tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2621701638860930715.post188517729555406073..comments2024-03-29T04:15:40.696-04:00Comments on parentwin: It's Your Job to Speak Upparentwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10056331784261915713noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2621701638860930715.post-38646709603523957572013-09-04T06:20:23.442-04:002013-09-04T06:20:23.442-04:00Your article swept me away with its vast informati...Your article swept me away with its vast information and great writing.Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06660788126917595824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2621701638860930715.post-69399459086368198462013-08-14T11:37:28.236-04:002013-08-14T11:37:28.236-04:00Time for a new pediatrician. I battled the "...Time for a new pediatrician. I battled the "wait and see" approach for far too long--I pushed for referrals, for her to take my concerns more seriously, and even getting early intervention and the school involved (both of which agreed with me that there was something going on), I still couldn't get her to give me a referral for anything. She took the position that now that someone else was involved, it was off her hands and they needed to take care of things. But you know what? Schools are busy and their therapists are not available as much as a kid may need. And it can be hard to get a school to do proper evaluations--many of them want a medical diagnosis before they evaluate for things and even when they agree to evaluate, it can take a long time, time that a kid is not receiving help. <br /><br />I researched the heck out of the practices in my area to find one that had lots of experience in the various issues I wanted addressed with my kids. I have to drive forty miles one way now but I walked out of our very first appointment with referral sheets in hand. And it hasn't been very long since we started all of the various therapies for all three but we are already seeing a difference :) And it is an absolutely glorious feeling like I have people on my side, people who are working hard at helping my "spirited" kids and who want better for them. I particularly love the occupational therapist who works with my oldest--he has a sensory processing disorder and she is really focused in helping him learn how to deal with that and calm down (a huge portion of his "spirited" behavior comes from seeking sensory input) and she actually shows us techniques to help him as well.<br /><br />I think its a hard line to walk, wondering if its our parenting, feeling guilty that maybe we are doing something wrong, wondering why nothing we try works, feeling guilty for even wondering if maybe-just-maybe there is something not quite right with our children. And if you admit you are seeking evaluations, you have a group telling you are just a bad parent looking for excuses and a group encouraging you to get the help because if your kids need the extra help, they should get it. And as much as you want to listen to the encouraging group, the "you suck" group gets in your ear and tries to take up residence ;-) <br /><br />But at this point, I don't care about the naysayers. My kids' diagnoses are not excuses. You won't find me saying "oh, well, he has ADHD so you can't really blame him" or "she suffers from anxiety because of the trauma of her surgery so you have to let her do whatever she wants." They all still get punishments if they misbehave, even when the misbehavior is a direct result from their diagnosis--they are learning, just as I am, how to deal with and cope with the fact that some things for them are harder and take more work. Piperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13779176630307664546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2621701638860930715.post-36703893198419742812013-08-13T18:23:10.304-04:002013-08-13T18:23:10.304-04:00there are many things kindergarteners still mispro...there are many things kindergarteners still mispronounce and mess up saying. particularly letter sounds. s, z, th, l, and r are still pretty common at age 5. at all of my kindergarten meetings for parents, this was hounded into us because it was part of the screening. they didnt want anyone to think their kid was failing before school even started. if there were huge red flags at screening, it would have been addressed. Jesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08053160116698495190noreply@blogger.com