When Caleb entered the second grade he was very timid about his new surroundings. His regular classroom teacher and special education teacher could sense he was holding back. For one, he didn't trust anyone.
His first grade year was a hellacious time in his life. There were days he would come home and say things that would make my jaw drop. He need to learn to control himself, he was just being bad, he was being defiant...
Caleb's self esteem had taken a major nose dive. It would take the entire year for it bounce back and him start to feel good about himself. His teachers made a huge effort to work with him even when he was at his highest point with stubbornness.
The most awesome thing was that the Putnam county school system had a few special buses specifically for kids like Caleb with behavioral problems. They had an assistant with the driver and they came directly to our apartment.
Only one time during the year did Caleb get suspended from school and I understood why the principal made the decision. Caleb never got suspended off the bus either. He did have his issues throughout the year but it was mostly him being stubborn in his ways refusing to do his classwork or homework.
It was his suspension for one day just before Thanksgiving holidays that became the final straw. We were in a place where we didn't know hardly anyone. All of our friends and family were 100 miles away and I was a full time college student. At the last minute my boyfriend drove three hours just to sit with my son for much of the day while I went to my three classes and could take a test and a quiz I would have otherwise not been able to make up. After my classes were done for the day my boyfriend sat down with me and flat out said this could not happen anymore. I was almost in tears acknowledging and accepting that something had to be done.
So after the holidays I made the phone call to a local pediatrician who specialized in ADD/ADHD diagnoses. The wait ended up being six weeks long and as we got closer to the date I got more anxious.
All I did at the pediatricians office was fill out a survey that had 100 questions and one for his teacher to fill out and return. In the meantime the pediatrician quickly went over it, diagnosed Caleb as having ADHD and then prescribed him Vyvanse. I had discussed with the pediatrician there were some other things going on that I felt did not fit ADHD. His sensory issues, his days were mostly good ones, but those things I felt had gone on deaf ears. In some ways it was a sense of relief, but I also felt that this was not right. I never believed Caleb had ADHD.
Caleb could have some really awesome days, some okay days and some rough days. It was like a roller coaster all of the time.
Before Vyvanse Caleb was a child who would bug me, bug my friends if he could take a bath. Some days he would just sit and play in the tub three, four and five times. He had a time going to bed but not as much as after using Vyvanse.
His behavior did improve for awhile. Three months later though, it was if Vyvanse had quit working. Caleb could stay up all night unless I pretty much sat by him with all the lights off. Getting him to take a bath or shower was a nightmare. It got so bad I would have to physically strip him down, pick him up while kicking and screaming and put him in the tub. I was at wits end once again.
I told the pediatrician about these issues and he asked me what should be done? I felt lost at that point. The Vyvanse was actually increased and I had a little hope it would smooth things out. Not so much. Caleb actually started to show signs of depression as well and even after mentioning these things the pediatricians office decreased his medications once again. It was about that time we were getting ready to move back home after my graduation from Tennessee Tech University. We got a final prescription and then it became my decision if I wanted Caleb to continue taking Vyvanse in the summer.
I continued giving Caleb the Vyvanse even after we moved. Once we got settled in I took him to his former pediatrician. She flat out told me Vyvanse did not work and that I should take him to TEAM Centers in Chattanooga and a mental health center in our community. I did drag my feet about it mostly because it was the summer time. Before school began I got him to the mental health center as I found out it would be three months before Caleb would go to TEAM. It would be at TEAM we would finally get some answers.
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