PLEASE SHARE WITH ME YOUR RITALIN EXPERIENCE

So yesterday was Day 1 of Dovi's Ritalin trial. I snuck it into his farina at about 9 a.m. and it went down well.

His teachers reported as follows:

"Dovi worked well for the first 45 minutes of our session. Then around 10:45 he seemed very unhappy and in pain. I took him out in the stroller and he calmed down.  The rest of our session he jumped around and was no calmer than usual."

His afternoon teacher wrote:

"Today Dovi ate matzah, lettuce, and cereal and milk. He was a little wild today, however he did the programs well. G-d wanted Dovi should go on a walk, because the fire alarm went off, and on a walk we went..."

So there was no change on the first day, except for the unhappiness in the morning. Since one of the possible side effects is headaches, I resolved to give Dovi Motrin in the morning. I was also careful to look out for his sleeping, since Ritalin can cause insomnia. To my surprise he fell asleep at his normal time and had a restful night's sleep. He was also pretty calm in the morning. He didnt want farina today so I had to sneak it in his juice, but the medication stayed stuck in the plastic cup and I had to put it on his tongue like koolaid. I also gave him Motrin.

Ritalin and Signing

I hate jumping tenses in my narrative, thus I'm loathe to share some of the momentous happenings of today. I'll therefore mention two huge accomplishments of today and elaborate on neither, just leave you to think about them.

1. Dovi was seen today by a fantastic, top-notch, extremely-difficult-to-get-into child psychiatrist who specializes in autism. It was quite the experience and I'm still blown away. Tomorrow I start Dovi on a trial period of Ritalin. I'm holding my breath.

2. Dovi consistently signed for 'drink' today. Consistently. He's being taught signs but has been mixing them up, or signing only when prompted. This was completely spontaneous and unprompted. For the first time in 2 1/2 years I actually felt like my child was communicating with me. Asking me for something. Out of his own volition. Connecting with me the way a child connects with his mother.

I don't even know which of the two excited me more.

Time to celebrate. With Abe's of Canada Sugarfree, lactose free Vanilla Caramel ice cream maybe.