After waiting five months after our initial Tourette’s appointment with a top UCLA doc, we finally had our follow up on Monday. I was relieved, and unsettled, about the final outcome.
The good:
- Stink is extremely well adjusted and unplussed by his “mild to moderate” tics.
- Stink is clearly very bright.
- Stink has a great sense of humor and super happy with himself.
The bad:
- Stink has an “impressive” ability to talk about one subject at length, regardless of whether or not someone is interested in hearing about it.
- He could be doing sooooo much better in school if he were more focused.
- There is a decent possibility that he is showing signs of ADD and high-functioning Asperger’s Syndrome.
I shouldn’t look at stuff as “good” or “bad.” They just “are”. By putting my emotions on it, I’m not helping to process anything. I need to learn to detach. But come on, I can only grow so much at a time. Moving on.
Here are some of the doctors’s thoughts:
- Don’t put Stink on meds for tics as they are not bothering Stink socially or academically.
- Consider Intuiv for his focus, which has the added benefit of suppressing tics.
- Get Stink formally tested for ADD/Asperger’s. Get it done for FREE through UCLA where, if he qualifies as an Aspie, he can get 8 weeks of free medication thanks to a research program where he will be monitored weekly.
It doesn’t get much better than that, right? And yet, I have my reservations. These reservations don’t stem from suffering from “I don’t want to face a diagnosis” disorder. I am willing to get to the bottom of this quagmire so we can treat Stink’s symptoms and move on with a happy life.
But… but… I have another theory that I’d like to try out before we go down medication highway. I’ll share it with you on my next post.
Meanwhile, I’m off to make sure I get the support I need during this understandably overwhelming period of life for me: Prayer group, therapy, exercise, friends… whatever it takes! Time to be strong for me so I can be strong for everyone else!
And again, Stink has no problems at all with any of this. It’s me who takes it to heart. Given that, I feel a few more months is not going to kill Stink’s future if we decide to hold out on drugs a bit longer.
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