This past week was Pickles last week at the elementary school right around the corner from our house. Monday she starts at another school, not to far away, but one that has a classroom for kids with emotional and behavioral challenges. She will be one of 4 full-time students. This is a good thing. First because the teacher, whom I met is someone I found myself impressed with at our IEP meeting on Thursday. He has a good grasp of what to do to help Pickles with not only her challenges as far as her interactions with the world, but he also explained how he keeps a handle on the learning portion of the school day. (And I found out he is the son of one of my elementary school teachers! Small world eh?) Pickles will even get to ride a school bus. Something I know I’m more worried about than she is. The other good thing, at least speaking as Mommy is that on Friday when Pickles was cleaning out her desk the kids who sat near her were talking about being glad she was leaving. I heard one or two commenting about Pickles being bossy, mean and a…and I quote…a weirdo. It broke my heart because I know these are things she doesn’t mean to do. Thankfully Pickles was on the other side of the room and so she didn’t hear them, and when we walked out the door they all told her bye and waved. Thank goodness. I don’t even want to think about how it would have affected her had she heard those things.
We also had her first appointment with her new pediatrician. Another good thing. The doc was great. He interacted with her well, and let me say, Pickles was at the peak of her uniqueness. Trying to jump off the exam table to prove she could fly, running down the hall and hiding in closets because her friends wanted to hide, singing, talking gibberish, you name it. The doc though took it all in stride and was more than willing to help with getting us the medication refills we so desperately needed to get by until we can get into the Psych Clinic at Children’s Hospital. How much of his willingness was because of the flying attempts and hiding I don’t know, but we’ll take what we can get.
So the first couple days back on the hyperactivity medicine there was a huge difference. She was mellow(er), able to form complete sentences more consistently and she actually stayed on task. She also came home earlier than normal the next day, not feeling well, and that I don’t feel good vibe stuck around for a couple of days. She’s still saying off and on she doesn’t feel well, but I’m not sure how much of that is true not feeling well and how much is I have been fighting a cold myself and Pickles tends to mimic whatever those around her say they are feeling.
Pickles isn’t where she was a week ago with the outcropping of the aggression. The hitting, screaming, throwing everything; but now she is withdrawing more. Almost all week she didn’t want to go to lunch with the other kids, or play outside at recess. She also wasn’t particularly keen on going to music class. Instead she went in the nurse’s office, or the resource room and made her crafts. Upon coming home from school she goes straight to the kitchen table and begins her crafts. The whole time whispering to herself, refusing to talk to me, or even pet the dog. She will become sad and burst into hysterical tears when asked to stop, even to eat. Today her glue stick ran out. This was followed with sobbing and hysterical crying. I’ve convinced her to just work on the decorations and we will go get more glue sticks tomorrow and she can glue the decorations then. For now she is still cutting out decorations.
My happy moment was I did get her to stop last night to join me in a footie jammy night. We both put on our favorite footie jammies and had a picnic dinner in the living room while we watched Harry Potter. Pickles loves the Harry Potter movies. It took a lot of convincing to get her to stop the crafting, and in a way I hated to stop her in a way, but there was that part of me that wanted to see her be able to stop.
I think we are very blessed in that my extended family has been a God send since we got here to Denver. They have gone with me to IEP meetings, watched Pickles while I went to IEP meetings, taken Pickles trick or treating for me since my health issues would have made that outing last about one house on either side of ours, invited us to dinners, birthday parties and other things. None of which would have been possible back in Idaho. Most of all they have all been so understanding in why I don’t always answer the ringing phone, or return calls in what would be considered a timely manner. I think, I hope, I believe, they understand that I don’t answer when I know a phone conversation is not going to be possible because of what is going on right then. And that I don’t call back right away because I’m exhausted and just too wiped to think, let alone hold anything close to a conversation. I also think most of my friends who email, or text or message me on Facebook understand the same thing. Once again, I hope so.
I have added some links to this blog page. One is for The Jani Foundation. Jani’s family has been very public about the life of their daughter Jani and their families experiences with Jani and schizophrenia. I watch the videos they post, watch the television specials they have done and I see so many things in Jani that I do in Pickles. Take a look at the link. This is an amazing family who have sacrificed so much to be there for their daughter.
I also added a link to a blog called the Mindstorm. It is written by a Mom who has a teenage son with the same diagnosis as Pickles, schizoaffective disorder. It’s another site I turn to often just to remind me Pickles and I aren’t alone in our journey.
Finally I added a link to the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation. I came across this group a couple of months ago and I am not ashamed to say the discussion group I joined has been a life line the last few weeks as I have tried to negotiate Pickles IEP process. This group is trying to win a grant from the Pepsi Refresh Program. If you get a chance pull up their website, or their Facebook Page and please consider voting for them. The grant they could win will help them provide more resources and help to families with children and teens with bipolar and other mental illness.
Where would the world be without social networking! 🙂
Sorry the post has been so long. I guess maybe it wasn’t even full of much other than just what’s gone on the past week. But like I said in the beginning I do this as an outlet for me, and to speak to what Pickles life is like. If it helps anyone, that would be an added bonus. If it educates even one person about what mental illness in young children means to the child and their family, that’s even better. I hope those who do read it will come back and stick with us…even through the boring posts!
The Whispering Child 
