The past week or so has been particularly draining. I've been meaning to write an update blog over the past few days, but have put it off because I'm tired and feel like I'm coming down with something.

Okay, so I last left off with the official diagnosis of ADHD and our plan of action for it.

We got the Strattera for Tate. As soon as I got to the car, I opened a capsule to see how it tasted. If it was innocuous enough, maybe we could hide it in her strawberry milk or something. Unfortunately, it was absolutely diabolical. A few grains touched my tongue, but the taste lasted for quite a while. It reminded me of the way nail polish remover smells. There was no hiding that!

So, I ended up doing what the psychiatrist had recommended and sat Tate down and discussed ADHD and the treatment for the symptoms. Of course, she was not pleased at the idea of having to take a pill. The first night took about 3 hours for her to work up the nerve to take it. The second night was about 3 hours, although I am certain she did not take the pill and disposed of it in some way. (I had given her some room and didn't sit right at her to make her feel uncomfortable and when she "took" the pill she didn't put up a fuss. Then, the next night she tried to pull a fast one 5 times!) The third night took 4 1/2 hours and I ended up giving up just before 1:00 AM...so no pill was taken. The fourth night took about an hour, Dominic was visiting and threatened to take her to a Dr. to see if he had any suggestions for helping her take the medication. The fifth night was about 20 minutes! And then tonight, we went back up to about 2 hours.

The main problem is that Tate's tongue pushes the capsule up to the back side of her teeth, making it nearly impossible for it to go down. Not to mention, I wrap it in a fruit roll-up to keep her from "tasting" it and that weighs the capsule down. Otherwise it would most likely go down a lot faster and easier. But we are working on it. While it is an emotional roller coaster, it has brought me closer to Tate. She isn't mad that I make her take the meds. I think it has helped remind her that what I say goes. There have been so many times during her young life that we've just let the little princess have her way. Although, my sister and I were talking about it tonight and we think that this generation is born without the fear gene. When I was a kid, if my parents gave me THAT look or spoke to me in THAT way, I knew they meant business. Today, my kids don't take that seriously at all.

So, Tate and I are working on it. She has a classmate who may be taking the same medication. They have apparently talked about it and compared descriptions of the capsule, so I think that makes her feel a tiny bit better about it. And while I know it's not the meds just yet, she is more compliant when I ask her to do things. She is less whiny. She is a lot more affectionate and I get more unsolicited hugs, kisses and "I love you's". Another thing she is very interested in are the yoga exercises on the Wii Fit, which is wonderful because yoga was recommended for her to help improve her focus and concentration. She is doing really well with that too.

Dealing with Tate's school and teacher is still a challenge. We had our meeting with the teacher, speech therapist and principal last week. And on that very day, her teacher sent her home without her new books for the reading program. WTF? We had a meeting with the teacher last September and explained that she would need to stay on Tate about making sure she has her books and is testing like she is supposed to. When she was left to her own devices, she flew under the radar and only tested on 8 books that first month of school. That's why she got so behind in the reading program. So, I sent her an email explaining that it was very disappointing. The deadline for their mid-year goal is the 22nd. And Tate is going to make it, but just barely. The teacher's response is that there aren't enough library passes for the students. Okay, what? Are you kidding me? The classroom is directly across the hall from the library! Not all kids get to go to get the supplies that they need?? That seems completely preposterous. (On a side note, the mid-year reading goal is reading and passing tests on 200 books! But the goal for the rest of the year is 9 chapter books.)

She then went on to mention that Tate is not doing well when they have math work on the computer and wanted to know what I would suggest for that. I explained that the only suggestions we had were on the report from the psychiatrist. But the deal is that Tate is an auditory learner. To stick her in front of a computer and leave her to it is simply not going to work. In a meeting with Dominic this week, her teacher explained that she can call out math problems to Tate and she can easily rattle off the answers, so this just proves the point. She needs someone to read the problems in order for her to process them.

And last but not least, the teacher mentioned that she was already making modifications to accommodate Tate, but that Tate still lacks focus and concentration. SO, she's passing the buck off to the kid with ADHD. This pissed me off.

The email pissed Dominic off too, so he made a special trip up to meet with these yahoos again. I did not go. I know that I am getting to the point where I cannot hold my tongue anymore. Not to mention that some of the idiotic things Tate's teacher says makes me want to smack her one. (One day she'll gush about Tate improving so much and doing so well and the next it is all doom and gloom, with a possibility of failure. If anyone needs meds, it's THAT woman.) Unfortunately, the principal couldn't be there. It's unfortunate because very early on it was quite apparent that Tate's teacher had NOT read the report from her Dr. The speech therapist had, she was able to keep up with everything Dominic discussed and was familiar with what he was speaking about. Tate's teacher was lost. She asked if the recommendations he discussed were ones made by Tate's pediatrician, but didn't even realize that they were all outlined in the psychiatrist's report she was holding in her very hands. It's pretty sad, really.

Oh, and the school uses this 40-year-old, Letterland program for spelling. It was created in England. The school is a pilot school for having the program in second grade. I can tell you that it is does not help Tate with her spelling in any way. The stories they create to try to remember rules are confusing and difficult to remember. What is really funny is that Dominic's brother, who is a teacher, told him that the Letterland program was abandoned in England about 15 years ago because it was too time consuming, distracting and ineffective. Makes you wonder what the hell is going on here? How is it a good idea to use an outdated program?

Dominic's theory is that she is a teacher that does very well with the students who succeed, but the ones who don't get left behind. I am growing to agree with this thought. She is a well-loved teacher. But I think it's more because she is friendly, dresses very fashionably and puts on a good front. My Mom recounted an occasion she was in the classroom when the teacher totally lost it on a student...picked up his desk, moved it so he was isolated, excluded him from what the class was doing and yelled at him in an inappropriate manner. Kinda scary.

I am also dismayed to hear that the classroom phone is still a distraction for Tate. The other day she told me she was upset because she never gets to answer the phone, this other kid always gets called to do so.

All in all, it seems like some baby steps are being made...although Tate actually taking her pills is quite a gigantic leap, even if it is a struggle!