Status quo, maintained

I asked the school about ABA therapy, noting that our pediatrician strongly recommended it and wrote us out a prescription and everything, and also noting that I'm worried about how kiddo is going to do next year when he switches to a full day of school. The school folks are checking into it, but noted that they would have to get clearance to arrange such services for a non-IEP student.

Well, I knew that whole "he doesn't need an IEP, he's doing great academically" decision would come back to exasperate me at some point.


In all honesty, his school has done a lot for him -- classroom accommodations, OT, social skills group, regular meetings to discuss progress -- so I can't really complain. The boards on additudemag.com are full of parents upset that their school won't give accommodations or won't follow the 504 plan or won't discuss issues with the parents or won't even acknowledge that ADHD is a real thing, and write the kid off as lazy/stupid/badly parented. We're in a pretty good place, comparatively.


But I do think he could use the therapy. I'd rather go the extra mile now, than wait until he's really floundering and try frantically to make up for lost time.


I will say kiddo has one thing very much going for him: He's a dancing fool. We were at a first communion party yesterday, with a dance floor and a kid-friendly DJ and everything, and he basically danced the whole time, except when he was eating. It's hilarious and adorable (and in about eight years, will serve him well at school dances). Some of the other boys at the party were out in the hallway instead, tumbling around and tackling each other and throwing a ball around (and probably threatening the nice loungy furniture), and I know if kiddo had joined them he would've taken the roughhousing that half-step too far and hurt someone, or gotten in trouble -- inevitably being the only one to get in trouble, and not understanding why. So dance away, my son. Rock it Gangnam Style.


Only downside to the day, really, was the ice cream bar and the cake and the chocolate lollipops. Which were tasty, don't get me wrong. But I knew all the sugar would probably cause issues for kiddo, and I was right -- getting him out of the house this morning was a nightmare. He actually got out-and-out oppositional -- "No! I don't want to brush teeth! I want to play!" and running off -- which he hasn't done in a long time, certainly not since starting the medication. It's a conundrum, situations like that. Do I tell him he has to be the only kid in the room not eating dessert? Or do I suck it up and let him go all wonky later on? It's a lose-lose situation either way, seems like.

Professional help, round 3

Kiddo's pediatrician thinks we should be pursuing further behavioral training, so that he learns proper social skills. This is probably a valid point. Since he seems to be back to having semi-regular incidents at school. (For instance, hitting a classmate with a book today.) Said incidents may or may not be why so few classmates came to his birthday party.

The pediatrician recommended someone who deals in ABA therapy, or applied behavior analysis. Its goals, according to autismsupportnetwork.com (the therapy is frequently used with kids on the autism spectrum, though can also be used in other circumstances), are:

1. Managing the consequences of behavior by rewarding positive behavior, withholding positive consequences, or – in some cases - using punishment (e.g., scolding) to deter behavior
2. Re-arranging antecedents to promote positive behavior and minimize the likelihood of problem behavior (e.g., clarifying expectations, simplifying tasks, providing choices)
3. Teaching skills that allow individuals to be more successful and less reliant on problem behavior to meet their needs


We do some of this already, obviously, but could probably use the assist.

And speaking of professional help, our former OT facility could use an accountant. Currently DH is serving as one, to find out why they insist they're still owed $700 even though our insurer says they paid the claims. As far as he can tell,  none of the paperwork matches up. The owner has been taking a snippy attitude with us ever since I told off her billing person for expecting me to know more about insurance codes than she did. (I do not regret this, on account of the big hissy fit the owner threw about not getting paid in the first place, even though she didn't bother to tell us about it for months, until the amount owed was huge.)

And as all the adults get mired in arguments about money, kiddo still asks when he's going back to the gym doctor, because he liked it there so much. Even though he hasn't been there since September. Sigh.