Spring Fever

It has been a rough week and a half.  H has had more trouble concentrating than usual, has been more touchy, and has had more trouble falling to sleep.  Her teacher sent home a note saying it has been a problem at school.  I had figured it was a combination of sugar sneaking into her diet at Easter and just being tired of a whole year of school.  However I found out it could also be due to allergies, that kids with ADHD can have more problems if their allergies are acting up.  And H has had a horrible time with allergies this year, having some sneezing fits that last for 5-10 minutes during which she does nothing but sneezing.  I have had to given her an antihistimine several times just so she could get through the day.  I have not seen a connection between the antihistimine and her behaviour, but I am sure it has not helped.
I hope all this pollen disappears soon.
-Chelle

Keep on keeping on

I should start by saying that overall we are still doing well.  H has been especially good about remembering her school work and bringing home the right books lately.  She is less wild than she used to be.  this was especially noticable after two recent parties when she had cake; the old H would have been an uncontrollable bundle of energy.  This time her energy level did go up, but not to the level I would call "wild".  However we have entered a new challenge in school:long division.  And this is causing some of the inattention-to-math-homework problems to reappear.  The other night it took her 3 hrs to do 20 problems.  And they were not that hard.  Also we have seen a few occasions of her reacting inappropriately to stress:crying, getting overly emotional.  I don't know if that is tied to the math stress at school or not.
All we can do is keep on keeping on, and hope that we continue to make progress.
Chelle

Making Progress

As I look back at where we were just six months ago, I am so thankful we have been doing this therapy.  H. has changed so much over such a short period of time.  She is much less volatile, is getting to sleep easier, has a better attitude toward things she doesn't like, and is doing much better with her reading.  Tonight she read Matthew 4 to me.  Six months ago I would have been happy with one paragraph, while tonight she did the whole chapter without complaining and stumbling over only one word.  Also, the other day she forgot to bring any of her homework home (her organizational skills are still nil) and I told her she wouldn't be able to go to her science club the next day.  She did start crying and begging, but it was not the hysterics it would have been 6 months ago.  And she was able to stop herself after about ten minutes.  And even better, she was not in a foul or baby-ish mood the rest of the day.  That amazed me.
Another break through: we have been saying the nonsense words to her and asking her to repeat them back since the last session with the therapist (about 1.5 months).  Up to this point she stumbled over 4 words on a regular basis.  Tonight she whizzed through the 4 word combinations, though she still stumbled over the 5 word combinations.  But it is progress!
-Chelle