Saturday, already?

Like every other Saturday, Puppy wakes up before me and asks, "Mom, is it time to wake up?" To which I always quickly reply, "No, it's early so go back to sleep."  But then he answers back with, "But I'm not sleepy!" And that is how our Saturdays begin.

Today has been extra special.  We had the chance to spend the day alone with only us two in the house.  Usually we have Ms. H here, she provides PCS assistance during the week and on Saturdays to guide Puppy through the chores and helps me keep my sanity by having another adult whom understands our lives. But she had been helping prepare all week for a fundraiser today and I thought that was something she had to lend her support with and we'd catch up on Monday.

We've been doing most of the same things that Puppy and I do, but because its just us two, I promise Puppy has been extra verbal and a complete chatterbox and repeating phrases all day. And I mean ALL day! I think I've finally lost my mind and can't take too much of this any longer today. Even as I'm writing this blog he is standing at the bottom of the stairs asking if we're going to grandma's for the umpteenth time in the last 30 minutes. I've heard the front door and the back door open and close so many times today that I'm probably going to have to change the worn out locks (Puppy has the habit, although a good habit, of locking the door behind him every single time he enters the house). The back door is already so bad it is difficult to turn, and I got locked out because of his "good" habit when he came indoors ahead of me.

So anyway, I'm going to step away from the computer with just enough energy to make it to the pain reliever medicine and take something for my headache.  I just hope it gives me strength to make it through the rest of the day.  Remember, I take it one day at a time, so I'm not even thinking about how wonderful tomorrow is going to be, just the two of us, again.

Monitoring the Obsession

We are still here and still trying to manage the wallet obsession as best as we can.

Puppy is substituting the missing wallet with anything else he can get his hands on.  Like paper-made wallets, or  envelopes, checkbook covers, a folded handkerchief, a pocket zippered deck of card holder, etc. However, he has not been allowed to keep any of them, and his credit cards and pictures were removed by his teacher the last time he took them to school in a paper envelope.

He is being given a point daily at school if he has good behaviors.  However, not too long ago he was busted searching my drawers and had to do the consequences that followed, sitting in the baby chair for a little over a week.  He's just now having his sixth day out of the baby chair and is back with his group in the classroom.  The threat of going back with the babies has actually worked for the better.  Anytime there is unwanted behavior just the reminder gets Puppy apologizing immediately and the unwanted behavior is not repeated (for the day, anyway).  It's a start but it is working.

I'll have a lot of catching up to do since I've been away from blogging, but I haven't been at my best health-wise, and I'm not a happy camper these days because of it.  Hopefully, I can sneak away a little more to get back to blogging, I miss it.  It's not exactly venting, but sharing our experiences helps me view things from a different perspective sometimes.  I see myself differently and remind myself to "pick my battles."

Making progress

A few days have gone by and some progress has been made. Puppy’s behavior tends to go up and down, much like that of a roller coaster ride. Not sure if this is right, but I would say that on those days which he is having a less than normal day, it’s like taking the ride upward on that steep hill. It’s not an easy climb and it almost feels like a crawl because the time goes by rather slowly. Then we finally reach the top! And this is comparable to those moments when he stops to listen to his teacher, or me or anyone else that manages to get his attention. But then comes the drop and, swoosh… his hands are in the air and he’s grinning from ear to ear and happy as if nothing had ever happened.

Yes, I really like that ride when it’s time to come down from the top of the hill. We can never have too much harmony in our home. But we haven’t been having too many blissful moments lately. I always try to find that factor in our daily routines that has changed and caused his world to be disrupted with unwanted behaviors. But guess what? It can be something as simple as starting the new school year, having a new bus driver, dealing with homework, and maybe even the sunsets coming at an earlier hour. So many possibilities and guesses go into figuring out the problem, and we don’t always figure it out, in fact we rarely find an answer.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t too bad of a day today. The constant communication between Puppy’s teacher and me led him to bear the consequences of lying to me, by sitting beside the teacher’s desk and not being allowed to join his classmates in group all day. The worst thing a person can do to Puppy is to ignore him, continue with whatever you are doing and leaving him out of the fun, activity or conversation.

