|
|
I met
Mary Kay when she was five years old.
Before
I had met her my future husband had
told
me that she had ADHD. He explained that
she was
a "handful".
My first
encounter with Mary Kay, I noticed
that
all day she would sing and rock on the couch.
She spoke
in a very high and monotone voice.
A voice
that would pierce your ears.
I had
never heard of ADHD so I went to the library
and began
some research on the subject.
Some
criteria matched with what I was seeing.
I had
my doubts that this was the proper diagnosis.
I decided
to redecorate her room. I changed the color
scheme
and furniture.
Upon
seeing the change she began to cry. Then she
started
ripping down the curtains in a violent rampage.
I finally
got her to settle down. She accepted the change.
Which
really amazes me considering what I know now.
I would
observe Mary Kay when she would play with
her toys.
She would line them up on the coffee table and
just
stare at them. They would always be arranged in the
SAME
way. I tried to show her how to play with the toys
but she
did not respond. She would just pick them up
put them
back in their place, sit on the couch, rock and stare
at the
toys.
The time
came when the school was very concerned with
Mary
Kay's behavior. She would exhibit odd behavior at
school.
Often in her own world.
She would
masturbate in the classroom.
Talk
about being in love with men. At the time
Jeffrey
Dahmer was her fixation. The school wanted her to
go to
Ohio State University and get some extended testing.
Her biological
mother failed to keep the appointment.
I decided
then and there that I would have to step in and
do everything
I could to help Mary Kay.
My husband
and I got her a place at Harding Hospital.
Very
reputable institution. Mary Kay stayed a week at the
hospital.
The day of the diagnosis finally came. I couldn't
wait
to talk with the doctors and here what they had concluded.
Asperger's Syndrome was
the diagnosis. I began to read the criteria
hand out. I could identify
with every
characteristic on the page.
FINALLY,
we had the right diagnosis.
Mary Kay was released from the
hospital. She was put
on the medication Mellaril.
Mary Kay has psychotic features
related to her AS.
This is rare and is
what makes her case so different.
By no means am I implying that
psychotic features will
be present in every case of
AS.
I have been contacted
by others who have
had the same experiences.
Due
to enormous amounts of e-mail interested in
the psychotic features, I have
added a page
providing more information
on her psychotic
symptoms. Click
Here to see the new addition to
the site.
Mellaril is a anti psychotic
medicine. We were given
the instructions to implement
a Behavior Modification Program .
Which would be used at school
and at home.
This program turned out to
be very successful for us.
We had to make some medicine
changes to find the
medicine that was right for
Mary Kay. You can view
a of lists of medications we
have tried.
I would like to reflect on how
far Mary Kay has come
since meeting her. She
no longer needs the Behavior
Modification Program.
She can be redirected with a
simple verbal reminder.
Recently, she won a D.A.R.E.
essay contest. She had
the best essay out of her class.
She was invited to read her
essay to the school board
and was on T.V. The essay
will be submitted for state
competition.
Mary Kay has obsessions, I would
like to include these for
other parents to read:
*Severe Weather(lightning,tornadoes,ect...)
*Birthstones
*Pasta Foods(she does eat
others but you will
will HEAR about it)
*Movies
*Beanie Babies
*Wedding Gowns
Prisoners
Mary Kay still takes medicine
and still goes to therapy.
She has many problems with
social skills at school. Please
read a letter that she wrote
on 5-22-99. It is one of the most
heartbreaking letters I have
ever read. Click Here to
read the
letter. She has come
such a long way. This would have
never been possible without
the proper diagnosis, medicine
and therapy.
In closing, I would like to
say please don't give up on
these children. They
can LEARN the skills that are required
to be functional in society.
The most important thing is
to start implementing interventions
as soon as possible.
I had to include the picture
of the lightning. Maybe someday
Mary Kay will be a storm chaser.
This is for you Mary Kay,
I love you!!!!!!
Thank you for reading our story.
If you have questions or
would like to share stories
please feel free to
Contact
Me .