Hello Everyone!
I'm a newbie here. I posted earlier this morning in reply to School says there's nothing wrong with difficult child 1, but haven't seen it appear yet. So, I figured it was waiting for me to have good manners and introduce myself!
I have a step daughter who is 10 and is generally a great kid. My husband got custody of her and her brother two years ago cuz their mom's boyfriend beat up mom and was rough with the kids, etc. After a year, DSS (who is 16 yo) couldn't take the rules at Dad's and went back to Mom where he displays full blown ODD. In contrast, DSD is a sweet little girl. But over the past two years of being with her I started to notice a number of things: can't handle more than 1 or 2 instructions at a time, total zoning out, can't catch a ball, can't button a shirt, forgets ever learning stuff at school, constantly asks us to repeat things to her, forgets how everyday things work or what everyday things are called, etc. When I made a list of everything I noticed over a couple of weeks, it was a very scary list!
I did my own research. When I saw the definition of ADD-Inattentive, I had an OMG moment. It totally described her. Then I came across a link to Sensory Integration Disorder (SID). Another OMG moment. I've never heard of Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) before and didn't think all her quirks actually had a name!! So, I took her to her pediatrician. She suggested an EEG for the total zone out issue to rule out any type of seizure. She also had us do the Vanderbilt survey and take it to her teachers. To me it seemed like an inappropriate survey because it centers around the hyperactive kid. But, what do I know?! The teachers responses did not show any issues and the Dr said she could not give a diagnosis of ADD. Fine. But, I'm still dealing with this girl who causes me to go thru cycles of patiently working with her ("Please repeat what I just asked you to do.") to going crazy over her zoning out ("GO DO WHAT I JUST ASKED YOU TO DO!")
My husband and I are both laid off professionals right now, so spending a lot of money on evaluations and counselling isn't in the budget at this time. And I wouldn't say that her symptoms are "disabling". But, they cause everybody quite a bit of frustration almost every day. I'm also worried about next year in 5th grade for her. I've helped her with school work ALOT this year, but have decided to back off next year and let her true abilities show through.
I've been reading on this site for many hours today between loads of laundry (at least it will appear that I got something done today!) and I'm so thrilled that you are all here. I'm looking forward to any advice you can give me on how to proceed next.
I'm a newbie here. I posted earlier this morning in reply to School says there's nothing wrong with difficult child 1, but haven't seen it appear yet. So, I figured it was waiting for me to have good manners and introduce myself!
I have a step daughter who is 10 and is generally a great kid. My husband got custody of her and her brother two years ago cuz their mom's boyfriend beat up mom and was rough with the kids, etc. After a year, DSS (who is 16 yo) couldn't take the rules at Dad's and went back to Mom where he displays full blown ODD. In contrast, DSD is a sweet little girl. But over the past two years of being with her I started to notice a number of things: can't handle more than 1 or 2 instructions at a time, total zoning out, can't catch a ball, can't button a shirt, forgets ever learning stuff at school, constantly asks us to repeat things to her, forgets how everyday things work or what everyday things are called, etc. When I made a list of everything I noticed over a couple of weeks, it was a very scary list!
I did my own research. When I saw the definition of ADD-Inattentive, I had an OMG moment. It totally described her. Then I came across a link to Sensory Integration Disorder (SID). Another OMG moment. I've never heard of Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) before and didn't think all her quirks actually had a name!! So, I took her to her pediatrician. She suggested an EEG for the total zone out issue to rule out any type of seizure. She also had us do the Vanderbilt survey and take it to her teachers. To me it seemed like an inappropriate survey because it centers around the hyperactive kid. But, what do I know?! The teachers responses did not show any issues and the Dr said she could not give a diagnosis of ADD. Fine. But, I'm still dealing with this girl who causes me to go thru cycles of patiently working with her ("Please repeat what I just asked you to do.") to going crazy over her zoning out ("GO DO WHAT I JUST ASKED YOU TO DO!")
My husband and I are both laid off professionals right now, so spending a lot of money on evaluations and counselling isn't in the budget at this time. And I wouldn't say that her symptoms are "disabling". But, they cause everybody quite a bit of frustration almost every day. I'm also worried about next year in 5th grade for her. I've helped her with school work ALOT this year, but have decided to back off next year and let her true abilities show through.
I've been reading on this site for many hours today between loads of laundry (at least it will appear that I got something done today!) and I'm so thrilled that you are all here. I'm looking forward to any advice you can give me on how to proceed next.