Claire

What have we been up to lately? Well, lots of the usual activities, school, etc. And we've also had to make some decisions about Claire. Some of you already know this, but for those who don't, we've been struggling with Claire and school for about a year now.

To make a long story short, she's had a lot of problems staying focused on her school work. That combined with a tendency towards perfectionism, and she's falling behind despite a lot of effort on our part and extra help from her teachers at school. She is a very smart kid, her teacher even says she is much better than your average 3rd grader at putting her thoughts down on paper. She loves journaling, art, handwriting, science, and music. However she's testing at a year behind in reading- mostly due to comprehension (again because she's not staying focused on the story all the way through). She's also not so great with standardized tests- the time limit and the ability to sit and focus on the questions are the main culprits. I know lots of people aren't great on standardized tests, but the fact is that they are a part of education today all the way through college. And its holding her back from achieving her potential as far as grades, confidence, etc.

So we've tried lots of one on one help at home, extra tutoring at school, classes in music and memory (both requiring focus and long term comprehension), plenty of exercise/activity (even though she doesn't have a hyperactivity issue), healthy diet, omega 3 supplements, plenty of sleep, incentive charts... The list goes on and on. So I finally have gone and done something I thought I would never do, I took my daughter to the dr. and agreed to getting her officially diagnosed and to try medication. Here's the email I sent out that explains what happens next:

Just to reiterate, Claire's pediatrician feels that she has a typical presentation of ADD for a girl her age. He thinks (based on our notes and Claire's teacher's notes) that we've tried most of the non-medical interventions for her already. Based on the fact that she does not have issues with hyperactivity, he feels she would benefit from a very low dose of a stimulant medication (ie Ritalin) just given on school days when she needs the extra boost for focus. He says that the medicine is fast acting, only stays in your system a short time and will not cause any long term issues. He feels that holding her back a year in school would not be helpful as a long term solution and could potentially be harmful to her self esteem. He said that the medication should make a dramatic night and day difference. If it does not, he will take her off. But he really thinks it is what will work for her.

We have to go through the official testing at St. John's to get our "diagnosis" Claire has an appointment for Thursday March 26th at 9:00. We are also on their cancellation list, so if anyone cancels before March 26, they'll call us and see if we can come in.

Keep us in your prayers as we make these decisions and try to do what's best for Claire. We'll keep you updated.