Andrew Update

A little snippet of my conversation with Andrew the other day:

Andrew:  Have you ever seen a Black Market?
Me:  No, I haven't.
Andrew:  I have.
Me:  Where?
Andrew:  "Mike's Drugs."
Me:  Honey, that's a pharmacy.
Andrew:  Oh.

I just had to do a quick update on Andrew.

He is doing so well.  I'm a little amazed, actually.  Dan was the one to help with homework a couple of nights ago and remarked that the difference between last year and this year was "huge."  It is.

Andrew sat down and wrote a page and a half story in his writing journal from the perspective of being a spider.  He loved it.  He said he likes writing when he can choose what he writes about.  This, from the child that I had to do battle with to pick up a pencil and even try to write a single letter.  Dan and I were both amazed.  It's been wonderful to see completed papers coming home with high marks.  And writing that is legible.  (We still do a lot of erasing and re-writing of letters as he's still trying to break bad habits, but he can do it with so much more ease and without him completely melting down and wanting to stop trying altogether).  And the best part is that he's still on half the dose of medicine that he was on last year.  It's so much better...I feel like Andrew is still Andrew but with a little more control.  I forgot his medicine one morning and that was the only day I had an email from his teacher saying he had a rough day and was really struggling.  When I picked him up from Chess that day I took one look at him, and his behavior and immediately realized we had rushed out the door and I had forgotten his medicine.  Confirmation that we made the right choice there.

The other really neat thing that happened the other day was that I was telling Andrew how proud I am of him and how well he's doing in school.  And he said, "You should thank Miss Deborah."  (His OT from last year).  I asked him,  "Do you feel like your therapy helped you?"   And he said, "A lot."

A lot.

And those two little words made all of those hours struggling through therapy, the tears from him, the miles on the road, the expense...all of it, totally worth while.

And who knows how much was OT and how much was maturity.  I think the reality is that it is a little bit of both.  But I do know the jump we've seen has been exponential and his OT said the same thing when we wrapped his sessions.

Yesterday he sat coloring a page and mentioned how much easier it is for him to color now (and related it again to his therapy) and he actually praised himself and said, "Look how good this is." 

Music to my ears.

Andrew has had low self esteem and has spoken so negatively about himself in the past.  His struggles really affected his perception of himself.  To hear him give himself this small compliment made me so happy.

I had an email from his teacher (a follow up after a rough day) and she was sharing that Andrew did really well during their science project and that he was helping other children with it and was sort of the "expert"  (her words) for that lesson.  So neat.  Those are exactly the moments that help Andrew redefine himself.  


Andrew has a buddy from church that has moved to his school.  That too, has been so positive for Andrew.  Seeing Ben makes him look forward to school.  He said today, "I'm so glad Ben is in my class."  I really am too.  Sometimes they have too much fun together.  :)  But having this buddy has caused a shift in Andrew's attitude about school and has made it a happier place for him. 

Then, this past Saturday as we were going to his soccer game he told me, "Mama, I really want to make a goal."  This is Andrew's 4th season playing soccer and he has never made a goal.  I said, "Just keep trying buddy."  He went out and actually had an attempt, but the goalie got it. Oh, how I wished it would have gone in!  He came out and said with disappointment, "I even prayed and asked God to help me."  I told him to keep trying, and he went out in the field again...got the ball and my breath just caught as he maneuvered it in front of the goal and it WENT IN.  His little arms shot in the air (right along with mine) with victory and then leaned back and dropped them to his sides in relief as if to say, "Finally!  I did it."

It was fantastic.  I can still see it so clearly in my minds eye..I hope I never forget that victorious moment.

So we are just in a sweet spot right now.  I know we'll have struggles ahead that we'll have to work through.  And we will work through them.  But I'm just so grateful for this space.   No OT.  No BIT meetings.  No 504 plan (we haven't finished it because he's been doing so well he hasn't needed it, so we're just holding off for now).  No weekly emails from his teacher.  No Fox Stops.  Okay, maybe one.  :)  (The day I forgot his meds, actually).  My life last year felt very consumed by these efforts.  I felt like my free time was consumed with advocating, researching, driving to doctor and therapy appointments, or doing OT at home.  But not this year. I've had a peek into a world that some parents experience ~ and battle at a level far worse than what we have ~ on a daily basis with little to no hope for improvement.  And it has given me such deep appreciation for what we have.  Truly, what an incredible blessing.

My boy is flourishing.

Thanks be to God.