Wednesday

We heard the results of the IQ test that she did yesterday. Well, we didn't really, because they couldn't really even score all of it. She said in all her years working in this field she has never seen this. She said you can see that she is very bright. But when she was testing she would be working and then she would reach a point that she was a little unsure and she would freeze up and she couldn't go further in that section. A portion of her had closed down and she couldn't get in. Now this was the evening that we were late. I'm sure it was a little stressing in the car. We walked in and they didn't do anything else and just started the test. Not good! One example - What would you do if you saw that your neighbor's house was on fire? Answer - Call 911. Not Meikiina's answer. Meikiina's answer, "What!? That could happen?" They couldn't give her a score for that. :-) A big problem here might be perfectionism. (I can't get it wrong. If I don't answer the question I won't get it wrong.) Melissa was extremely puzzled. She said she can't figure out why she tested like this. She said Meikiina is obviously bright. She played so nicely, knew when it was her turn and took turns nicely, didn't freak out when she lost, was knowledgeable in conversation while playing, etc. She said she scored similar to a child who sat and played with handcuffs locking and unlocking and staring at her the whole session. She can't figure out why Meikiina would test like this. This is exactly why I am concerned. Why!!

When we got there tonight they took Meikiina and had her do lights and sounds (biofeedback), which totally relaxes her. After that was done, they redid one portion of the IQ test - the portion that she did the worst in. They did a totally different test, nothing that she had heard the day before so to her it was a totally new test. (Note: Tomorrow's blog I will discuss further development on the IQ test.)

We discussed long what could be 'wrong' with her. She is severely anxious. We know that - is that all? Not to say there is anything 'all' about that. That is so huge. Is she ADD? If she is should she be medicated? I am hugely against medicating kids. I'm not saying that I think anyone is wrong for doing it. I just have such fears doing it myself. It seems there are way too many ADHD or ADD kids these days. What are the pros and cons of medicating if she would have ADD? She may be able to 'calm' enough in class that her brain doesn't freeze up and she may be able to complete her work. Gregg and I saw a study that says that there is no proof that medicating for ADD increases classroom learning.

My thoughts are that there is a neuropath that was not developed due to the circumstances in her infancy, or something wrong in the brain. If that is the case, if she is on medication does this 'cure' that? Because the medication could calm her enough to learn, does this also heal her brain? Or if she then comes off the medication her brain is exactly the same so she still has the same exact problem, but it was just hidden for awhile? Melissa didn't know the answer to that. We want her cured/healed. We don't just want to do what is the easiest for us. But then is that fair to Meikiina, if medication calms her anxiety down and helps her learn, that we say we don't want medication. We want to do what we have to to heal her. Ok, where is that book? That one that tells us what to do in our child rearing? All this is a big if. We did do a test that will help Melissa determine if she is ADD. She may not be. Does she have some other type of learning disability? If she would have a learning disability Melissa said that it can be very hard to determine what it might be.

Well, we have started. I think it will be a long road with many bumps and curves. But we will struggle through and be the best parents we can be to her. We will try our hardest to do what we need to do in order for her to succeed in life.

Our story tonight was called, "The Little Fairy." The little fairy thought she was born a bad fairy baby. Her fairy godmother appeared one day and told her how she could be rid of the 'curse' of thinking she is a bad fairy. All she had to do is whenever her mom or dad told her she is good she had to say, "Yes, I am a good fairy." and she really had to believe she is a good fairy. One day after she had worked on this really hard and long she saw a puff of dust and she noticed the curse was gone.