Holy moly (Finn's favorite saying - he laughs hysterically every time I say this)!
Finn's brain has normalized!!! I honestly don't even know what to say other than wow!!!!
After 21 neurofeedback and LENS treatments, Finn no longer has anything getting in the way of how his neurons communicate in his brain. I don't even have words to describe what I am feeling.
We have seen so many changes in Finn over the last couple of months. He has gone from age 1 in development to at least age 2 and maybe 3 or 4 in some areas. He is playing with his toys differently, he is communicating using short sentences, he is saying new words, singing songs and saying the Pledge. He even rode his trike with no hands and told me he was "balancing." He is interacting with his peers at school and has started to show more confidence there.
The behavior changes I have seen in Finn lately (the terrible twos) are caused by his brain basically going crazy right now. He has neurons firing that were never firing. He has parts of his brain that had no activity that have lots of activity and he doesn't know what to do with it.
The doctor explained it like we just uncorked a champagne bottle. It takes some time for the fizz to run out. Once the fizz stops, we should see some improvements in his behavior, attention, etc.
The hard part for me - the razor's edge of being a parent. How to be loving yet firm to help set boundaries. I'm a softy, I will admit it. The kids laugh at my "stern mom" face. I didn't know if Finn ever understood cause and effect and therefore let him pretty much get away with anything, but now I need to start being a little tougher. Any suggestions would help!
We will continue to do another 10 treatments. Once those treatments are over, Finn will have another brain map done and we hope to see some of the areas of his brain settling down. It could be that Finn will only need 30 treatments. This is amazing especially given Finn's age. Age 6 is typically the youngest they do so the fact that Finn is getting so much benefit out of the neurofeedback therapy is incredible.
More to come on this topic!
Friday, November 16, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
Progress
It has been a while since my last update on Finn and I'm the only one to blame! Finding time, even just a few minutes, during the day to maintain a blog is challenging when it is not my number one priority.
Finn is doing great! He is healthy at the moment and I don't know if he has ever looked better. He has color in his skin and only small circles under his eyes. We just got his latest allergy test in and still allergic to peanuts and milk, but nothing else foodwise! This is wonderful news - being able to add soy and wheat to his diet will give us many more options on what to feed the little guy. We still have at least one or two surgeries that he will need to have before too long, but try not to think about that. His right eye is deviating a little bit more so we may need to patch at some point, but latest brain MRI came back unchanged (this is good - cyst and hydrocephalus have not grown (or shrunk)). His bloodwork is coming back normal except for his usual immunology issues. So, we are thankful for his health!
Developmentally, Finn amazes us every day. Seriously. There is a moment in every day where I hear something or see something I am not expecting. A few examples (ok maybe more than a few):
Finn knows the "Pledge." He doesn't know every word, but the kids got flags from a veteran the other day and Finn put his hand over his chest and tried to repeat with me as I said it.
Camila was acting like her usual self in a long car-ride from Atlanta to Tampa and Finn called her "crazy." This was a very appropriate comment.
Yesterday, Finn told me he wanted "that one next."
I do have to start watching what I say. I said "OMG" the other day and put my head in my hands for a second. Finn has repeated it about 15 times since then at the appropriate moments. I recall a friend's story where her husband was driving her daughter to school. Her daughter is speech delayed and had problems with the "f" sound. Her husband said the "f" word and her daughter repeated pretty clearly. Yikes!
Finn is riding his big boy bike with training wheels all over the place and exudes confidence when he does it.
Finn is consistently getting left and right feet correct. He is label colors better, but not 100% of the time yet. He is counting objects all by himself.
He is playing differently. Finn's idea of play in the past has been more of repeating actions. Watching the train move around the track and horsing around with his family. He never got out his cars and played with them. He is totally playing with his cars now like a little boy. He drives them all over the house, lines them up, counts them, studies them, causes accidents and laughs! I'm loving it!
He is requesting that I take his picture every day. I am also loving this. He will grab my phone and say "picture," go stand up straight and say "cheese." I mean what a sweetheart.
Finn is coming out of his shell more and more at school and attending better. He is focused more and following directions without having to be constantly redirected.
