Bright Sunshiny Day

Seth has been on Intuniv for almost 3 weeks.  I'm praising God that we see  positive results!  He has a crisp look in his eyes.  That is so refreshing for him.  He hasn't gotten distracted by his thoughts during a conversation at all that I've noticed, and believe me..I'm paying close attention.  If he loses track, like we all do, he has been able to pick right up and carry on. My heart is happy for Seth.  His wise and wonderful teacher has noticed positive results too.  He has finished his school work in an appropriate time, not being last to finish.  She also said something that stuck to my heart....she said 'He isn't standing out lately.  He is blending in with the rest of the kids.'.  Exhale.  Smile.

I encourage individuality.  I encourage my kids to stand out in positive ways.  Until now, Seth has been standing out..but not how I want him to or how he would want to (if he realized he were different).  The fact that he is meshing and blending in with the others in the class makes me very happy.  This is a definite benefit.

I have noticed a few other things side affects that I wasn't expecting.  Along with being ADHD-inattentive he also has Asperger's Syndrome.  The Intuniv is allowing him to be more of himself...more Asperger's for sure.  His interesting humor is more pronounced.  He is asking so many questions right now...common sense type questions.  It's almost like so many things passed him by while he was in his haze and now he is seeing things and wanting to understand them for the first time.  He is having more dramatic tantrums.  In fact, he was having a fit recently and I said to him, 'You are having a fit.  Is this really what you want to do?'.  His huge, crisp eyes looked at me and he yelled, 'Yes I do!! And..I'm NOT having a fit!  I'm having a TANTRUM as a matter of fact!!' His pre-Intuniv tantrums were more physical....jumping up and down, punching himself in the head, etc.  This was different.  He articulated his feelings.  Exhale.  Smile.

All of this success has come at a smallish price.  The medication has made him physically ill.  The first week was not great.  He had stomach pain, diarrehea, and vomitting.  I was giving him the medication reluctantly, it seemed counter intuitive to give him something that would definetely make him sick.  The information told me this was normal and it would soon pass...it did.  It took a few days for the worst of it to pass and then gradually the other symptoms have waned.  The side affects were worse when we first started and when we upped the dosage.  He is up to 3mg now.  Time will tell if this is enough. 

This little blog doesn't really do justice to the scope of his situation, but these are tidbits that I hope others will find helpful.  I know just typing it out is helpful to me, I get to reflect on the little things and be glad in them. 

Exhale.  Smile.