My Child Has Aspergers... and more

    It's unofficially official. We have a provisional diagnosis for Miss M.
Aspergers Syndrome and ADHD. 
I'm not sure how I feel. On one hand, I'm relieved that we have confirmation that she's not just a "bad kid" and that I'm not just a "bad parent". There IS more to Miss M than meets the eye.

     At 6 1/2, most kids don't throw temper tantrums constantly. They can dress themselves without a chart on their wall telling them how to do it. They can accept changes to routine without too much drama. They don't run away and hide when they're anxious about something.

     It's nice to finally have someone believe me that there's something NQR about my child. She has almost no social skills. When she plays with other kids (with a few exceptions), she is either extremely bossy or she is excluded and picked on.

     So now we wait. We wait for the "official" paperwork with the diagnosis. She has 5 sessions with a psychologist coming up in October/November. In the meantime, I know what is going on with her and I have something to work with now.

     Incremin (a vitamin/iron liquid supplement) is working. I've been giving it to Miss M for the last few months. A friend recommended it to me, and I can't believe the change in her. She's very calm most of the time, she's been really really good. I was unsure as to whether it was working or if it was all in my head. So I took her off it. Almost immediately I noticed a change in her. She was short-tempered, anxious, and upset. I kept her off it for almost a week, and by the end of it I was thrilled to put her back onto it. It didn't work immediately, it took just over a week of her being back on it to return to her lovely self. So it's definitely doing something good, even if I don't understand it.

     So.... now we wait until the start of November to get the paperwork done and get her some proper help, if she's actually entitled to any. Unfortunately, the funding for the autism spectrum stops at 6, and the child must be diagnosed by 5. Stupid, really. But that's life. At least the school (and hopefully family and friends) will be more understanding of her behaviour, and handle her a little differently. Yelling and smacking a child with autism does NOT help. In fact, it skyrockets their anxiety. And her smiling/smirking when she gets told off? It's not her thinking it's funny, it's just her inappropriate facial expression.

     She's teaching me patience. And tolerance. And that all kids should be appreciated for being THEM, not for being what everyone deems as perfect.

Thanks for reading.