Home Visit with the Behavioral Therapists

The Behavioral therapists came out for 2 hours yesterday to meet with us about Josiah. We talked about his developments, past history before he came to us, since we've had him...all of that. We talked about what he had been getting therapy for, what our concerns were, and their observations that they've seen as well. We talked about his typical day, what his strengths were, and a lot of stuff that we had been working with him on. They gave us a huge packet of information that we need to fill out and they gave us a form for his teacher at Mother's Day Out to fill out as well. They also are going to get his medical records and look at his occupational therapy notes as well as talk to the psychiatrist. The psychologist told me that she had several things that have gone up on her radar, and some of those are concerns of mine as well. Andy said that he thought whatever I read lately, I thought described him. They laughed, but said I was on the right track as several of the things can overlap and co-exist together. I'm really hoping that some of my thinkings aren't right, but from something the psychologist said, I'm thinking that she's thinking it too. I don't want to say what that is right now. I'm going to see what his testing next week says...he goes in for 3 hours next Tuesday to do all of the cognitive testing and then the following week we go back in to get the results. She said they don't diagnose lightly, but they have several concerns. So, I'm trying to wait patiently to see what happens. I'm not out to get him labeled for the sake of labels...I just want to know what we are truly dealing with so that we can help him the best way that we can and get him on the path to healing. My Dad told me yesterday..."I know what you're dealing with...a 3-year-old boy." I just about hung up on him. This is why I don't talk about what we go through with him as I can't handle hearing that. He doesn't listen, he thinks that he can do whatever he wants, he's agressive, he jumps all over, is constantly into everything that he's not supposed to be, he requires constant supervision, you tell him not to do something...he's going to do it. He can verbalize what the right choice is, but he can not follow through with that choice...we put him in time out or tell him to physically make him stop doing something and that will set him off into a rage that will last anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, he tears his bed apart, scrapes up his bedroom walls, he's got his windowsill all torn up, he kept breaking his blinds until we just had to take those down as we didn't want him getting hurt, he tears his hangers down in his closet, he is loud and is constantly jumping and climbing all over everything and everyone. He has no fear of anything and you can tell him things until you're blue in the face...it doesn't matter to him. He's cute, funny, and very smart and seriously that is his saving graces. I worry about him...it scares me to death to think that if we can't get him to start making good choices that he's going to have some serious troubles for the rest of his life. He's going to be 4 in a few days...I see the other kids his age starting to calm down. I have to wrestle him to the ground some days as the minute he knows that I'm going to stop him from doing something, he will run from me or he will start kicking and flailing at me. This is not your normal typical 3-year old. My Mom will not watch him because he scares her...I was horribly embarrassed that the person who watched the littles while I was in the hospital had him and he wound up breaking a bunch of her pictures and candles and stuff because he wouldn't calm down. I know his sensory integration disorder is part of it, but it doesn't seem to matter how much sensory stuff we try to do...he's getting worse. I told the therapist yesterday that there were signs when he was little, but I didn't see them...granted hindsight is 20/20. I'm really starting to see the effects of neglect and non-parenting. I thought we got him in time...but I'm starting to see that it all matters way earlier than that. I just want to know how to help him and to help him get better. I did get some other information off of my sensory boards too for a couple other things that I e-mailed some therapists on to see about today. I'm hoping that I will get a reply. My Dad keeps telling me to wait for him to grow out of it...the older he gets the worse it gets and from the reading that I've done over the past little while on some things that I think we may be dealing with it says that it's not something that gets better and will only get worse without treatment. So, I don't think that's the answer. I think what we're trying to do for him is the starting point. We're going to have a lot of hard work and prayers ahead...