slowly. She does not alternate feet though and has to be reminded to use her left leg.
We also have found out that one of her hips is very tight and one of her hips is very loose which is indicative of possible hip dysplasia.. Both are extremes either way. Her PT has suggested we have an X ray done. The doctor will have to order it. The findings were extreme enough to worry that at some point there might need to be surgical intervention. I am really hoping not. The poor kid is not catching any breaks lately. It worries me though, because
Still, with all they have going on, I know it could always be much much worse. I am just thankful for the health they do have, the fact John has a good job that not only provides us with wonderful insurance, but also the ability for me to be able to stay at home with the kids. They need me and I want to be there for them. I can always work later.
S updates
S's last MRI revealed no "significant" changes in the size of her brain tumor. They say it is "tight" but it is not growing enough to intervene at this time. They just decided to add another medication to help with the nausea and headaches. It seems to be working, but I am just so tired of more and more medications. She is up to 8 pills a day - 4 in the morning and 4 at night. Although I am proud to say she can now swallow them whole (even all at one time) with a drink!
Back in the summer she was getting too thin. I was worried it was the Daytrana she was on for her severe ADHD. Her doctor at the time kept saying that was not it. He said I was skinny so she was too. There is one problem with that. I have always been skinny. S had always been around the 50-75th percentile. In one year she dropped from the 75th % to the 3rd %. I was more concerned about that drop than anything. So, we switched doctors. The new doc agreed with me that the % drop was not good and took her off Daytrana and put her on Straterra. In the past 6 months she has gained 15 pounds and 3 inches in height. I do not think that is a coincidence. Stimulants (such as Daytrana) have been shown to stunt growth. I think it was stunting her growth. Now, her hyperactivity is not as much under control with the Straterra but it is manageable (as long as you have patience with her). I had rather deal with a little residual hyperactivity than hurt her health.
Her grades have been pretty good. She really struggles with handwriting, but they say the location of the tumor along with her ADHD can cause that. They have also found that a decent percentage of people with neurofibromatosis struggle with handwriting. I never had that problem, so I was unaware of it until I did more research on the disorder. She is in occupational therapy though. She goes 1 hour 1 time a week. 1/3 of the time is spent working on sensory issues (such as her need to crash into everything and seek pressure), 1/3 is spent on increasing her attention span, and 1/3 is spent on handwriting. It seems to be helping, but it is a slow process.
Her next MRI is in March. They are putting a little more time in between. Something new they are doing in the study.
I just worry about her lack of friends sometimes. She still complains that some of the children will not play with her. She says they say she is "weird" or "too loud". She is loud at times, and I have tried to teach her how to know when she is getting too wound up. I just worry she will get incredibly depressed or something. Boys are actually a lot more willing to play with her than girls. However, she says she wants a friend that is a girl. A best friend. I feel so bad to hear her say that. I never lacked for a best friend. In fact, I usually had more than one. I just pray for her that she does find a best friend soon. I hate to think of her missing out on that. I am still in touch with many of the friends I had at her age. I would love for her to find a life long friend, or BFF as the kids say now days.
IE
What can I say about my little scholar. He is such a smart kid. He is getting more social. Eye contact is still not 100% there..but I have taught him how to look at someone's ear or nose so he is looking AT them...but not having to look at their eyes since that "hurts" him (his word). I always get the strangest looks from people when he starts talking. He has this same spill he gives every time we meet someone new. "Hi, I am I (his name) and I am 4 years old. I am almost 5 my birthday is in December. This is C (insert name). She is my little sister. She is 2 almost 3..but she cannot talk. We have a big sister, her name is Sannana (how he says S's name). She is 7 and in school. She talks too much." People then ask me, "How old is he again?". I reply that he is 4 going on 30. They usually say they can see that. :)
If he really likes someone he will go into a long spill about Angry Birds or Star Wars.
His meltdowns have gotten a lot better. He still has some eye and foot ticks though and likes to spin and run around in circles. He has finally figured out how to ride a tricycle though. This is big because he had some motor delays at birth and has had problems with left side neglect. After lots of prayers, therapy and us working with him at home though, this seems to be almost resolved!
C
Her next MRI is on Monday the 19th. We will meet with her oncologist after to talk about what was found. I am a little nervous, but I know that it is in His hands and things will work out as they should. I know that with apraxia things are slow moving and we have to be willing to do things on her time rather than our own.
