Trent's Appointment with the Neurologist

Friday was a big day - at least to me. After months of waiting and 2 rescheduled appointments, we finally took Trent to a neurologist for a behavioral/developmental evaluation. There was very little in the appointment that was new information to me {pats self on back}, but it mostly validated what we've been feeling and gave us a new direction to try.

1. Sensory processing disorder - the doctor agreed that Trent likely has some sensory sensitivities, but this 'disorder' is not recognized in the psychiatric guide because there are so many variations of it. If his therapist says he has it {which she does}, he has it. He said returning to occupational therapy could help.
2. ADHD - I filled out a questionnaire about Trent's behaviors while the doctor did an assessment on Trent {during which he commented on how bright Trent is...I'm still glowing}. The result of that is that Trent LIKELY has ADHD. Kids oftentimes outgrow the 'symptoms' of ADHD, but the doctor said based on his observations, he thinks we'll get a diagnosis in a year or 2. I told him that I was not keen to try pharmaceuticals, so he agreed we'll take things slow. He recommended this amazing supplement to try...Omega-3. Um, Trent's been taking 500 mg a day of DHA for over 2 years, ha. We will be making a few dietary modifications too.
3. Behavior - Is it related to sensory or ADHD or it's own beast? Who knows! One thing that's new we're trying is Melatonin. When I explained how long it can take Trent to fall asleep at night {sometimes up to 2 hours}, he said he wants to try and increase the hours of sleep Trent is getting {we all know we aren't at our best if we're tired}. So we've done Melatonin for 3 nights, and it's been amazing. Tonight, Trent stopped me while reading and said he was ready to sleep! I've skirted around Melatonin for years, and I'm kind of kicking myself for not trying it sooner. He also wants us to see a behavioral therapist to work on a behavioral plan for Trent.

I also mentioned that I want to balance out Trent's therapies with being able to just be a kid. I don't want him in therapy 5 days a week, so we're now talking regular therapy, behavioral therapy, occupational therapy and don't forget speech for his lisp?!?! He agreed that this was too much and recommended behavioral over occupational and then layering in speech when we felt comfortable with our updated routine.

So that was our appointment in a not-very-concise summary. We'll follow-up in 6 months, too.

We met with Ms. Lauren yesterday and talked about all of this with her too! She's going to help us find a behavioral therapist and said likely if we switch to behavioral we wouldn't see her anymore. So while I have loved Trent spending that time with her every week, I'm excited for the thought of just switching out therapies...although I've heard behavioral can be pretty intense, so we'll see if I regret that in a few months.

It's amazing to think we've been on this journey for almost 2 years, and it seems like a 1 step forward, 2 steps back game a lot of times. When I think back to some of the lows we've had, I can be proud of the progress we've made, but overall I still think we have a ways to go... Here's to the journey!