Mathnasium Testing and Verdict

Caroline had a math assessment done at Mathnasium yesterday, and let's just say that she shouldn't be taking Algebra I right now.  Sigh.  Her math learning disability evidenced itself in every problem.  She can't remember any of her pre-Algebra skills!!! And she has had two years of pre-Algebra!!!  She could do the basic algebra equations because that is what she is working on right now.  But she can't remember how to turn decimals into percentages and her word problem skills were dismal!  So this means that we have to go back to a seventh grade math level again in tutoring.  Knowing how poor her long term memory was when Learning RX tested her in October, we aren't surprised, just saddened.  Algebra may not be something she will finish this year before school starts in the fall.  In which case she may be doing some summer school in high school so she can get the four years of math that she needs to go to college.  And it is quite obvious now that she can never take a break from math in the summer.  She will need the constant reinforcement to not lose any ground she has made.  The hard part is that her 14 year old 8th grade younger sister is flying through Algebra this year, and Caroline is in the 9th grade and is turning 16 next week and can't get beyond pre-Algebra.  :(

When Illness Messes Up Medication Regimens

When your bp child gets sick, and can't hold down their medications, what do you do?  Last night Caroline got a stomach virus and couldn't keep down any of her night time meds, many of which are the mood stabilizers and the sleep inducing drugs (insomnia has been a life long issue.)  So she was up the WHOLE night because she couldn't fall asleep, and in the morning she was high as a kite, manic as I have seen her in ages, laughing uncontrollably, really sassy, feeling way too "good."  That's the problem with mania--it feels really good:  a ton of energy, silliness, an "expanded" mood as they say.  But it is dangerous.  I gave her the morning meds with a little extra added in to counterbalance the lack of meds last night.  Then she acted like she was going to throw them up, but I had put Zofran in the mix.  She turned out to be OK.  Now she is asleep and will likely sleep for hours.  If her stomach virus had continued to be an issue in the morning and throughout the day, resulting in 24 hours without meds, I would have had to take her to the ER for phenergan so we could get it under control enough to restabilize her.  So complicated!  But I know it isn't much different when a diabetic child gets sick and can't eat.  Then they have blood sugar issues with which to deal.  That is no fun at all and can damage their organs if it gets out of control.  I am not enjoying my Saturday thus far.  Going for a workout.  Endorphins are needed.

Nurture or Nature, Genetics or Environmental Impact?

I often wonder about the origin of early-onset bipolar disorder, Aspergers, autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, and so on.  In my extended family of four sisters, we have two nephews from two different sisters with Aspergers, another  with Autism and a host of significant physical problems, my own child with early onset bipolar disorder and ADHD and learning disabilities,  and a sensory processing disorder.   My dad was exposed to nuclear radiation in the 1950s as a young Marine when he was assigned to watch nuclear explosions with many other service men in the desert in Nevada before any of his children were conceived.  He died of CML leukemia at the age of 56.  My younger sister and I were likely exposed to toxic chemicals in the water at Camp Lejeune when in high school, a problem stemming from practices that had been going on for decades before contaminated wells were shut down in the mid to late 1980s.  So I wonder:  were our genes somehow negatively affected by these exposures, or is this all a coincidence having this many brain "issues" within one family?  We shall never know, I guess. And does it make all that much of a difference except that it might cause one to choose organic over pesticide-laden foods, or all-natural cleaners over chemicals, or purified water in stainless steel bottles over BPA contaminated drinking water in plastic?  But the thought is interesting to consider.  With the huge rise in autism in our country, I think there are environmentally related reasons combined with genetic predispositions that might be the cause of the explosion in diagnoses.  Or maybe it is just caused by environmental factors like chemical or radiological exposure.  Just a guess.  What do you think?

Military Community Youth Ministries, Here We Come!

My husband's new job is with Military Community Youth Ministries, an ecumenical ministry to military brats in the US and around the world.  He will be at the home office in Colorado Springs in a leadership role, overseeing others who are serving Christ and kids in the military community in this way.  If you are interested to know more about MCYM and how your child might get involved with this non-profit that provides mentorship and leadership training, please go to:  www.mcym.org.  We hope to move to Colorado by early June to start this new adventure.  If you have some good recommendations on counselors and psychiatrists in Colorado Springs for Caroline, please let me know!  Also, MCYM is tightly related to Young Life, for which we used to work for 12 years.

Arrgghhh!!

Just venting:  I can't wait unti my youngest child is completely autonomous with her homework.   That's all.

Mathnasium: Fun Math Tutoring for Kids Who Hate Math

I have found a wonderful math tutoring business called Mathnasium.  We have one in our area, of which I was unaware until yesterday, but their sites are found around the country.  Unlike Sylvan, they specialize in math tutoring only and use the same curriculum that your child is using (they will order a book for the tutor at Mathnasium to keep on hand) and use methods that turn your child from a math hater into a math lover.  We may enlist them if we can afford it, because Caroline is just not getting Algebraic concepts.  Learning RX is helping, but we can't let her fall behind in Algebra I if she hopes to move on to Geometry in the fall.  www.mathnasium.com.

Migraines

Caroline has had two migraines in this last week bad enough to land her in the ER.  Poor kid.  If it isn't one thing, it is another.  We don't think it is medication related, but rather that she has inherited my tendency to get migraines when a low pressure system moves in (cold and rainy) combined with another factor:  forgetting to eat, watching too much TV/Computer time, major stress, not enough sleep, etc.

So they shoot her up with Toredol, Benadryl and Fenergan with IV fluids.  Works everytime.