Last week we finished our second round of NMES therapies! Three times a week, forty-five minutes a session, for a total of 24 sessions. That's a lot of driving and a big chunk of time out of every week that we now get back :)
Baby W was much more cooperative this time--he still dislikes having the electrodes on his neck but he didn't fight them as much and almost all his sessions went the full amount of time. I think it helped that they got better food this time :p He had more things that were like he gets at home (fresh fruit, cheese, meat, etc) instead of all the snack-type processed foods he likes in small quantities while he waits for the "real" food to get done ;)
Iz did better this time, too--she really struggled to make it through his therapies the first time around and some pretty severe behavior problems cropped up. This set, though, she still struggled a little but she was calmer about it and never reached the point where they had to kick her out. And our last few sessions have been really really good--she has been calm and focused and occupied herself fairly well. I think that is in large part due to her officially starting to see the boys' psychiatrist. She had a sudden and severe escalation in anxiety that was manifesting as extreme aggression. When the Developmental Pediatrician fought to get her in preschool, he hoped it would help temper her anxiety but also said it was possible it would not get better and we would need to look at medications to help her function. The psychiatrist (who knows her pretty well as he spends a good chunk of time with her every few months when she goes to her brothers' appointments with them) has been keeping track of her as well and he said its very clear to him that she has ADHD like her brothers (my, did we ever hit the genetic lottery in this family.....) as well as the anxiety. She started a low dose of Focalin and wow, what a difference. She sat down with a book and spent a good half an hour going over the words with me and memorizing them and identifying the words and letters she could remember. Before, she couldn't even sit still to listen to a story. I remember when S started ADHD meds--it actually helped lower his anxiety levels because he wasn't so nervous about doing well in school. Be nice if that was true for Iz, too! Right now, she spends half her day at school (and she's only there for half a day) trapped in her own head, unable to get past the anxiousness. She LOVES school but its so so hard for her right now--I'd be so happy if she could actually enjoy it and get something out of it. She's a smart kid (above average when tested for intelligence) but her abilities are low because she's not able to fully participate.
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