As you all know Charlie is a pretty big handful to put it mildly. We have had our struggles with his behavior for as long as I can remember. For the most part if we are home with only the four of us he is pretty "good". When we try to do anything in public or away from our house we have a terrible time. He is very strong willed and tends to be a little more on the aggressive side. In other words if he is frustrated in any way he hits me or pushes other kids down. It has been a real struggle for us as parents. We have been contemplating starting some ADHD medicine with him for a while now and we finally bit the bullet about a week and a half ago. My oh my, has it made a world of difference! I know how a lot of people feel about medicating kids, but let me tell you when you see what a difference it can make in kids that really need it you might change your mind. He is so much calmer and is using his words so much more. It is absolutely like he is a different kid. He can control himself and his body like we have never seen.
My best example of how it is so different is to look at one little 15 minute part of my day. The part where we go to get Tyson from the gym after school. The same thing happens every day. Charlie and I walk in and he heads directly for a ball he should not have. I take it away from him and he throws a fit. He slaps me, screams, slaps me again, stiff arms me, anything he can do to get away and get that ball. I stand there while he beats me up and everyone watches until Tyson gets out and then we are on our way. It really is beyond terrible and it happens EVERY day. Joel and I have had so many talks about what we can do to change how it goes and nothing we have done has made a bit of a difference...until this week. We walk into the gym, he stands beside me, waits patiently for Tyson (not even holding my hand), walks over to Tyson when his teacher brings him out, and we all walk out calmly!!!!!! I was even able to carry on an adult conversation while we waited!!! We got in the car, buckled everyone in, and I just sat there with tears in my eyes not believing that that had just happened. It really is the small things in our lives that mean the most right? So what used to be the hardest part of my day now is becoming almost enjoyable.
I could go on and on with examples but this has been seriously life changing to our entire family. I love the little man so much and I know this is the best thing for him.
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