She is still not saying many words, but she has gotten more vocal. She babbles a lot, it is just hard to understand her and sometimes impossible. She is able to communicate in nonverbal ways though..at least part of the time. We also just got an iPad that we are going to use with her. We put the ProloQuo2go application on it. We are going to use it with her in speech therapy and at home. The goal is not only that she learns to communicate pushing buttons on it, but might learn to emulate some of the speech.
She is now wearing braces on her feet. They are helping with her walking. She can even do a fast walk now..not quite a run (and it looks very clumsy) but she is getting there. She can go up and down stair now..slowly. She does not alternate feet though and has to be reminded to use her left leg.
We also have found out that one of her hips is very tight and one of her hips is very loose which is indicative of possible hip dysplasia.. Both are extremes either way. Her PT has suggested we have an X ray done. The doctor will have to order it. The findings were extreme enough to worry that at some point there might need to be surgical intervention. I am really hoping not. The poor kid is not catching any breaks lately. It worries me though, because
Still, with all they have going on, I know it could always be much much worse. I am just thankful for the health they do have, the fact John has a good job that not only provides us with wonderful insurance, but also the ability for me to be able to stay at home with the kids. They need me and I want to be there for them. I can always work later.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Savannah's 1st Day of Second Grade and Early Parent/Teacher Conference
First Day of School
Somehow, that tiny little baby I held back in the Summer of 2004, my first child, is now in second grade. That just seems so big to me. It just amazes me that she is this old. People who told me it would fly by are right..it has flown by. She is growing into such a wonderful young lady..I am proud of her, but sometimes I miss that tiny baby that did not seem to know babies are supposed to sleep (well, that is one thing that has not changed - she still thinks sleep is highly overrated).
She attends a local private Christian school. We really love it there. There are small class sizes and the teachers are all great. Also, I love the focus the school puts on Christian living. I am so happy she is able to have this "extra" instruction. I feel safe leaving her there. I never really did when I left her at a public school (not that there is anything wrong with public school usually - that is just a long story).
Here are some pictures of her in her uniform on the first day of school:
Parent/Teacher Conference
On the 3rd day of school I had a conference with her teacher. I would have requested one anyway, but the school decided to have teachers have Week 1/2 conferences with all the parents in order for the teachers to get a better basic understanding of the kids in their class. I think that is such a wonderful idea!
This is what I found out about Savannah:
Her math skills are off the chart. She is very good at math.
Her reading level test was not finished, but she was already at the 3rd grade level and still climbing. This means she has passed the A to Z leveled readers and will be doing chapter books instead.
Her comprehension skills are also testing high.
Her weak areas are spelling and handwriting. We will work on these. I was always good at spelling. I was one of the first kids picked if you were having a team spelling contest in school, but my husband said spelling was one of his weaker subjects (meaning yeah sometimes he missed ONE). That is okay though..spelling we can work on. She is still around 50%, so it is not like she just CANNOT do it. Handwriting she may always struggle with. People with NF1 often have trouble with their handwriting (this will be mentioned in more than one of the links I will have at the end of this section of the post). I think she can do it if she puts her mind to it.
I also made 2 packets about Savannah. I gave one to the office and one to her teacher. I collected and wrote some information about Savannah and put it in a 3 prong folder with dividers. I also included a calendar of all the days she would miss due to treatments, therapies, and doctors appointments this month. I will send a new calendar every month.
1st Section - Information I wrote about Savannah - her likes and dislikes, things that work and things that do not as far as discipline goes, her reactions to certain stimuli, things to monitor in regards to the mass in her brain, etc.
2nd Section - NF1 information
Educating the NF Child
About NF
About NF1
Third Section Information about ADHD
ADHD Education
Educating the child with ADHD
Fourth Section Information about Sensory Processing Disorder
Sensory Processing Disorder
Educating the Child with SPD
Fifth Section
This was just a section on all the medications she is taking plus a print out on what they are,possible side effects, and what sudden side effects warrant immediate attention.
Outlook for the Year
I have a very positive outlook for this year. The teacher is very hands on and Savannah loves that and will thrive in that environment. I think as far as school goes this will be a great year! I just pray that her health holds out and she is able to enjoy the year fully!
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