We have a diagnosis!!!

So yesterday at the way too early hour of 8:00 we packed up to head to CHOP. Keep in mind it should only take about 1/2 hour for us to get there, but since we would be hitting rush hour traffic heading into Philadelphia, well, it took us almost an hour.

Well after finally getting in to see our doctor at 9:30, we talked, and talked, and talked about Kid Jedi's behavior, at home, in school, in Karate, from birth to now. Kid Jedi, at least, got to go play with the intern to get evaluated (I want his evaluation part next time). Then we got to answer some questions, go into more detail about things, bring Kid Jedi back in, go wait while the doctor and Kid Jedi played, again I want that part next time, and then some more talking.

Though we normally wouldn't have a diagnosis for about 2 weeks, since Kid Jedi's being kept home from school because the school can't or won't intervene until he's diagnosed, she told us that, yes Kid Jedi has ADHD, that's it, no anxiety, depression or ODD (which the Child Study Team thought he had), oh and of course he's gifted, which we knew, but she told us that he's actually more gifted than the IQ test shows because his ADHD causes false lows on those tests because of distractiblity. We (the hubby and I) go back next week for some ideas for intervention...no medication at this time (we saw a PhD, not an MD so if she wants meds, she has to refer us for a consult).

So, I call Child Study Team when I get home and tell them, yes he has ADHD, to which she asks about ODD, and I tell her, very proudly (and smugly) "Nope!" I didn't get into the giftedness, they should realize that with his test scores, but the psychiatrist will include recommendations for that in her report. Then, she asked for recommendations...hello...she's lucky we got a diagnosis. The way she talked previously, she had worked with other students going to CHOP previously, but apparently not, because otherwise she would have known that it usually takes at least 2 weeks for diagnosis and recommendations, not the same day. Of course, I pleasantly told her that we were lucky that we got a diagnosis, they only did that because of Kid Jedi being kept out of school. To which she responded that she would contact our principal and tell him what's going on.

I called the teacher's extension to let her know what was going on and to let her know that I would be attending Back to School Night tonight. I also thanked her for everything she's done. After all this, the little girl next store, who is in Kid Jedi's class, brought over a folder of some worksheets and papers for us, which I am grateful for. I'm so glad that even through this battle, Kid Jedi has a teacher who really cares about her students (even if he's too much for her classroom right now).

So today I call the Child Study Team, again, to see what we can expect next and the timeline that they have in mind for getting Kid Jedi back in the classroom!