So, we finally took the plunge. V settled in really quickly into second grade. It obviously helped that he knew the teacher and he had the same aide but it was a really smooth transition – someone out there was watching for us. As a result, during the third week of school I felt bold enough to drop the last bit of medication. I always do it on a Thursday because the earliest effects can be seen Friday afternoon by which time he is done with school and if there is anything amiss we can catch it over the weekend. That's how it has been through each of his weanings.
This time round, we weren't sure what to expect. That weekend and the next he had a few tantrums/meltdowns/seemed a little more tired. However, there was practically no difference in his behavior in school which meant that it was the general end of week tiredness showing up at home and that the last drop really didn't make a difference to his system.
He actually had a very good week in school last week which makes me believe even more that the medication was causing way more harm than we realized. He really looks forward to school and even though he complains, he is able to do his work really well.
This year has also been way better in getting him to do his homework and to read. He doesn't like to read chapter books and as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter so long as he enjoys the act of reading. He doesn't just zip through a book but takes his time, observing all the pictures, absorbing all the words and understanding as he goes along, asking questions, connecting it to other things he knows, etc..
It is too early to tell how much of a difference the drop in medication will make to his learning disability – whether that will stay for a few years or just go away in a few months. I am not looking so far ahead. Given that I was counting my blessings one day at a time, I just feel so very grateful for the position we are in with respect to his health. I am really relieved that rather than stress about how many seizures he had in a day I am able to check with him about his day and he is able to give me details about almost his entire day. He is able to recall the book that was read in class, he is able to retell stories that were read in class a few days earlier – all of that to me is simply a miracle which I want to hold on to. Given that he couldn't tell me what was going on on the previous page of a book – this is just simply amazing to me about how his brain has grown.
He does still need to put in an effort to recall certain things but I am hoping that just as his basic memory has improved with time, this will too.
