Family Update

Okay, so Gage's meds are still doing fabulous! He is doing fabulous! This week, again, he got a 100 in conduct w/another note of how great he's doing! This week his lowest grade was a 96. His dad and I in no way want perfection here, but it's tough when your A student is bringing home F's, which was the final straw when considering meds for this child. He's doing great on the lowest dose of Concerta still and we go back to the doc on Nov 19.  Brook is still doing well in school also, with the occasional check mark, but we do believe that she's doing as well as she can in all areas. She is going to get check marks, no doubt but we are very proud of her improvement in behavior. Another note about Gage's adhd, I've had concerns for years about OCD, it runs in my family! His psychologist didn't have concerns with this and neither did his pediatrician. However, since he's been on meds, he's really really really focused. He's worked on this tractor for a solid week, for hours a day. He's out of school today for the holiday (a quick thank you to our troops present and past) and already put in three solid hours (it's 9 am)working on a tractor that semi worked before, he changes and re-changes and re-changes. It'll eventually be useless and not work at all and end up in the trash but wow, he's obsessively working on it. He'll put in another six at least until he eventually decides to do something else. We are still working on his weight, he's starting to lose and ribs are protruding, but I think a good fattening milkshake full of peanut butter, carnation, heavy cream, ice cream will do the trick.

Gage has been asked to come with me when I go on the 23rd to the local college. University of Montevallo usually asks me to come talk to the speech therapy class which usually has many deaf ed students as well. This will be the first time Gage has several hours of intimate time with students in a field related to him. Some of these speech therapists may not go into the deaf ed field but I feel it's important for them to know about hearing loss in any field they pursue. Whether they work with elderly or children, they are bound to run across someone w/hearing loss and this is their opportunity to learn from a child w/hearing loss first hand. I hope they pay attention, their final just may on Gage Blakely! I know the teacher!