Ifferjenn Independent

So while I think I could do this in Photoshop, I like getting pictures like this with just the camera! For this one, Ethan was running in front of me. I didn’t aim or anything, so that was luck. It was also dusk, with the sun having just gone behind the trees, so the exposure was a couple seconds.

Why we shouldn’t give Ethan coffee…

I love that Ethan is turning into a little readaholic!

So John showed me a neat trick with Photoshop on how to take pictures and make them look like there’s a toy something in them. My problem is that I don’t have lots of narrow focus pictures, since I’m a big fill-the-frame photographer.

Roughly a month ago, Ethan went to visit his pediatrician, and we had him diagnosed with ADHD. To start, we got a prescription for 10 mg of extended release Adderall, and an appointment to come back in a month to check his weight.

Well.

Being an amphetamine, Adderall can suppress hunger, hence it made a great diet drug. Unfortunately, it also means that it did the same to Ethan, who really does not need to be losing weight. Which is what he did, losing 4 pounds in a month. It’s also apparently lasting longer in him than it usually lasts in kids. For him, it wears off around bedtime, though he’s also been waking up during the night, which he’s rarely done since he started sleeping through the night. But, it’s also definitely helping him at school.

Apparently, Ethan takes after his mom a lot. As a comparison, I’m on 5 mg of Lexapro regularly. Whenever I tell a doctor that, they always look at me and say, “Really?! And that helps?!” Well, yes, it does. But I’m apparently really sensitive to medications. So is Ethan, as we’re finding out. But we don’t want to abandon the Adderall altogether, so we’re going to switch him over to 5 mg as well. We’re also going to switch to traditional release, as opposed to the extended release kind. For average kids, it’ll wear off around lunch time, so hopefully his will take him through the end of the school day.

Ethan’s been visiting his dad this week, as it’s his February Vacation. This is now the longest time it’s been since I’ve seen him…ever. I miss my Monkey.

This is one of those pictures you probably want to click on and see the big version. I likes it!

Since we got this game of Trouble for Yule/Christmas, I’ve won one game. ONE. Okay, I’ll admit I let him win a couple after the first game (the only one I won), but now… Now it’s personal.

All right, the title may be misleading, as I have mentioned ADHD before. But today was our first visit with the doctor, and a first diagnosis. Ethan’s been having trouble in school since…oh…day care, but things have gotten worse since he’s expected to sit and learn things all day. His general distraction really got in the way of anyone in class accomplishing anything, so by the end of November, I asked his teacher to have the guidance counselor observe him and give his point of view. Things got progressively worse, and by the time we got back to school in January, I also found out that the guidance counselor had never observed him. WTF?

I met with his teacher, again, but also met with the principal and e-mailed the district’s Special Education Director. The Special Ed Director got right back to me, and his principal promised to set up a team meeting to evaluate Ethan’s behavior and see if he needs additional assistance. I also scheduled this appointment with his pediatrician, just in case. And, luckily, the guidance counselor also had a chance to meet with Ethan, and agrees he definitely has some impulse control problems, and should be talking with Ethan more.

At any rate, Ethan’s dad and I both filled out parent checklists, and I did get a teacher checklist back from his teacher. The pediatrician and I talked about Ethan’s symptoms, went over the checklists, and Ethan himself gave the final bit for a diagnosis. (Ethan describes his lack of focus due to, “His brain making too much noise.” Interestingly, I have the same problem…maybe it might be worth looking into for myself…)

We discussed whether or not to have Ethan take medication, since he is all of 6 years old. The pediatrician was glad to hear that I’m hesitant to commit to long-term medication (as are all of Ethan’s other adults), so the plan right now is this: We’re starting on adderal at the lowest dose to see what it does for him. With any luck, medications will affect him the way they affect me (greatly), so we can stick with that. Once we get the dosage figured out, we’ll also keep it just for school days, so he has that added help. And, of course, we’ll supplement it with some talk therapy as well. Because, as the pediatrician pointed out, not all of Ethan’s behavior can be chalked up to ADHD, and even I’ll say that having your parents get divorced must make you a little angry.

So I think overall, it will help. We shall see, and keep our fingers crossed!

So I’m going with YouTube, I suppose. At least until the quality improves, methinks. But without further ado, the Ethan Show, episode 1!