There are two different types of Imogen - and they are like chalk and cheese!
I found myself a few minutes ago chatting to a Mum online who was considering using drugs for her son's ADHD. We have been through this dilemma, a journey that lasted over a year. The medics were all 'strongly suggesting' that we try her on a drug. The school were keen for her to manage without, and after doing some research, I was keen to avoid it too. However after a year and a half of no academic movement, total refusal to try to read, virtually no concentration, no ability to act with any kind of thought to consequence and CONSTANT requests for hugs (no joke, she just couldn't get enough). We finally came to the conclusion that maybe we should give it a try - just a try mind!
I took home the prescription, and we ummed and ahhed again for so long that I had to go and get another!
Finally we decided to go for it and what occurred I can only describe as little short of a miracle. The change was astounding. Over night she no longer needed the weighted blanket, no longer asked for hugs all the time, almost overnight her reading age shot up, due to actually being able to look at a page without the picture, colours, words, noise, traffic outside, hum of a light switch, wind, rain, sun - everything and anything, being a distraction.(Yes she still struggles to read now, but at least is trying and every now and then I catch her trying to read a book or a sign alone - yaaay!) She could finally sit in a group and answer questions without constant movement and shouting out. I cannot explain the change fully enough. And these have continued...
However, there have also been downsides - Immi is still Immi while on the drugs, but she is sensible Immi - for those of you as old as me, it is almost Worzel Gummage like; she has changed her head over. Sensible Immi is good, but not as fun and not as happy. Sensible Immi doesn't like eating and sensible Immi has a bit of a grump on after school (as the drugs wear off I guess). And sensible Immi still has Autism and so doesn't really relate to others on the playground well. Sensible Immi seems to be getting more tired too - is that the drugs or just that we are at the end of term?
Either way, I am looking forward to having fun loving Immi back for a while (during the holidays). Yes, the house will likely be a mess, yes she will break things, she will drive us all mad (especially her brother!) She will want the same Paolo Nutini song on over and over and over again - (the Quacky song - sorry Paolo, I don't know its real name!) But she will make us laugh, she will live up to her middle name of Joy.
I asked Immi a few weeks ago whether she liked taking her 'sensible tablet' as we call it, I don't want her to take it if it is making her unhappy and we constantly monitor whether it is still right for her, trialling a few days without it at school every now and then. Her answer surprised me; she said it was like someone pulled a curtain back so she could see, and she also said that she thought that she was more the real Immi with the tablet. Which one is the real Immi? They are both her. Does she prefer sensible Immi just because she fits in the system better and so gets better feedback from others around her - I don't know. She appears calmer, more in control on the days with the drug, but she certainly seems more joyful (yes, verging on out of control sometimes) on the drug free days. I do know that although I love her coping better at school and actually making some progress, I miss her smile on the 'sensible' days, and I love the joy, the freedom, the giggles, the carefreeness of the drug-less days.
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