As a baby, he was always SUPER cranky, always crying, always spitting up, etc. He had frequent ear infections and had tubes put in when he was a year old. We were told this would help him sleep through the night but he was still waking up even when he was close to 2 years old. He had a pretty significant speech delay so we started receiving services through Help Me Grow and then he was transitioned in our school district for preschool services when he was 3. At that time we did a very thorough evaluation. He cried the entire time and his results put him in the range of being severely developmentally delayed. I believe they said his IQ was around 65 so he definitely qualified for services. Our Pediatrician was also concerned about his head circumference. It was off the charts and had been that way since birth so he ordered an MRI to make sure nothing serious was going on. The MRI showed that he had benign extra-axial fluid, which is something that has also been diagnosed in our youngest son. I recently talked with our Pediatrician about it and he said that maybe term "benign" shouldn't be used anymore because of all the patients he has had with it, they have all had speech delays and went on to have issues with hyperactivity and ADHD.
I knew pretty early on that he was just a SUPER busy kid so the ADHD diagnosis was no surprise at all. We see an excellent behavioral Pediatrician who diagnosed him. We went through a couple of different medications at first but once he was put on Concerta it was like I had a completely different kid. He was able to focus in school and he was just easier to deal with. We also got the ODD diagnosis at the same time (this was in Feb. 2009 right around his 6th birthday) but it really had slipped my mind as being a part of the diagnosis because once we started the Concerta, ALL of his bad behaviors went away. They briefly resurfaced about a year ago and we upped his dosage and he has been on 36 mg ever since. Our pediatrician. said that is the highest he is willing to go for someone K's age and size.
K was starting to transition into Kindergarten when we got the diagnosis and it was beyond apparent that all of the testing needed to be redone because his speech was much more developed. Our school psychologist also knew the previous IQ score wasn't accurate and didn't want that sticking around in his charts as his actual score. This time he tested 116. He still qualified for speech therapy because while I can understand him perfectly, he mumbles quite a bit and talks VERY QUICKLY when talking to anyone else. He fell onto a nightstand when he was 3 and knocked out 4 of his top teeth so that has also effected his speech as well.
Academically, he does okay. He excels in math and science, reading not so much. His handwriting is awful. He doesn't care for school at all. I mean, he goes but he never seems to really get excited about anything that takes place there. His teacher says he always speaks in a monotone voice all of the time. He gets along well with other kids but he very rarely will go up to another child and ask to play with him or her. He started a new school in November (we did open enrollment so all the boys could be in the same school) and he can only tell me the names of a few of his classmates. There have never been any behavioral issues at school. One day we did forget to give him his medicine and the teacher thanked me a few days later for getting the prescription refilled so quickly. :grins: He is on a speech therapy break right now because the therapist said that we won't be seeing any improvement in his speech until his top teeth come in.
Our home life is total chaos because of our 10 year old difficult child. He has mild Autism and he is exhausting. This is our kid who constantly threatens to burn the house down, threatens to hurt people, HATES school, tells people EXACTLY what he thinks of them, etc. He can be a total sweetheart one minute and a monster the next. Sometimes I wonder if K is copying his behaviors but while A makes threats ALL OF THE TIME, I have never caught him with a knife or choking anyone. Wait, I have caught him with knives because he likes to take apart toys and electronics but only for that reason. And I know he has shoved and hit his brothers before, it just isn't as angry and violent as K's outbursts. A's generally happen when he doesn't get his way and is frustrated. K's just seem to happen for no reason sometimes. And all of this is very new behavior. He was more defiant when we got the ODD diagnosis but this is all the new- like within the past few weeks. And it just scares me. He is a really sweet kid. He is an AMAZING big brother to his baby sister. He's funny and I know he doesn't like to get so out of control.
I am trying to think of more things to tell about him. He is OBSESSED with video games and will totally RAGE if he gets them taken away. I am VERY STRICT with what he can play and I don't allow any violent games in our home. He plays stuff like Mario and Sonic. And like I said he wakes up a lot at night. He will get a snack...or two...or three. I have found food hidden under his bed like he is hoarding a little stash for himself. He eats both breakfast and lunch at school and will constantly be bringing home things that he didn't eat at those meals- an unopened muffin, snack cake, etc. Maybe that's normal, I don't know but my other kids just toss something if they aren't going to eat it.
ETA- I missed a few things that were asked. I did ask him why he choked his little brother and his reply was just that he was bothering him. I wasn't in the room to see it happen but it's a definitely possibility. easy child/difficult child knows how to push every.single.button with his older brothers. I did witness a few of the violent behaviors earlier in the week and I do know that those were completely unprovoked. He handles transitions with no problems at all. As for the melatonin dosage we do 5mg.