Oh Dear

Well, this second day didn't go so great either.  She went to the wrong lunch period and thus ended up in the wrong classes again.  I marched down to the school after she got home to straighten everything out.  The technology office helped me tremendously and I think all should go better on Monday.  I am going to complain to the principal however about the incredibly unhelpful front desk admin lady.  She made Caroline feel like she was in trouble for not being in the right classes.  My mama bear instincts have come out and I want to give her the what for.  I will be calmer on Monday.  I wish I had the IEP in place before this week.  A lesson learned here.  I was hoping Caroline would have done better, but I am seeing that she is going to need more help.

All is Well That Ends Well

In spite of the crazy day Caroline had at her first day of school yesterday, she seemed to stay positive.  She actually ended up going to eight classes, just not the right classes or the right times.  So when we thought she had just skipped three of her classes, she was actually in a class.  But my ninth grader did the same thing with one of her classes, so she was in good company.   I emailed her teachers and explained what had happened and hopefully they will be understanding.  I do need to clue in the nurse at the school about her meds and also get that IEP going.

Major Mix-Up in the Experiment

Disaster struck today on the first day of school.  Caroline told me yesterday she was having some scrolling vision problems and I made a mental note of it.  Usually that means one of her meds is too high.  I was trying to think if I had double dosed her or something but everything seemed fine in her med box.  Well, off to school she went today and two hours later she was trying to call me to tell me she was having bad vision problems.  I had my phone off because honestly I had gone back to bed after I took everyone to school because I had a migraine the night before and was still tired.  Then I get a call from the school saying she was marked absent for three classes and they couldn't find her.  She had gone to the nurses office but then had left but then didn't show up for class. Oh boy.  Not good.  Then I realized why she was so off: I had forgotten to put her birth control pills for her acne in her med mix, which meant her Lamictal levels probably doubled and that was why she was so dizzy!!! I could have kicked myself for messing up her first day of school!!!! Ugh!!!!  I feel HORRIBLE.  I think I will show up to pick her up with a venti sized hazelnut latte to try to make amends.  I can't believe this happened.   I am worried she isn't going to want to go back.  And what her teachers might think.  I need to email them to explain the problem.  Truly I am so sorry for the mistake I made.  I am praying that she will recover from this.

Start of the Great Experiment

At least an experiment is what this feels like, having Caroline starting at a great big public high school today.  One thing I had kind of forgotten about, why I don't know, is how sensitive she is to noise and chaos.  Today would be nothing but noise and chaos in the halls as all 1500 students try to find their classrooms at once.  Talk about overstimulation.  And the fact that she was having a lot of problems with getting her locker open yesterday because she kept forgetting the right-left-right sequence should prove interesting.  Poor kid.  Combine the memory issues with the processing speed issues and you've got quite a challenge when it comes to things like this.  She gets lost really easily too, turned around and confused.  I was praying that today would go smoothly though I am preparing for bumpy.  I wish she could have done what her sister did as a freshman yesterday.  The freshmen got to go one day early and were led around the school by friendly, smiling juniors and seniors.  

Speaking of her sister, this is the first time in a very long time, maybe twelve years, that Caroline and Jane have been at the same school.  I am nervous about how this will go.  I really wanted them to have their own high school experiences, and tried to get Jane into another public charter high school here, but she was wait listed.   Caroline does things unintentionally that mortify Jane on a regular basis.  Jane needs to grow in her maturity and give her sister a whole lot of grace, but at 14, I am not sure this is going to happen real soon.  And Jane has already made a dozen friends after yesterday's orientation and has after school plans to go with them to a yogurt shop.  Caroline will likely struggle to make and keep friends.  So this whole experiment may go as we hope and pray, or may turn out to be a bust.  But we are giving it our best shot.  Plan B is always in the wings.  There are many charter schools here and if Caroline needs a much smaller environment, we will look at these other options.  Private school is Plan C but the money would be an issue.

I hope that start of your child's school year will go really well, with very few bumps along the way.  But if it doesn't, you are in good company.  Hang in there, and keep advocating for your child!!  :)

Countdown

Counting down the days until Caroline starts at the public high school here next week.  She is so excited.  Today I called the district to initiate the IEP process.  With the concussions, the bipolar disorder, the ADHD, the Non Verbal Learning Disorder, and the extremely low processing speed, she should qualify for some accommodations and modifications.  So we shall see how next week goes.  She got into Geometry which was huge, but we are choosing to have her repeat Spanish I.  Last year was such a wash.  Better to start fresh.  She met the lacrosse coach at the school who watched her do some drills with the other girls and the coach was pretty impressed with her skills.  No sports this fall though.  Caroline said she just wants to focus on academics anyway.

She had her first meetings with both her new psychologist and her new psychiatrist.  Well, I should say the NP at the psychiatrist's office.  The psychologist meeting went much better than that with the NP.  So we are switching her over to another psychiatrist in the practice who is likely more suitable.  But to find these new providers is huge.

Mathnasium is continuing to make a huge difference in her Algebra skills.  Worth every penny.

I am looking into a part-time job but have no idea where to start.  So many news things all at once.

I will check back next week after the first few days of school.

Adjusting

We are all adjusting to life in this amazingly beautiful state of Colorado.  We have been here almost a month now.  The fires are gone and the mountains are so clear every day right from our backyard.

Caroline loves it here.  She is excited about the start of school in a few short weeks.  Already she has met some lacrosse buddies to throw the ball around at the high school just a few minutes away.  Not scrimmage, just non-contact drills.  My other two that are here are slowly getting used to living here as well.  We have thrown ourselves into church, youth group, ballet, art camp, math tutoring etc. to try to fill up their days so that aren't missing their old life as much.

We still need to find a new psychiatrist and psychologist.  So hard to know who is good and who isn't! Wish we could have taken our old docs with us!!

I will write more when school starts.  Thanks for reading and commenting!

New Everything

Well, we have moved across the country to a new environment, new house, new school district and new everything.  We have only been here for two weeks and are slowly adjusting to a beautiful but unfamiliar place.  Yesterday I registered Caroline for the public high school around the corner from us.  I really want to believe she will do well there, but that nagging doubt persists.  We are going to try it, but as always, we are prepared to go to Plan B.  Actually I have no idea what Plan B would be.  I guess we will cross that bridge if we come to it.  She is so excited at the prospect of new friends and a top-notch lacrosse team.  We are much more cautious.  She started back with Mathnasium here but she isn't clicking with the nerdy older guys who are running the place.  They do look like mad scientists and their social skills seem to be lacking.  We might try the other Mathnasium across town if she continues to struggle to understand them.

We visited a church on Sunday that has a very active and large youth group.  She wanted to go to the YG meeting that very night, which she did as it was practically around the corner from our house.  After the meeting, she was gushing with excitement and proclaimed that this was the only youth group she would be going to.  OK.  We are not so sure this is the church we want to stay with, but she can always go to this youth group even if we end up at a different church.

Finding a new psychiatrist and psychologist is next on the list. As I am sure you understand, finding the right providers is an important key to success for kids with bipolar disorder.  I am dreading that first visit with a psychiatrist when he or she looks at her med list. Some docs get it and some really don't.  Blah!

I am also going to initiate the IEP process soon, which we haven't had to do since the 5th grade.  High school is a whole different ball game.  So much to do!

Hope your summer is going well!