A Little About Me and My Interest In Special Needs

When I was nine years old I experienced a sudden onset of Obsessive Compulsive symptoms. All the compulsions, the obsessive thoughts and the anxiety were there in what seemed to me a totally unexpected and bewildering rush.

For the next eleven years I found myself in a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. A variety of medications, dietary changes, and other treatments were tried but nothing seemed to really work. One medication in particular ( I don't remember the name of it anymore) was so bad it made my parents and I afraid to try any more medications.

In my early twenties I found myself having occasional breaks from the intensity of the disorder although it was still there and would make itself known in times of stress. I married and had two children.

Then in my late twenties I crashed hard again. My marriage was falling apart and I was a wreck. I couldn't sleep, couldn't function and needed constant help to keep everything from totally falling to pieces. My family and friends were a blessing and held things together for me during this time.

In desperation I went to the doctor and told him I had to do something and was willing to try medication again. This time he put me on Paxil. Once we found the dosage that was right for me there was a major difference. I was able to function again. I was able to think beyond the racing obsessive thoughts that were running through my head. I was able to do things without being interrupted by meaningless compulsions. It felt like a miracle.

I have been on Paxil now for about seven years and it is still working for me. I do occasionally have mild symptoms, usually when dealing with some type of unusual stress. But it's easily manageable and I am grateful.

Around the same time that I began taking Paxil I also took both of my children to see a counselor to help them deal with the stress in our home caused by the breakup of my marriage. The counselor quickly picked up that my son had some things going on that she felt needed to be evaluated. She referred him to a Child Development team for an assessment. This assessment showed that he has Nonverbal Learning Disorder. He also tested in the "High Likely" range for Asperger's Syndrome. This confirmed for me a lot of concerns I had been having but that others kept telling me were just overreaction.

A few years later I took training for and became a foster parent. In early 2007 a five month old baby boy was placed with me. At the time of placement he was in the hospital. He had been born at 27 weeks and was in very poor health. I was told he was probably blind and deaf. His reflexes were almost nonexistent. He did not respond to stimuli. He rarely cried unless subjected to a painful medical procedure. He frequently forgot to breathe and had to have an attached monitor at all times to alert us when that happened. He scared us many time and spent a lot more time in the hospital but eventually, around seven months old we began to see improvement. He began to show us there really was a little person in there. It's been a long struggle but he is now three years old and in many ways a typical little boy. We do know he lost some brain tissue due to lack of oxygen from some of the times that it was hard to get him to begin breathing again. There are still some tests that need to be done to rule out some other disorders. But we have come a lot further than we thought we could.

Along with my daughter I have chosen too homeschool both boys and we're enjoying it.

I also have a childcare business that I run from my home and have provided care for a lot of children with a variety of special needs. A partial list includes
-Autism
-ADHD
-Bipolar Disorder
-Reactive Attachment Disorder
-Oppositional Defiant Disorder
-Developmental Delays
-Fetal Alchohol Syndrome

I do not have a degree in special education or, honestly, any degree at all. But I have read widely, you could say obsessively, I have experienced much and I am always looking for ways to learn more. What I write in this blog is my own opinion and should not be taken for advice from a professional. But I am looking forward to sharing this journey with others who are on the some path.