Geo - I sent an email requesting the numbers.
Spaghetti - she was in a *terrible* migraine cluster last year so we changed her daily med and doubled the usual dose. It got her migraines under control but also came with terrible cognitive side effects. (Testing this winter had all her numbers down a full standard deviation from previous testing.) Now that the migraines are under control and the cognitive impact has been documented we are backing off the meds. Neurologist said that once you break that cluster you can often get away with a much lower dose. Dose was cut by 50% and we will try to go even lower over the summer to see if we can maintain control without the cognitive impact. She wears a hat to protect from fluorescent lighting, avoids loud or chaotic environments which can be a trigger and has found that munching gummy bears or drinking Gatorade can help if she feels one coming on. She almost never asks for meds anymore.
I think the anxiety control came from getting her out of the bad school environment (remember we were at the public with the awful principal who created a bullying environment), the spec Ed school getting her to understand that her LD's make her "different" not "wrong", having her work with a *great* psych who is both a 2E adult and the parent of a 2E kid, focusing *a lot* on strengths outside of school (she's a musical theater kid and she is doing *a ton* of it), developing a no homework policy so she gives 100% every minute of every day at school as long as she knows she leaves it behind and can relax and enjoy being a kid when the school day is over.
Basically she has become more comfortable in her own skin and understands that if someone else doesn't get it that is their problem - not something wrong with her. She is less free spirited and extroverted than when she was younger, more contemplative and observing. I don't know how much is just growing up and how much comes from dealing with a boat load of challenges. We worked with her high level comprehension to get her to understand but frankly I don't think we would have been able to get there in her old school environment. It was just too toxic for her.
