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| In the exam room |
Adam had a follow up about his tics and OCD behaviors a few weeks ago. His tics have completely subsided. He is very fidgety, but it isn't repetitive or as excessive as it once was. The OCD behaviors are still there, but he can go to bed without his blanket being completely smoothed out, and the OCD-type stuff he does is not interfering with everyday life. The doctor was pleased with Adam's progress and not really concerned about any of the things we brought up. He said that Adam could develop OCD or Tourette's in the future but thought that he mainly just needs to stay challenged intellectually. His comments or actions that concern us just indicate that he is very bright and makes connections and sees similarities in things that most four-year-olds would not see. The neurologist said that this can be a bad thing in a family where a child is not stimulated and is yelled at a lot, but that Adam is in a good home environment so it shouldn't be a problem. We just have to keep him challenged and find creative, positive ways to help him when his brain gets "stuck" on a behavior or action. (No pressure on us as parents- right?)
For example, not too long ago, Adam was obsessed with wearing his ball cap, and would be really upset without it. Wes was trying to get him "un-stuck" on this obsession and took it off. Adam cried at first, but Wes turned it into a game to see if Adam could find where his hat was hidden. Adam soon realized he would be okay without his hat on, and it isn't such a big deal to him anymore.
He has this thing right now about arranging and taking pictures of his food. This is a bridge over a river.
He will take a bite of food and see a new shape every time. So eating a meal with him is very entertaining. The other day, while eating pizza, he'd shout, "Look! A dinosaur!" Then, "It's a hang glider!...Now it's the letter J!"
And this is a recent Facebook post from Wes:
Adam's
practicing his letters by drawing them in the air and he just gave me this
gem. "A cross looks like a lower case t, except it's made out of wood
instead of your imagination."
After the appt., we took Adam to have a special day with us. He had both of us all to himself. We went to the
Cincinnati Museum Center. He loved it.
He got to learn about making cheese. During the presentation, the guy told them that they were going to start with milk, which is a liquid but that the cheese would be a solid. Adam raised his hand and knocked on the table while saying, "Excuse me. This table's a solid!" He's so funny!
We had a great day together.
This weekend, I worked in Alabama and was able to bring the boys and one of our favorite college students from church along with me to watch the boys while I worked. We stopped at an amusement/water park called
Lake Winnie (near Chattanooga) on our way there. It was an amazing day!! I said many prayers of thanks while we enjoyed some fun in the sun!
Have a great week!
