...and the journey begins.

Soooooo...we went to the pediatrician on Friday. I was VERY impressed with our doc. I expected a 15 min max visit. Nope, she was with us an hour talking and teasing out pieces of info. It's amazing because I now see so many signs of the past several years that are fitting all together now.

Yes, she did diagnosis our boy with ADHD combined type. When you do this questionnaire thing, it gets "graded." If you get 6 out of 9 from the first 9 questions, it's ADD. He scored 8 out of 9. If you get 6 out of 9 from the next 9 questions, it's ADHD. He scored 6 out of 9. The other pieces from it, he didn't even score on...so no worries there. We made the decision together to try medication, in addition to the diet thing. ADHD is bio-chemical, so if our son needs medication, we are not going to deny him it. I do have to admit that I haven't started him on the one she prescribed. I'm still researching it and may ask for a different med.

We are also getting an occupational therapy referral. Again, these are the signs that started to fall into place that our son needs a lot of stimulation. He is ALWAYS with clay in his hands, sculpting. He is also an adrenaline junkie...a risk taker. He craves that feeling. He sometimes has feelings of being overwhelmed when in large chaotic environments. So we are going to get an eval to see if there is a sensory integration issue and the need for some occupational therapy.

We have also started him in karate. Karate is GREAT for teaching focus and concentration. We've actually seen improvements in his ability to pay attention!

I feel good about this. I'm pleased that he is homeschooled because, as a nurse AND his mom, I want to keep a close eye on side effects from this new medication.

Speaking of the school...wanna know a few interesting things?

1) Even though I sent 2 emails to the school last week and included his teacher on the email, I never heard directly from her...wishing us well or anything. THAT speaks volumes to me.

2) I did hear from the director, who in his email, told us that he had noticed our son had some difficulty socially with a group of kids during summer camp. Ummmmmmm...huh???? We were NEVER told!!!!!! Actually the first we had heard about it was when his teacher said that she was told there were some "difficulties" this summer...this was 5 days before we pulled him out! She didn't elaborate. We would have perhaps made a different decision had we known during the summer. Was this a money-driven choice? One wonders.

3) In the email, the director mentioned that he has witnessed some interactions between our son and the "boys" that were clearing instigated by our son. I asked him to please give me some specific examples. We have yet to hear back from him. Hmmmmmmm...again, a silence that speaks loud and clear and makes us question the validity of his statement. Last week my husband visited the school, called and left a message, and emailed...WITHOUT a response back. W-O-W!

In essence, we are left with a feeling that these people truly didn't care about our son...truly didn't care about him getting the help that he obviously needs. They cared about having a slot filled.

If you live in the Bronson, Archer, Gainesville FL area/outer area and are considering a private school, feel free to contact me for the name of this school. I will freely share our experience with you. The vision of what we thought it would be turned out to be NOTHING like what our actual time there was.

Price for a year of private school not used: $6,000+
Price for an ADHD eval with insurance: $12
Price for a year of karate: $1,000+
Price for having our son out of an unhealthy situation and getting the help he needs: PRICELESS!

******ADDENDUM****** To the school's credit, my hubby did receive an email from the director that a refund has been mailed. We do not know the amount. Our request for specific instances observed has gone unanswered.