Aspergers

Asperger's is still an unknown syndrome.  I have learned in speaking with the doctors and nurses dealing with Matthew's surgery that a lot of them have never heard of Asperger's.  When I explain that it is a form of Autism, you can see the recognition in their eyes.  They've heard of Autism, they may even know someone with Autism, so now they get it. I am just a little surprised that more people, especially in the medical field, do not know much about Asperger's.  Even in the field of education.

One of Matthew's teachers was very vocal about the fact that she didn't think anything was wrong with Matthew, she thought he was faking.  To look at him, you can't see anything wrong with him.  He's not sitting in the corner drooling.  He can walk, he can talk and he can run!  To talk to him, he knows enough to know how to act in front of people (thank God I've tried to instill at least some amount of respect for adults even if he doesn't show respect for me at times!), so he seems like a normal, well rounded kid.  And he is.  But, spend a day with him, maybe even a few days and you will see the Aspie come out in him!  He will either talk your head off about his favorite video game (currently transformers), or he will make up some silly joke that doesn't make any sense but he thinks is hilarious.  Or he will take something you say the wrong way.  Our family is a family full of pickers.  We like to pick and joke with each other.  It's how we show we love each other.  But, most of the time Matthew gets fired up mad at something that we said, but meant no harm.  Bless his heart, he had to be born into a family of pickers and jokers!  As an Aspie, that can be very confusing!  a bug is the biggest lie we know!

Asperger's is not a disease and it is not a curse.  My son is beautiful, sweet, kind and talented.  He loves life and he loves his family. Is he normal?  Well, let me ask you something.  Are you?  Do you know what normal is?  Who defines normal?  These are things that I am forced to ask myself.  These are things that people don't think about until they are faced with something like Asperger's.


"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

Surgery

Well, it looks like surgery is in Matthew's future.  He's not too happy about it either!  A couple of weeks ago during one of his therapy sessions his doctor mentioned that he thought Matthew wasn't getting good sleep at night.  We had been talking about how hard it is to get him up in the mornings and then how slugglish he is during the day.  So, Dr. Kropp (the psychologist) referred him to an ENT specialist.  The ENT is one that our family has had dealings with.  He performed surgery on Lily when she was 4 (removed tonsils and adenoids) and then he performed sinus surgery on Bryan a little over a year ago.  So, we are comfortable with this doctor and we trust his opinion.  We finally got to see the ENT this week (Monday) and he said that Matthew's right tonsil and adenoids are enlarged.  He thinks it would be best to remove them.  I haven't gotten the call to schedule the surgery so I don't know when that will be yet. 

I am really hoping that this surgery helps him sleep better at night.  And I am really, REALLY hoping and praying that the surgery [and him sleeping better at night] will help his behavior.  I have done some research online and this is the main cause of sleep apnea in children.  I know how I am if I don't sleep well, and I can't imagine how I would feel after months of night sleeping well. 

On a more positive note, this Saturday is Matthew's birthday.  He will be 12.  It's so hard to believe that he is already 12 years old!  We are going to celebrate by going to the movies and out to eat.  He doesn't know it yet but we are getting him a cell phone.  We are actually giving him my old cell phone for a trial run because we are not sure how he will be with a cell phone.  This will be a good way for him to communicate with me during the day while he's at his grandparents' house.  He calls me at work alot with questions so this will be better.  I think a little responsibility will be good for him.


"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

Update

An update on Matthew:

We have made some changes hopefully for the good.  Matthew has been seeing a psychologist since the end of December.  We really like him and Matthew enjoys going to therapy.  The doctor also has a therapy dog (a solid white German Shepard) that sits in on the sessions so Matthew likes that too!  I feel that the therapy has been really good for him.  Something that this doctor has mentioned that hasn't dawned on me is that Matthew may have sleep apnea.  Which would cause alot of the problems Matthew has been having.  It wouldn't be the cause for everything but it could be making things worse.  So, he has referred us to an ENT doctor to check that out.  We will see that doctor mid February and I am anxious to see what he thinks.

Also, we made a decision that was risky but I think it was the right thing.  We took Matthew off of all of his medication.  I spoke with the psychiatrist about it before I did it and he agreed that it would be worth a try.  I've been praying about what to do and I just felt a peace about doing this. I just feel that the age he is at right now, hormones are starting to kick in, and that, mixed with the medication, is just causing more harm than good.  He has been off of the medicine for 4 days and so far things have been better (I'm knocking on wood here!).  I'm hoping and praying that we are starting to see the light at the end of the long, dark and scary tunnel! (I'm seeing more of my Matthew!)

Home school is going good.  It's not perfect, but it seems like every week it gets a little bit better.  He is a little behind but we are working on getting caught up.  He does like it much better than going to public school.  I keep telling him that he has to do well and get his work done or he will have to go back to public school (that motivates him to try harder!). 

I know that we will still have rough days but I sure am thankful for each and every good day that we have!

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1




"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19