Landon

Yesterday was Landon's appointment with the pediatric psychiatrist from New Orleans, Dr. Neil Boris. I've waited a long time for this and was so nervous. Nervous for what he would tell me and at the same time nervous that he would say I was crazy and there was nothing wrong with him. We were there for a little over an hour and answered a lot of questions. While the doctor talked to Jose' and I, Landon and a social worker were in the room with us and the doctor was watching Landon play with all the toys they had in there. He was watching how Landon interracted with him and the social worker. At the end of the visit the diagnosis was just what we thought it would be....Asperger's. For anyone who hasn't heard of that, it's in the Autism spectrum. Picture a rainbow and at one end is Autism which is the lower functioning end. At the other end is Aspergers. Aspergers, along with Autism, is a Pervasive Development Disorder. Here's something I read about it online.

The term pervasive development disorder (PDDs) refers to a group of conditions that involve delays in the development of many basic skills, most notably the ability to socialize with others, to communicate and to use imagination. Children with these conditions often are confused in their thinking and generally have problems understanding the world around them.

So, what are we going to do? I don't know :-(. I thought the doctor would give him a prescription for some medicine that would "cure" him. At least something that would help him concentrate in school and be able to sit still. But, he said he does not see an ADHD child with Landon. ADD maybe but that is just a side symtom of Aspergers and for some reason he does not want to put him on medication. I want to do what is right for Landon but right now I don't even know what that is. I don't know if I can keep sending him to school when I know he's not doing anything there. I know what a hard time he's giving his teachers and I don't know if it's fair to them. Should I just pull him out of school for now and homeschool him until he is older and can learn to cope with things?

We really liked this doctor and he went on and on about how bright Landon is. He said he's just as smart, or maybe even smarter, than the kids in his class but that he is just wired different and does not learn like the other kids. I won't make any dicisions now...not as long as his teachers and the school are so willing to work with him.