This morning Ricki’s aid called in to say that her child was sick and she would not be coming to school. That means no school for Ricki. Never mind that she had a final in geography today, a vaccination (which I hope she can still get tomorrow), and other various things. Never mind that I had other plans for the morning than being a baby-sitter for Ricki. I DID tell her to look for alternate care of her child for tomorrow, in case the child would still be under the weather.
So later today I will have to call the geography teacher to ask if I can give her the exam (and if not, what?), and phone a classmate to see if there are any announcements. It could be that today is the last (unofficially) day of formal studies. Tomorrow they will probably start rehearsals for the play/graduation ceremony that should be about three weeks from now.
Earlier, Ricki was being a real pest, but now she seems to have calmed down and is listening to music. Maybe her belligerence was due to the change in schedule, but I suspect her change in mood has more to do with her CONCERTA (ADHD med) kicking in. Until it begins to work she can be a rather ornery creature. That is no excuse, of course (and I reprove her), but it is also a rather consistent state of affairs in the early morning
Showing posts with label ADHD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ADHD. Show all posts
Monday, June 8, 2009
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
An open letter to Mr. “End Down Syndrome”
I have a feeling that you have no realistic view of how independent and “thinking” a regular person with Down syndrome is. Again, my daughter was classified several years ago as having a low range of “mild” retardation, the norm for many children with Down syndrome. But she has had a good education. She is all of 14 years old.
So let me describe just a few minutes of this morning with her.
Ricki got up, bathed, and dressed (with clothes she had set out the evening before), entirely on her own. I pointed out that her vest was a bit crooked, and she changed it. [I made a mental notation that I should spend five minutes teaching her to check her appearance in the mirror after dressing, so that she can catch these mistakes herself.] She went to the kitchen, and seeing that her father had made some rice, took some, added milk, and heated it up in the microwave.
As I entered the area, she said “Mom, you should have some rice! It has calcium!”
-“No thanks, I’ll have my calcium with my coffee with milk.” She looked a bit puzzled. “Ricki, the calcium is in the milk, not the rice.”
“Oh, I see.”
A few minutes later she came to see what I was doing at the computer. She pretended to stick her finger in my coffee, and I remembered that I had not as yet given Ricki her daily dose of Concerta, which helps control Ricki’s ADHD. I smiled to myself, thinking how most of Ricki's problems are related to her ADHD, and not her low I.Q. [I wondered if you, Mr. EDS, would also advocate killing babies with ADHD if it could be detected. If so, maybe life would have been “easier” for their parents, but we would have missed out on a lot of the “doers” of the world.]
Next Ricki saw her new pink dress in the laundry basket. “Oh Mom, is it ready?!!?”
-“Ricki, you are not changing clothes. Today is cooler, save this dress for a warmer day.”
“OK, OK, MOM!! (teenage exasperation…)
I sent her to clean up a bit in the kitchen. Afterwards, she took out a book to read, albeit to an “imaginary friend” (much like a younger child). [Later, on going outside, or when her real friends show up, the imaginary friends disappear.]
Now please tell me.. Where is the “monstrosity” here? The “suffering”?
And to prevent a birth like hers, you would run the VERY risky path of telling parents who they can have a “choice” with, and who you have decided is not worth living?
Who gives you the right to say that my daughter’s life is not worth living?
So let me describe just a few minutes of this morning with her.
Ricki got up, bathed, and dressed (with clothes she had set out the evening before), entirely on her own. I pointed out that her vest was a bit crooked, and she changed it. [I made a mental notation that I should spend five minutes teaching her to check her appearance in the mirror after dressing, so that she can catch these mistakes herself.] She went to the kitchen, and seeing that her father had made some rice, took some, added milk, and heated it up in the microwave.
As I entered the area, she said “Mom, you should have some rice! It has calcium!”
-“No thanks, I’ll have my calcium with my coffee with milk.” She looked a bit puzzled. “Ricki, the calcium is in the milk, not the rice.”
“Oh, I see.”
A few minutes later she came to see what I was doing at the computer. She pretended to stick her finger in my coffee, and I remembered that I had not as yet given Ricki her daily dose of Concerta, which helps control Ricki’s ADHD. I smiled to myself, thinking how most of Ricki's problems are related to her ADHD, and not her low I.Q. [I wondered if you, Mr. EDS, would also advocate killing babies with ADHD if it could be detected. If so, maybe life would have been “easier” for their parents, but we would have missed out on a lot of the “doers” of the world.]
Next Ricki saw her new pink dress in the laundry basket. “Oh Mom, is it ready?!!?”
-“Ricki, you are not changing clothes. Today is cooler, save this dress for a warmer day.”
“OK, OK, MOM!! (teenage exasperation…)
I sent her to clean up a bit in the kitchen. Afterwards, she took out a book to read, albeit to an “imaginary friend” (much like a younger child). [Later, on going outside, or when her real friends show up, the imaginary friends disappear.]
Now please tell me.. Where is the “monstrosity” here? The “suffering”?
And to prevent a birth like hers, you would run the VERY risky path of telling parents who they can have a “choice” with, and who you have decided is not worth living?
Who gives you the right to say that my daughter’s life is not worth living?
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