Puppy had learned that whining, screaming, etc. will get him attention simply because one will go to him and try to calm him. But nope, we aren’t doing that anymore. It is difficult for me not to answer his call, but I’m learning. And the results are improvement all around. He is making the screams shorter, and the unwanted behaviors are becoming fewer. He is catching himself and actually even correcting his own behavior before I can put my finger up to remind him to stop or signal that’s enough. We are taking some steps forward and maybe dancing the Texas Two-Step as we take two steps forward and one step back now and then, but mostly advancing and reinforcing good behaviors. We’re slowly getting to a good place and a happier place, too.

Puppy's Obsession Strikes Again

I looked up obsessive-compulsive disorder yesterday and found the following plus much more.

OCD: A psychiatric disorder in which anxiety is associated with preoccupation with unwanted ideas (obsession), and with persistent impulses to repeat certain acts over and over (compulsion).

Anxious thoughts or rituals a person feels they can’t control characterize obsessive-compulsive disorder. If a person has OCD, they may be plagued by persistent images or by the urgent need to engage in certain rituals. ...

An anxiety disorder in which a person has an unreasonable thought, fear, or worries that he or she tries to manage through a ritualized activity to reduce the anxiety. ...

All of these definitions describe Puppy. He has been having stronger than usual issues/anxieties this last week. Although it is always present, this strong presence in our home drains him and me on a daily basis. Puppy's obsession with wallets has been the most difficult thing for me to understand and yet he is the person having to endure this overwhelming disorder. I feel it is the most difficult obstacle in Puppy's life.

It appears to be that he is able to focus and function at a higher level than before he had the medicine switch in June. I am also noticing that Puppy's arguments are clearer when he tries to make his point and his responses are quicker.

But this comes with a negative side, too. He has never been diagnosed as having an OCD, I have labeled it; the definitions fit to a “T”. During his moments of deep thought on his wallet, this disorder takes over and reverses the statement I made above about him being able to focus and function… His thoughts consume him completely and it becomes very difficult to re-direct him away from the wallet.

However, Puppy and I have been blessed with an exceptional teacher who is excellent at her job. I had not met another person like her. She is confident, wonderful, in charge and responsible. Whenever she speaks, we (Puppy and I) listen. She has never steered me wrong. And I bring this up today, because without her, this weekend may have taken a turn for the worst. I have seen what Puppy’s obsession can do when it takes over and I did not want to see a repeat of the horrible week we had. She made herself available and was able to calm him down with just a simple phone call and the sound of her voice.

I don’t believe we will be able to take away Puppy’s obsession, but I have hope that we can keep him safe from himself at best. Re-directing and finding other interests for him will be not be easy but will be priority on my list.

Off to a wonderful start

Puppy survived his first day of seventh grade. He had no solid information to repeat about his day. Basically, he just mentioned it was alright and that there are only six (6) students in his classroom, including him. So overall this was good news. He didn’t bring home any notes to report any unwanted behaviors, so I would call this a great day!

As I mentioned yesterday, since I drove him to school myself, I was able to talk briefly with his teacher. I caught her up to date on a few behavior issues we had over the summer months and his continued obsession with wallets. She is hoping to give the students more individualized attention due to the small number. And me, I’m just glad Puppy can get back to some real rules. This teacher rocks! I suppose we’ve become the good cop (me) and bad cop (her) without noticing. Some days I just can’t seem to keep myself on track when it comes to setting down rules and sticking to my guns. It’s hard for me to follow through. I’ve done it a few times, but as he gets older I see the teenager in him has started to show itself and he’s actually becoming more rebellious and starting to provide me with argumentative statements to confirm his actions. Anyway, let’s see how the rest of the week goes and hopefully I will see a change for the better in that he begins to follow a permanent routine at school and at home.

Oh, and we can also begin our routines with a new bus driver and monitor. Day two and we are starting a schedule as to what time Puppy will be picked up for school, and it fits in with the time frame I can work with. Waking up Puppy with just enough time to have him ready and waiting will fall within the time frame we used throughout the summer. And on a personal note, they both speak English! I know most of you don’t understand this, but because we live in a border town, this doesn’t happen often. As a matter of fact I can take a look back throughout all nine (9) years that Puppy has been taking a school bus, and this is the first time the driver and monitor both speak English. It is so refreshing. (Sighs)