Kat had her ADHD (meds) consultation today. It was the worst experience of my life with the babies so far. Aiden was screaming at me and Kat in the waiting room, he was hitting us and kicking me too. He was begging for another lady's food. He was just not very well behaved... not even in the slightest. Kat was throwing fits, she was screaming at me, she was pushing other people's kids, small kids, away from the toy table in the waiting room. They actually stopped the entire waiting room in its tracks more than once. It was awful.
By the time that we got back to the room, Aiden was now full on. He was screaming at me, screaming in general, hitting me and Kat still, but now he was also talking meanly to me. Kat was too. They wouldn't listen to me, so when I kept telling them to stop running around the room and they didn't, they bumped into each other and Aiden's lip got busted. The nurse actually raised her voice to them at this point and told them had they listened to me, it wouldn't have happened.
When she left the room, my nerves had just had it. I just broke down. There is no happy ending to this day. That's not what I am writing this to say, I promise. No, instead, I am writing this to say that this is real and this is a typical day for me with two ADHD children. This is my life.
When the doctor finally got to us (it had been 45 minutes in the room alone, but it felt like 3 hours), he started asking me the standard ADHD diagnostic questions but he didn't have to ask too many, he just had to observe. Kat wouldn't be still, she kept hitting and kicking the table and humming/singing loudly. Aiden was not only yelling over me and the doctor's conversation, he was actually standing in the chair and JUMPING to the floor. It didn't matter that I stopped him, twice...no, he didn't care. He did it again 2 more times. The doctors eyes were wide in disbelief. But what do I do? They don't listen to me and I can't spank them in public. He just said to me, "Yeah, they have ADHD, at the least." I was mortified. People see this behavior and they automatically look at the parent as if it's the parents fault, it's just bad parenting, a lack of discipline, or the kid is just spoiled rotten. Nothing could be further from the truth. My kids are disciplined, they have and know the consequences of their actions, they just can't stop themselves. And not every bad behavior iis ADHD related, they do just have "bad kid" days at times, but I know the difference between having a bad day and having an episode. Today was an episode. Unfortunately, knowing that doesn't make handling it any easier.
Before we even left for the doctor's appointment today, they were in their bedroom stacking their toy boxes and jumping from them to the bed. They know it's against rules and they know they get hurt almost every time they do it, but they do it anyway. This is where the impulsive behavior comes in, as well as the lack of concern for danger.
The only positives from the day were the doctor talking to Kat and realizing that everything I already recognize is indeed there. So confirmation. And he put Aiden on Melatonin!!! We will hopefully be sleeping tonight! But the best thing was that after talking to her he said to me that he wants her IQ tested. He said she is VERY smart (which we already knew) and he wants to know how she does once she's able to apply herself without the chaos in her head. But he also wants her tested for Autism Spectrum. I told him shes been on the wait list for testing for almost a year and he said he will see if he can do something to move her up. So we shall see. I already know she's on the spectrum, I suspect Asperger's to be honest. Hopefully we will know soon.
****The following behaviors are often associated with Asperger syndrome. However, they are seldom all present in any one individual and vary widely in degree:
• limited or inappropriate social interactions (Her social interactions are strained most of the time)
• "robotic" or repetitive speech (She repeats words and phrases over and over until we have to force her to stop)
• challenges with nonverbal communication (gestures, facial expression, etc.) coupled with average to above average verbal skills (When she was a baby, she started talking and then stopped. She started back again late and had a hard time using her words. She would point and make noises in her throat)
• tendency to discuss self rather than others
• inability to understand social/emotional issues or nonliteral phrases (She doesn't understand sarcasm at all. Everything is literal to her. She also has a hard time understanding boundaries in social situations.)
• lack of eye contact or reciprocal conversation (She used to have a harder time with this than she does now but she still has trouble wit it at times.)
• obsession with specific, often unusual, topics (Body parts)
• one-sided conversations (She has complete whispered conversations with herself)
• awkward movements and/or mannerisms
• "robotic" or repetitive speech (She repeats words and phrases over and over until we have to force her to stop)
• challenges with nonverbal communication (gestures, facial expression, etc.) coupled with average to above average verbal skills (When she was a baby, she started talking and then stopped. She started back again late and had a hard time using her words. She would point and make noises in her throat)
• tendency to discuss self rather than others
• inability to understand social/emotional issues or nonliteral phrases (She doesn't understand sarcasm at all. Everything is literal to her. She also has a hard time understanding boundaries in social situations.)
• lack of eye contact or reciprocal conversation (She used to have a harder time with this than she does now but she still has trouble wit it at times.)
• obsession with specific, often unusual, topics (Body parts)
• one-sided conversations (She has complete whispered conversations with herself)
• awkward movements and/or mannerisms
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