Anyway, I've returned (today anyway) to update on our family.
Taz and Chica feeding ducks at the apple orchard - September 2010Taz is doing...better than before the hospital. That's about all I have to say. We have some very good days. Most other days are just so-so. Then we have some bad days. But the bad days aren't as bad as before the hospital. And that's how I judge everything now.
The Intuniv seems to be keeping away the mania. And as we know, the mania is the scariest symptom (at least it is for me).
No restraint and no impulse control. Yikes.
We are still in the in-home program and although they don't have any miracle solutions for us, it's good to have someone on our side. I love our worker. She's great with Taz.
We've gone to a couple other specialists for second opinions. I've come to the point where I don't really care about an accurate label anymore. His brain is so confusing, I don't think it will ever fit neatly into one diagnosis.
We had him evaluated by a geneticist, specifically for FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome) but they are doing other genetic blood testing as well. I know that Taz's birthmom drank during pregnancy and I thought that he might fit the specifications for the full FAS diagnosis. But he doesn't. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Like I said, Taz will never fit in a box.
The geneticist said that Taz has some physical traits that show something happened during early pregnancy but he can't say for sure it was alcohol, even though it's been reported she drank. And he doesn't have enough physical features for the full syndrome. So again, we have speculation that he has fetal alcohol effects, but the doctor didn't diagnose it.
Whatever.
Our newest diagnosis was decided upon by the in-home program psychiatrist, who conferred with our regular psychiatrist and together they agreed upon... (enter drum roll)
Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)
At first I said bull shit.
But now that the bipolar layers are pulled back (because of the meds) I do see A LOT of anxiety. Which is becoming a big problem in school.
So big that Taz is not participating in activities but laying on the floor rocking with his stuffed animal instead. Or crying. Or they let him leave the classroom to play in the gym. Which is a whole other issue I need to talk with them about. I'll save that for another post.
Anyway, anxiety is huge right now. And although I think Taz is attached to us, I think that it's an insecure attachment, at least right now.
The thing with attachment and adoption is that it can be strong at one time, then shaken another time. And his is shaken right now.
Because of starting a new school.
Because my husband had a string of business trips this fall.
And because I've been working weekends on my book.
So I think attachment is playing a part of things right now. But like the psychiatrist said...
Taz will probably qualify for a few different diagnoses and at different times of his life, different labels will be in the forefront.
He also wants us to see a developmental pediatrician to have PDD-NOS (autism spectrum) ruled out. I really don't feel like anymore appointments, or testing. But it's a long wait list anyway.
Anyway...
that's it for us!
I'll check up on all your blogs soon. I promise.
*** Oh! Question: any suggestions on how to get a kid like Taz to use nicer language? I'm so tired of hearing "shut up" and "stupid" all day.
