Thursday, February 12, 2009

Choppy waters

We've had relatively smooth sailing with Abby for some time, but ran into rough seas last week. On Thursday, she was making inappropriate noises in school, and had to be reminded to be a good listener during a group lesson.

This may not sound like a big deal -- almost every kid has to be reminded to pay attention now and again -- but it set Abby off into sobbing and saying that she was a bad listener. She was so upset she had to be excused from class to go see M., her wonderful in-school ABA support person.

M. was able to help her calm down and put things into perspective, using social stories and other ways she helps Abby get control of her emotions. The rest of the day, according to her teachers, was fine. Friday went well, too, including a celebration of Abby's half-birthday in school. She asked me to come into her classroom to be a guest reader, which was my pleasure to do. (Incidentally, she and her little friend T. held hands the entire time I was reading her favorite story, Pumpkin Soup.)

The past few days have been pretty rough, though: Abby has voiced self-deprecating and self-destructive thoughts on more than one occasion. These have ranged from Abby saying that she was going to put herself in the recycling, to her threatening to go deep into the woods, where no one would ever find her, and drown herself.

Where does a 7-year-old get these thoughts? Why does my sweet baby girl say such things? My blood washes cold over my broken heart.

Alarmed, we reached out to her developmental pediatrician, her therapist and her team at school. After emails, phone conversations, a long session for Abby on Tuesday with her therapist and a team meeting this morning, we now have a plan in place to address this self-directed negativity and, hopefully, help Abby change her thought patterns before they spiral out of control.

Never in my life did I envision my second-grader in need of such intensive emotional assistance. Every day I pray for wisdom to help her navigate these treacherous waters, but lately the GPS is down and the clouds cover the stars. The best we can do is aim for the right course, and hope.

2 comments:

cmmoore said...

GPS is technology and what happens when our technology fails us? We go back to the one thing that is tried and true: the people around us. You are so fortunate to be surrounded by educated, caring, energetic people who know how to navigate the waters when the gadgets go on the fritz.

PS - I think I bought her the Pumpkin Soup book, and it made me feel good to hear that it is one of her favorites. <3

As always, you're all in my prayers.

JEN said...

I think you do an awesome job, and are such a great mama. I can't imagine being half the woman you are and dealing with the sometimes daily challenges that pop up.

A will be in my thoughts and prayers, and maybe a nice weeklong family vaca will help things look up for everyone-a good chance to recharge.

:love: