I wanted to update because I know a lot of my friends have been following up on my son's progress. It's been an interesting almost 2 years. Crazy to think that in 3 days he will be 2!
We started occupational therapy and food therapy, and am awaiting the ok for him to join a play therapy group. The occupational therapist has been a Godsend! She is AMAZING. I am learning so much and am so very thankful that I trusted my gut and ignored his dad that he was 'just fine' and pushed to have some help. As it stands right now my son is officially diagnosed with - General anxiety disorder, unspecified insomnia and sensory integration disorder. Asperger's spectrum diagnoses is on the horizon but VERY high functioning according to the OT because he rates off the charts for intelligence and reasoning. She told me that kids like my son are very hard to officially peg as Asperger's because they don't behave like the majority of Aspies. I was ok with that. I also have come to learn that this may not all be genetic (yes I have sensory issues just like my son, but not the others), and most likely the neurologist is leaning towards neurological damage caused from his skull fractures which happened last year.
That in and of itself is a heartbreaking finding because it could have been avoided. The ex and I had a knock down, drag out fight the night before my son fell and got his skull fractures. The ex left at 2 am and I didnt sleep until 5 am, and then my son was up at 6 am and ever since I have blamed myself for him climbing out of his high chair and cracking his skull on the travertine floors on myself. If only I hadn't asked my daughter to stand in front of him while I switched out the laundry, if only my ex hadn't left the night before. If only, if only, if only ... but it is what it is. And I can't keep beating myself up over it any longer. We know what he is dealing with, we know what his issues are and the great news is this isn't anything i passed on to him or did to cause during his pregnancy.
And so we continue with occupational therapy. I am seeing small improvements. I took him off the klonopin for sleep and off the prozac. He was going off the walls from it, more anxious and it was pure fuel on his fire. The neuro did not want me to take him off it, but i decided to listen to my gut instinct. And it proved true. He is now sleeping from 8 pm to about 11 pm straight, huge improvement, on only the melatonin. And he has seemed to calm down much more since i started taking the 5htp. This is promising. He also has gone 3 weeks in a row at church without screaming during the entire sermon, so i think i'm headed in the right direction. I give him the sensory stimuli he needs during services by bending him over backwards on my knees or other such things and my mom looks at me like im degrading God while im at it, but it gives him the stimulus he needs and it keeps him happy and quiet and me actually able to listen to an entire sermon straight! HUGE progress. I've also started taking him to the park for 2 hours straight every morning. THIS is a huge thing, wears me out as he is go go go and then after we drop of his sis i go for a 3 mile run with him in the jogging stroller, but it's working.
I knew this little man would show me what he needed, it just took time. He's truly so amazing, smartest kid i've ever been around which scares me to death, but he's there. Slowly showing me what he needs.
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