In a Happy Place

Just a real quick post to let you know that things are so good around here!  Everyone is healthy and I can't tell you how good that feels!  Harlie has been to school for nine days in a row.  And assuming that she goes in the morning, it will be two full weeks of attendance!  Woohoo!!!  What a difference being healthy makes!  And when I see her healthy, I feel SO awful that I pushed her so hard when she wasn't.  It is truly amazing what she can do when she feels bad (or has to work so hard to breathe) and even I sometimes fail to see that.  Must remember to think about that next time!

I haven't been able to tell you - but we decided to put her on ADD medication.  She had a lot of evaluations for her IEP (which we had a while ago) and in every evaluation from several teachers, it was apparent that her inability to sit still, stay focused on her work for longer than two minutes, and her distractions to something like the carpet, or a marker, were becoming a huge problem.  Each teacher made a note that they did not believe that the results of the tests were accurate or indicative of what she actually knew.  She had to be redirected so many times.  All of this I knew, really.  But, when it starts to get in the way of your education and ability to learn - to ignore it would be irresponsible of us.  She has enough challenges in her path.  And we are doing everything we can to help her overcome them.  If she couldn't see the wipe board at the front of the class, we wouldn't think twice about getting her glasses.

This is the same thing.  It helps her see things more clearly.  It also reminds me of when she was a baby.  She didn't sit up unassisted until she was more than one year old.  But, for months prior to her first birthday, she had a very hard time breathing.  She was focusing all her attention on breathing - so learning to sit up wasn't an option.  It wasn't until after she had her two lung lobes removed and she could breathe easier, that she could then focus on her environment and learn to sit up.

Anyway, I got the forms and had several of her teachers complete them.  And I also provided her IEP evals.  I felt really confident that trying the medication was the right thing to do.  And let me tell you - WOW!  What a difference!  She is doing GREAT!  She can actually focus on her work and she is ENJOYING learning!  It is so wonderful!  I am so thankful!

I have so much more to tell you about... but I am still struggling to find the time to sit and concentrate to blog.  I will try to squeeze in some time tomorrow (Friday).

Thank you, as always, for your continued support!!  It is so appreciated!!

Much love,
Christy