Levi Van BlantonEver since Levi was born he has been a challenge for me. He was my first child so everything was new for Jeff and I anyway. I struggled for the longest time to see the challenges he presented for us as parents as a good thing. But, a challenge IS good. As an infant he would not go to sleep in public, he loved to lay and look at his mobile but still slept very well (at first). As he got a little older he started showing signs of Asthma but doctors were so hesitant to treat him for it because he was so young. When he ended up hospitalized we started treatment regularly. As a toddler he didn't pitch your expected temper tantrum......he learned how to make himself throw-up. First he would gag himself with his finger but got to where he could just start to cry and vomit. He has always had a lot of energy. My mom used to wrestle with him just so she could get him in her arms long enough to give him a little squeeze. We sent him to Kindergarten and we constantly received letters on Levi's behavior. In short, he has no impulse control. He would chunk something across the room and then look at you like "Oops!" But he has also had such a big heart. He wants to please us and make us laugh and smile. His sense of humor has always been advanced for his age. And S-M-A-R-T! He is a smart little guy.
I had suspected A.D.D. for a long time but had already developed the mind-set that it was over diagnosed and could be dealt with if we were consistent with discipline. We have always been very strict with Levi. At one time he was waking up during the night or playing all night with his toys so we had only his mattress in his room and turned the lock around on his door to lock him in his room. Find your front door wide open at 6am with your son playing in the front yard a couple of times or find that all the junk food wrappers are under his bed from one night.....you'll turn his lock around too. :o)
Our solution, I would take control. We decided to home school him. We love home school but I found myself wanting to return to school myself and go back to work. Levi did very well in home school. He excels in one-on-one instruction but it became obvious that if he was to succeed in a group setting he needed some medication. We put him on medicine for ADD and he went back to a charter school for 2nd grade. He did very well! It was a small class and his teacher knew him well and was able to give him the special one-on-one attention when he needed it. But I hated putting him on the medicine. He went from being my energetic, smart-alec kid to just wanting to sit around the house and watch tv all day. So I didn't give him the medicine on the weekend or during the summer.
This year, 3rd grade it became obvious that something wasn't working anymore. His grades, his mood swings and attitude were pretty bad. I was thinking about home school again and when we made it a sincerely prayerful decision Jeff and I felt like we didn't have enough information to make a good decision. We had a conference with his school and took Levi back to the doctor where a new medication was prescribed. This medicine is new on the market. Let me tell you, he is my child again! He is mostly smiles, grades are good again, he is active, he has gained weight and has grown in inches! He is able to self-correct BEFORE he does something. And I realized that if he had seizures, I would not withhold that medication. It is hard to come to the realization that something you can't see should be medicated. He is a different child when he is not on medication. We still have to be strict with him discipline wise but "1-2-3 Magic" helped with that a long time ago. I wonder if I did some damage those years that I was in denial with yelling at him and punishing him for things that he literally could not control because of a chemical imbalance in his brain. Did I hurt his self-image? Do I have time to repair it?
I don't know. But Levi has helped me to become a more patient, compassionate and think out-side the box person. He may be a challenge for me at times but that challenge has been a blessing to me. He does make me smile, laugh and stick to my word (because he doesn't forget a thing). I will always need self improvement, it is a constant progression but let me tell you, Levi has helped me to become a little bit better all on his own.
