Something I've Never Really Blogged About....

I have been Helen's mom for 9 years and one week.  She has been a lot of work for about 8 years of it.  She has been impulsive, energetic, active, difficult, opinionated (and many other adjectives) most of her life.  She started with tantrums when she was 18 months old and I am still waiting for the terrible twos to be over.

She exhibits signs of many things, including autism.  We believe in our hearts this is not correct because of her language ability (speaking in complete sentences at 15 months, current vocabulary level is almost fifth grade).  She has a witty sense of humor, uses and understands sarcasm and makes puns and jokes.  She does have "quirks" though, that make her odd.  She has anxiety and is quite defiant and seems to find joy in nothing.  She loses things, cannot organize her time or spaces, she has a hard time prioritizing and planning tasks.  Things have gotten worse this year.  Now she lashes out at her brother, physically.  She seems depressed and angry all the time.  We don't know how to deal with it.

She will see her pediatrician on Monday.  At that visit I am putting the card on the table and asking for a Connor Assessment.  We will proceed from there.  The first logical step is to rule out ADHD.  This, untreated, can lead to the defiance, anxiety and depression we are seeing.  Please keep Helen in your thoughts and prayers and I promise to keep you updated.