With respect to neuro-feedback, we are still going twice a week. He just had a new map done this week and we meet with the doctor to obtain results. We absolutely think he is benefiting from the therapy, but it is a slow process. I wish there was something we could give him to make him talk over night, but the reality is he has to go through the developmental stages that he missed when he was one and two.
With all of the great developmental progress Finn is making, there is some of the "bad" that is occurring too. We have entered the terrible twos. He is showing independence and testing the limits. He is picking out what clothes he wants to wear and gets angry when I ask him to select something else if what he chose is not appropriate for the occassion or weather. He is refusing to eat some of the things I make. As much as it is a struggle for me, it is good that he is going through this stage.
Everyone used to comment on how well-behaved Finn was at doctor's offices, in the grocery store, etc. Finn was always complacent. Complacent at 2 is not always good. Kids need to go through stages to progress to other ones. I just wish he was 25 lbs going through this stage instead of 38lbs!
All in all, Finn is doing amazing. He is an amazing little boy and we are so lucky he is doing so well. I will continue to update you on his progress!
Finn is doing great! He is healthy at the moment and I don't know if he has ever looked better. He has color in his skin and only small circles under his eyes. We just got his latest allergy test in and still allergic to peanuts and milk, but nothing else foodwise! This is wonderful news - being able to add soy and wheat to his diet will give us many more options on what to feed the little guy. We still have at least one or two surgeries that he will need to have before too long, but try not to think about that. His right eye is deviating a little bit more so we may need to patch at some point, but latest brain MRI came back unchanged (this is good - cyst and hydrocephalus have not grown (or shrunk)). His bloodwork is coming back normal except for his usual immunology issues. So, we are thankful for his health!
Developmentally, Finn amazes us every day. Seriously. There is a moment in every day where I hear something or see something I am not expecting. A few examples (ok maybe more than a few):
Finn knows the "Pledge." He doesn't know every word, but the kids got flags from a veteran the other day and Finn put his hand over his chest and tried to repeat with me as I said it.
Camila was acting like her usual self in a long car-ride from Atlanta to Tampa and Finn called her "crazy." This was a very appropriate comment.
Yesterday, Finn told me he wanted "that one next."
I do have to start watching what I say. I said "OMG" the other day and put my head in my hands for a second. Finn has repeated it about 15 times since then at the appropriate moments. I recall a friend's story where her husband was driving her daughter to school. Her daughter is speech delayed and had problems with the "f" sound. Her husband said the "f" word and her daughter repeated pretty clearly. Yikes!
Finn is riding his big boy bike with training wheels all over the place and exudes confidence when he does it.
Finn is consistently getting left and right feet correct. He is label colors better, but not 100% of the time yet. He is counting objects all by himself.
He is playing differently. Finn's idea of play in the past has been more of repeating actions. Watching the train move around the track and horsing around with his family. He never got out his cars and played with them. He is totally playing with his cars now like a little boy. He drives them all over the house, lines them up, counts them, studies them, causes accidents and laughs! I'm loving it!
He is requesting that I take his picture every day. I am also loving this. He will grab my phone and say "picture," go stand up straight and say "cheese." I mean what a sweetheart.
Finn is coming out of his shell more and more at school and attending better. He is focused more and following directions without having to be constantly redirected.
With respect to neuro-feedback, we are still going twice a week. He just had a new map done this week and we meet with the doctor to obtain results. We absolutely think he is benefiting from the therapy, but it is a slow process. I wish there was something we could give him to make him talk over night, but the reality is he has to go through the developmental stages that he missed when he was one and two.
With all of the great developmental progress Finn is making, there is some of the "bad" that is occurring too. We have entered the terrible twos. He is showing independence and testing the limits. He is picking out what clothes he wants to wear and gets angry when I ask him to select something else if what he chose is not appropriate for the occassion or weather. He is refusing to eat some of the things I make. As much as it is a struggle for me, it is good that he is going through this stage.
Everyone used to comment on how well-behaved Finn was at doctor's offices, in the grocery store, etc. Finn was always complacent. Complacent at 2 is not always good. Kids need to go through stages to progress to other ones. I just wish he was 25 lbs going through this stage instead of 38lbs!
All in all, Finn is doing amazing. He is an amazing little boy and we are so lucky he is doing so well. I will continue to update you on his progress!
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