new memeber

January 6, 2008

By way of introduction, my name is Adele, I live in Minneapolis with my husband

and three children, all of whom are special in their own way. Our youngest son,

Carl (15 in Feb.) has Down Syndrome coupled more recently with the PDD-NOS

diagnosis. After all these years I joined this group along with the UpsNDowns

group several weeks ago because I was feeling particularly burdened by our son's

behavior and the ensuing doctor appointments, phonecalls, etc. We have tried a

variety of approaches and are now experimenting with various medications in an

effort to maximize his ability to learn and mature without his negative behavior

getting in the way. As he gets older (and bigger) the public displays of

oppositional behavior become especially problematic. Neither I nor my husband

choose to keep him medicated yet we must admit that the two medications he's on

(Citalopram and Abilify) seem to help him. He also takes Metformin and

Synthroid, as prescribed by a

pediatric endocronologist. I think what wears me out more than anything is

trying to track the various medications, keeping notes to report back to the

doctors, and playing the role of coordinator for all his various services. It

seems to get in the way sometimes of just being a " mom " to our son, and

experiencing him on that level. Fortunately, despite his difficult behavior and

obsession with food (we have no sooner finished lunch than Carl is asking,

" What's for dinner? " That is usually his first question when he gets off the bus

in the afternoon as well!) Carl is full of compliments and love, e.g., " You have

such a cute face! " I've heard it many times and yet it never fails to brighten

my mood. How many people tell you that in a day?!?

So, there's my story. I am a fairly private person so I don't know how often

I'll be adding my two cents' worth but I look forward to tracking the info

shared on therapies, medications, options for people with DS and PDD-NOS as well

as the personal feedback and sharing and will make an effort to respond to

emails and questions.

Warm regards,

Adele

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

Be a better friend, newshound, and

know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.

Recommended Posts