During My Absence

 

I have struggled as to what to say and how much to share, but I also know at the same time many of my followers have also followed along as we have moved forward with understanding Selena. I am not going to share everything since much of it is very private, and that would in no way be fair to Selena.

We have had many concerns about different things with Selena since she was 3 years old. Some things could be considered age appropriate, though at times these concerns went beyond age appropriate. As she has grown and gotten older some concerns faded to be nothing, while some have become more problematic. Over the past couple weeks things escalated to a fearful state and it was time for reevaluations to be done. I must say it has been a rough time traveling upwards toward 3 times a week to specialists and doctors. We have come along way and understand this will be a life time battle for her.

So here is what we know so far:

1. ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder)
2. Anxiety Disorder
3. OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
4. ADD
5. Mood Disorder (Bipolar)

It has been a rollercoaster in our home from and very scary at times. While I do not promote the use of certain medications in children this age, I also know sometimes we just have to weigh the risks and benefits. Things here got so intense that we had to give in and allow the psychiatrist to prescribe a mood stabilizer.

Thank you to all who have been supportive.

Update on Selena

We have met a couple of times now with the Occupational Therapist and while we do see sensory issues, from observations she feels many of these may be from anxieties. We discovered real fast that unlike most children with SPD who need stimuli to calm them,Selena is the opposite and needs the stimuli removed. She needs a quiet place where she can go and read, listen to soft music, or do some pretend play. We plan on purchasing her a small tent that we can easily set up here in the house, which can be her calm space.

Yesterday we met with the Child Psychiatrist, who quickly caught onto Selena’s OCD, and agreed with the OT that many of the sensory issues are probably anxiety related. Due to the fact that we have had such an interruption in our lives and of course Selena’s from her anxieties, even to the point she breaks out in hives or screams from a stomach ache, he discussed with us the use of some medications to try to control the anxieties. We truly had hoped to deal with this without medication but as time has gone by both Papa and I had come to the resolve that medication for anxieties probably would be needed for a while.

At this time he doesn’t feel counseling is needed since we do have a great open communication in tact with Selena and she does feel free to ask us many questions about the things that bother her. So long as she feels comfortable talking with us, and we are able to continue to read through her questions and answer them to help her feel better then counseling truly is not necessary.

We are very pleased with our decision to seek a new Pediatrician. Thursday truly showed to us that we had made the right choice. Selena came to me on Wednesday with an ear ache. We got her in Thursday since I just had a feeling it was wax build up, which it was. I was so pleased to watch as the Pediatrician and nurse worked with Selena for nearly an hour, to irrigate her ear to get the wax out. They took the time to listen to Selena’s worries, fears and even allowed her to verbalize when her ear needed a break from the water. Their compassion for her anxiety level, and their mannerism made it so much easier for Selena to meet the treatment head on and she came out feeling proud of herself for being brave.

We all feel we have been sent to the proper specialists that can help us to understand Selena, to see just how this gifted child ticks, so that we can get her on the road to a very quality life.