When we first started Monkey on the R*italin we saw a really big improvement in his eye contact. The teachers noticed the increased eye contact as well and also noticed that his speech was more on topic. We were all very excited.
We did notice that he was having a bit of a down period right before his 2nd dose and so, at our one month follow-up visit, we switched to the extended release formula. We also increased the dosage. We made the switch over April vacation and since then we, and the teachers, have noticed that the benefits we were seeing before have faded. He’s making less eye contact and he’s more distractible. On top of that, he’s been very emotional.
Very emotional. To the point that we have been staying home as much as humanly possible to avoid the whining and out-right meltdowns on outings. He starts whining about going home the second we get in the truck and when we return he’s a mess. When I get home in the evenings he loses his *mind* within 30 seconds of me walking through the door because I haven’t changed into my pajamas (yoga pants, fortunately.) Even *if* I’m in the process of walking from the front door to the bedroom to change.
I mentioned yesterday that he was a mess on Saturday while we were party shopping. It wasn’t just the idea of a party that was upsetting him, it was the very fact that we were not home. It has been rather unpleasant and getting worse, it seems.
On Sunday, we skipped the medication. We saw about the same eye contact as on Saturday, which was less than what we used to see. We also saw a much happier little man. We went to the nursery to get plants for the window boxes and the hanging planter, he did amazingly well. He wasn’t whining. In fact, I heard more than a few giggles. When we got home Duhdee’s parents were there visiting with Great Grampy and Monkey did really, really well with them. He played ball with them in the yard for quite a long time and he even gave hugs when they left.
We decided we were going to skip his medication today to see what the teacher’s report. We didn’t tell them. Duhdee will mention it after school to see if they noticed any differences. I’m pretty sure they are going to tell us he had a good day. He was having a much better morning than he has been. He seemed less anxious. If that holds true for the rest of the day we’re going to have to talk to the doctor about switching again. *Sigh.*