Thanks Melissa. I'm feeling more encouraged now as the day has progressed. I definitely notice differences in my ds, both good and bad. We'll see where we are in a few days. It's always a tough decision to start medication, and the mixed results people experience make that decision even more difficult. He seems to be coming off the Vyvanse now (wearing off), and he's not irritable at all. He's just a little manic and unfocused (and still not hungry for dinner at 7:30 pm).
I am going to keep the behavior therapy in mind. We haven't done that. We just use very consistent behavior modification techniques at home. Some we've come up with on our own. I'm a speech pathologist, and my husband has a psychology background, although he doesn't work in the field anymore. I feel like we have pretty good insight, but we're certainly no experts. Our developmental behavioral pediatrician has given us some great interventions for home and for school as well. She's very familiar with Montessori, so that's been good. So many of the interventions are meant for a traditional classroom, and they do not apply for our personal situation. We are very lucky to have a school and teacher who is willing to try anything, even traditional classroom strategies if necessary. Hopefully this classroom will continue to be good for ds. He will be there for two more years after this one if all goes well.
I am going to look into the behavior therapy though. DS really needs some coping strategies for dealing with his frustration, anger, and disappointment. We currently have about 4 meltdowns a week at home, and sometimes they are pretty severe. At school, he doesn't have major tantrums, but he cries very easily. They describe him as highly emotional. Luckily the meltdowns and crying fits don't last long, but still, crying over every little thing in the classroom isn't productive and isn't winning him any friends.
Thanks again for the support. I really appreciate it.
