bleachboy if there were not this enormous gap in age i would think you were one of my many biological half siblings that i’ve never met!
have you been to see an allergy specialist yet? allergies – and sometimes the meds to treat – may be adding to the mental fog as well as to irritability. if you have not yet, add that to the psychs you need to see to get diagnosis and treatment for add. if you already know which allergens are affecting you, you can also try a homeopathic approach. the remedies are relatively cheap and free of side effects, though i can’t tell from personal experience how effective they are – i’ve heard from others though they work well. i have tried a homeopathic decongestant that worked well, but it took 2 or 3 doses before it worked for me. i also have used migraspray, and it sometimes is very helpful – especially helpful in combining with rx meds to decrease amount needed of the rx to have effective control, and also has helped with the occasional “rebound headache”, but unfortunately that one is pretty expensive.
i can so relate to the “i just shut down like i’m shy but it’s just i don’t want to say anything inappropriate”. also, as i’ve been reflecting, i was always secretive about my struggles/psych issues, so though i did spend a lot of time with my parents, they only knew a fraction of what was going on with me. often they would know “something” was wrong, but didn’t have much clue beyond that. can’t really blame them for not knowing when i wasn’t willing to open up. and definitely can’t blame them for “causing” this as i was adopted – they didn’t pass on any genes to me or my bro.
truth be told, i too have been guilty of chalking up “weirdness” or other signs in my own son to “personality quirks”. when he was around 2 1/2 yo i realized there was something going on that needed to be addressed. thankfully was able to get evaluated through our school system, but they were only able to come up with delayed developmental disorder, and hesitated to label him with aut. he was referred/enrolled in special-ed preschool which was a wonderful start. it was recommended that i have additional eval done at regional center, which was a big disappointment. the psych there – who i expected to do a more thorough workup and come up with a more specific diagnosis,as well as recommendations for additional interventions – said she thought he was just suffering from separation anxiety (from me) and only recommended he get therapy to improve that. i knew she was wrong, but didn’t push it since he was doing well in his sped classes.
fastforward a few years and they need to do another eval because they need to have a definite “label” in sped classes by a certain age/grade. so another psych eval, more test questions for me to fill out. but this time the psych(this one from the school system) actually takes the time to go over the answers with me and explore them. as we went on we realized that things that somethings i indicated were not abnormal or issues actually were, but my perception was that they were normal…because he is so much like me and some of his “issues” to me just seemed like quirks….. and i did not yet realize that my “quirks” were part of a diagnosable syndrome.
well, we left that meeting with a diagnosis of “aut”, but he also told me though my son clearly falls on the spectrum due to various issues, that he is really difficult to peg and “aut” is the best fit but not a perfect fit. that was a few years ago – way before i ever suspected i had add, or really knew much about it. knowing what i know now, i’m betting that he has a co-morbitiy of add. he starts a new school tomorrow, so i’m going to ask about getting another eval with that in mind.
then there’s the issue of whether or not to medicate if they do diagnose him as having add…..something i’m still struggling with for someone his age (
……well, will see……
anyway, i’ve really digressed….back to you, yes, humor is absolutely essential….or we’ll turn into the “bad crazy”
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