Hope ya'll had a Merry and Happy Christmas, we made it, some highs and lows...
Here's a picture of me and my girls, I am happy because at least 2 out of 3 are smiling!!!
For an update, Kaylee has been on Lexapro for a over a week and a half now, and Singulair for 2 and a half weeks, and I have some mixed reviews.
Singulair has taken care of her allergies now. No more night coughing and runny nose. That's good.
Now for the Lexapro, Kaylee is talking more, singing less (her singing was either stimming or boredom?) She is doing better about paying attention, answering questions, she is talking more and now she is less echolalic and actually learning from the Teach2Talk DVDs I bought her that teach her about her pronouns. I practice throughout the day "you" and "me", "his" and "hers" and more, and she is catching on but not all of the time. She is appropriately using "she" and "you" and "my" right now.
The cutest thing she has started doing is addressing people "Come on Momma, let's go..." and now she has decided to boss her little brother around at times like a any big sister should saying "Joey, no!".
It's difficult for me not to get discouraged, because her habits of speaking in the wrong way are ingrained. Kaylee seems to be used to thinking in a way that takes longer to learn. It is as if she speaks language visually and then converts it to an auditory language. Like Temple Grandin calls it: "thinking in pictures".
Something else has emerged in Kaylee, too. I am not sure if she is pretending or scripting, Kaylee is playing with her toys, but she repeats how she is taught to play with things. An example: "Hey, let's go for a ride" with her Little People in cars, but she's missing the creativity we see in most children.
It is overwhelming to think about how many things Kaylee has to learn, when I see Joey learning so easily, just by being exposed to things. How can I possibly teach her everything she needs to know, on top of what else she needs to learn?
On the bad side, Kaylee has been misbehaving like never before. She acts like a girl who needs a nap, but she can't take one. When we sit down to eat she can't sit still, she never used to be that way, all squirmy and wiggly. Yet she lays on the ground tired and sucking her fingers like she's tired.
During Kaylee's bad times, she leaves her momma in tears! She breaks down and gets very upset. She is uncooperative and defiant, and I get scared because I don't know how to handle it sometimes. I just try to stay calm and not back down. She's eatin' those green beans, darn it!
I had finally had it, so I called Dr. Russell's office this morning and to my chagrin, he answered the phone! He told me to stop the Lexapro for a week and rule out the Singulair as the problem.
Sigh, I was looking forward to the Lexapro since before we went to NY, because I knew that was the golden ticket, what really helps the kids. Guess it's more waiting for now...
Singulair has taken care of her allergies now. No more night coughing and runny nose. That's good.
Now for the Lexapro, Kaylee is talking more, singing less (her singing was either stimming or boredom?) She is doing better about paying attention, answering questions, she is talking more and now she is less echolalic and actually learning from the Teach2Talk DVDs I bought her that teach her about her pronouns. I practice throughout the day "you" and "me", "his" and "hers" and more, and she is catching on but not all of the time. She is appropriately using "she" and "you" and "my" right now.
The cutest thing she has started doing is addressing people "Come on Momma, let's go..." and now she has decided to boss her little brother around at times like a any big sister should saying "Joey, no!".
It's difficult for me not to get discouraged, because her habits of speaking in the wrong way are ingrained. Kaylee seems to be used to thinking in a way that takes longer to learn. It is as if she speaks language visually and then converts it to an auditory language. Like Temple Grandin calls it: "thinking in pictures".
Something else has emerged in Kaylee, too. I am not sure if she is pretending or scripting, Kaylee is playing with her toys, but she repeats how she is taught to play with things. An example: "Hey, let's go for a ride" with her Little People in cars, but she's missing the creativity we see in most children.
It is overwhelming to think about how many things Kaylee has to learn, when I see Joey learning so easily, just by being exposed to things. How can I possibly teach her everything she needs to know, on top of what else she needs to learn?
On the bad side, Kaylee has been misbehaving like never before. She acts like a girl who needs a nap, but she can't take one. When we sit down to eat she can't sit still, she never used to be that way, all squirmy and wiggly. Yet she lays on the ground tired and sucking her fingers like she's tired.
During Kaylee's bad times, she leaves her momma in tears! She breaks down and gets very upset. She is uncooperative and defiant, and I get scared because I don't know how to handle it sometimes. I just try to stay calm and not back down. She's eatin' those green beans, darn it!
I had finally had it, so I called Dr. Russell's office this morning and to my chagrin, he answered the phone! He told me to stop the Lexapro for a week and rule out the Singulair as the problem.
Sigh, I was looking forward to the Lexapro since before we went to NY, because I knew that was the golden ticket, what really helps the kids. Guess it's more waiting for now...
Jen,
ReplyDeleteI'm praying that it's Singulair that's the problem and that the Lexapro will once again take full effect. As I began to explain yesterday, I had problems taking the Singulair after a while. It wasn't at the onset of taking the medication, but a little later once it reached blood level. It took care of my allergies, but the side effects it gave me weren't worth it. Also, I meant to tell you about a natural product that most stores sell. It is for the treatment of seasonal allergies. It is Little Remedies Allergen Block. It retails for about $14, but I know that there are coupons for it as well. My cousin who has really bad allergies to cats was over for Christmas Eve with my 3 cats and it seemed to work for her. You just put the gel on the nose by the nostrils and it works well. I've used it on Katie too and it worked. I apologize if you've already tried this with Kaylee, but I thought it may help with the maintenance of her allergies :) Hang in there!!! If you need anything, you can always call me-- even if you need to vent.
Thanks, Jenny. That really does give me a lot of insight. Now that I think of the the Dr. said it would take a few weeks for the Singulair to work, and I started her on Lexapro after only a week after Singulair. May I ask what were your side effects? It seems like Kaylee has trouble sitting still and paying attention.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your help, Jen! Hope we can get together soon :)
Jen,
ReplyDeleteI felt so weird while on the Singulair. It's been a while since I was last on it, but Steve mentioned that it made me hyper. I also felt a little more depressed. Overall, I was uncomfortable and didn't want to continue the side effects. I've found Zyrtec remedied my allergies better. Here's the link for Singulair's drug information: http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/s/singulair/singulair_ppi.pdf
HTH,
Jenny
Jennie,
ReplyDeleteI saw your post on the yahoo! group for RDI - for some children the sudden exertion of their will (aka "Terrible Twos") is a sign of progress that they are realizing they don't have to do what you want them to:) Since you say Kaylee is 'awakening', this is probably a developmental stage of exerting some independence.
However, reading through your blog, it is possible more sensory related issues could be occurring to compensate for the neurological effect of the medication. (What's commonly called 'side effects' - movement helps energize the vestibular system and organize the brain. A brain that is under the influence of meds that are intended to help certain areas may need to adjust by seeking more stimulation of different senses, or conversely, by some senses becoming more aroused. This is my opinion, by the way, not sure if there is research supporting this theory. Since we know the brain seeks movement for stimulation, it makes sense that when the brain is 'on drugs' so to speak, the form or frequency of stimulation may change in some way.)
Your daughter is a cutie:)
April Choulat