One Year Ago

Isn't it crazy how much things can change in just one year's time?  

This time last year we were preparing to take Logan to a different neurologist to discuss my concerns.  I brought my concerns up to the pediatrician time after time after time.  I was "just being paranoid."  Logan was "just being a boy, it is a phase, it'll go away.  He'll grow out of it."  I knew in my heart that something wasn't right so we switched pediatricians.  I brought my concerns up to the new pediatrician and she agreed with me.  What a relief!  We had a referral to a neurologist.  I would finally get some answers.  

Or so I thought.  

We had the visit from hell with the doctor from hell.  

I was absolutely crushed.  All I wanted was some answers for my son because I knew something was wrong.  After a few phone calls, I was given a referral to a different neurologist.  

This new doctor listened to my concerns.  He really seemed to care.  I asked questions, he asked questions.  We interacted with each other.  He took the time to really listen.  My gut was right.  I wasn't all that surprised.  When it comes to being a mother, I have dead-on gut instincts.  I haven't been wrong yet.  

But even so, the words "Your son has ADHD" just about knocked the wind out of me.  That may seem overdramatic to some.  According to some people, ADHD isn't even a real disease.  But it is.  It is very real.  And Logan will have to struggle with it for the rest of his life.  

We got the diagnosis almost a year ago.  We got him the help he needed.  Does he still have bad days?  Of course.  But they are few and far between now.  Has he come a long way?  Absolutely.  

Logan was in preschool before we got his diagnosis.  His teacher was fresh out of college and inexperienced to say the least.  Instead of helping me get answers for Logan, she belittled him every single day because she couldn't handle him.  She labeled him as a problem child and treated him with disregard.  She didn't want to bother with him.  If he had a bad day, she'd put him in a room in the hallway with only a very small window toward the top of the door.  Nobody could see what was going on inside.  All I know is what Logan would come home and tell me.  The teachers assistant would call him a mean little boy.  A bad boy.  A loser.  Logan's bad days were becoming more frequent.  His self esteem was crushed and he was acting out.  I ended up having to pull him out of school to get him away from that environment.  I taught him at home to get him prepared for Kindergarten.  I had to rebuild his self esteem.   

Now?  We are most of the way through Logan's kindergarten year.  At the beginning of the year when we met Logan's teacher, I told her about the ADHD.  She understood.  She listened.  She doesn't get mad at him.  She doesn't call him names.  She treats him with love and kindness just like all of her other students.  I can't thank her enough.  For making Logan's school experience a good one.  For helping him.  He loves school now instead of dreading it.  He is very intelligent and he knows it.  

Logan has grown and accomplished so much in the past year.  I can't wait to see where he ends up.  He can do whatever he sets his mind to.