One of those days!!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2001
One of those days!!!
10
Mon, 02-27-2006 - 7:58am
Well the mroning started off decpetively good till I tried to get Bobby to eat.

 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 02-27-2006 - 8:30am

my son is on risperdal and has a liquid form. were you aware there is such a version? i found out because i had to research it. i mix it with a tablespoon of orange juice and he wolfs it right down and never knows!

valerie

~Valerie
Avatar for betz67
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 02-27-2006 - 9:30am

((((HUGS)))) Tina!

I have so been there! and those teachers will just have to deal, or come to your house and feed him the thing! and pay for the ones they screw up! GEEEZ!

Sending lots of soothing music, cyber chocolates and whatever else you need this week!

Betsy

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 02-27-2006 - 10:23am

First,

Don't stress about what the teacher says or thinks. You are doing the best job you can with Bobby and her comments are seriously unprofessional. I certainly hope she never ends up in your shoes as a mom, but on the other hand I wish teachers like that could walk a mile in our shoes sometimes. They think they know all about special needs and what we should be doing but they have no idea what it is like when your own child has been diagnosed. All the little things like getting meds into them.

As for the meds, I have 2 ideas (and I love Val's idea of the liquid). 1) set it up in a routine in the morning. Give him a visual checklist if it helps. Dressing, teeth, breakfast, medicine, etc. what ever would work, but make a routine so he knows what to expect when. 2) Then I would set it up that he gets a specific reinforcer for eating whatever the meds are in. This you may really want to use a visual "First, Then" for. Put the meds in whatever he has the most success eating. Just make it a small amount that it is mixed in so he only has to take a little thing and finish it. So just a little milk, or a spoonful of peanut butter, or a spoon ful of yogurt or ice cream, whatever you think would work best. Then say he loves tv. You get 2 pictures (Email me if you need help with that renee@asdrendrewolf.org) One picture of the item he is taking his medicine in and one of the reinforcer and make a first then board. Often it is a board with the words "first" and "then" with velcro under them. You stick the pictures and point to them while you say "First...., then ...." and soon he gets the idea that when he takes the medicine he can have what he wants.

HTH

Renee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Mon, 02-27-2006 - 11:23am

(((HUGS)))!!! I am so sorry... what a horrible morning! And it certainly doesn't help that DH is gone for the week -- I know what it's like to see that week looming ahead with no help.

When Sylvia was a baby we had to give her a steroid medication to shrink the hemangioma on her nose. She was on it for 6 weeks, at varying strengths, and the only way she'd take it is if we mixed it with her bottle. I stressed over that EVERY SINGLE DAY, because she'd never finish the stupid bottle, and it was really important that she drink all the medicine. So believe me, I've been there!!! You've gotten some great advice, so I hope you find something that works for you and for Bobby.

Jennifer

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-24-2004
Mon, 02-27-2006 - 1:07pm

Tina,

I agree with Renee, about making it routine. Nathan does well taking his vitamins and his melatonin everyday. It's routine for him. I mix the melatonin with a little juice. He calls it his "juice medicine". He knows that this will help him to sleep....so that's also why he takes it. Would Bobby be able to understand that this medicine would make him feel better? I'm not sure how well he is able to understand...I know it won't help if he doesn't comprehend it. But making it routine has been really helpful for us. Nathan will even remind me....if I don't have it ready for him

michelle

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Mon, 02-27-2006 - 2:28pm

I haven't read the other responses yet, but yes, I do know how expensive that stuff is. Risperdal wasn't a good match for David, but he does take Abilify (also an atypical AP), and I noticed that it costs over $700 a bottle. Luckily, we have insurance...for now.

My son can't swallow pills either, although we haven't tried in earnest to teach him yet. What we do is this: I crush the pills up with a pill crusher, mix it with 1/2 teaspoon Cherry Kool-Aid powder, and about an ounce of water. It helps to wait a few minutes for the pill's outer shell to dissolve. He doesn't love it, but it's tolerable. And he gets his daily requirement of sugar and red dye #40 as a bonus! ;)

Important: If you decide to give this a try, always check with your pharmacist to be sure that the pills can be crushed. Also, the crushed up medicine doesn't really dissolve, so you have to stir the instant before he takes it, or there will be a bunch at the bottom of the cup.

Good luck!

Evelyn

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-19-2005
Mon, 02-27-2006 - 6:28pm

Hi Tina,

Hugs, hugs, hugs! I hate mornings like that. My son does that go limp thing too sometimes or alternately decides to run away and laughs as if to mock me! It is so upsetting. Then, he too cries if I show the least emotion (of any kind. If I get slightly angry at all, just saying "I'm disappointed" all is lost!). I truly know how you feel. I also get the eating troubles and the frustration over cost. We have similar problems.

Just wanted to say in our experience routine is key. Also, Renee's "first then" idea has worked wonders for us in a lot of different settings. Eric likes real photos, so I often take digital photos of him doing whatever is required. I usually put a photo of him at the top of any flow chart. For example, if I were in your situation, on a good day, take a photo of Bobby and put it the top of the chart. Old school photos are good for this too. Then take a photo of the meds, or the meds in the food that is in the yummy disguise, for the "first." For the "then" put a photo of the reward alone. Then I add a step. On a day Bobby gets his food reward for doing it (for Eric this is marshmallows) take a photo of him eating the marshmallows and put it at the bottom.

My son loved this and it really helped motivate him bc he could remember when the photo was taken, that he liked the marshmallows etc.

Also, like Valerie said, anything liquid works better for us. For yucky tasting chewables, I do have a porcelain mortar and pestle (from Williams Sonoma or someplace like that) that I crush the tablets in then hide them in whatever works. Whole pills that don't crush are really hard and I think the "first then" would be important.

I agree. Forget about the teacher's comments. We understand! Hugs again!

Katherine

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2001
Mon, 02-27-2006 - 6:58pm
Thank you all for your advice!

 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-26-2005
Tue, 02-28-2006 - 12:28pm
Tina,
(((HUGS)))
Sorry I'm only getting to write this now but we were house hunting yesterday and you know how much fun that can be!!!! I always feel overwhelmed when DH goes away which happens a couple of times a year. We all have those days when nothing you do goes right. Keep your chin up, tommorrow is another day!
Teresa
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sun, 03-05-2006 - 6:31am

regarding the liquid...it's extremely concentrated and very mild and non colored. so, you would likely be giving literally a few drops of the stuff, not teaspoons. it might really be worth looking into.

valerie

~Valerie