Camille has been having a pretty rough couple of weeks. I've started to wonder if maybe she has seasonal depression (I do and have been struggling these last couple of weeks). She broke down right before we left for the birthday party, before we got out of the van at the birthday party, and then a bit on the way home from the birthday party. I thought we'd see improvement after the party but she's the same. She cries four or five times a day because she's afraid she's tired. She asks us over and over "Do I look tired?"Sometimes she cries even when we say "No you look fine." Before bed she starts to cry because she's worried she won't sleep. Basically she is obsessed with her issues surrounding sleep. It's like she can't think of anything else.
I hate labeling. And I know the danger that can come with labeling but at this point I feel like we have to get an official diagnosis with Camille. I feel at a lost to help her and it's heartbreaking watching her struggle with things. I don't know what is going on with her. Sometimes I feel fairly confident that it's Asperger's but other times I wonder if we're dealing with anxiety and maybe some OCD. I just don't know anymore nor do I know how to help her. I think we need a label to just figure out what's wrong. And I keep telling myself that she does not have to be defined by that label. The label can just be a stepping stone to help her with life.
H and I have decided to bring her to therapy. I'm thinking possibly a developmental psychologist first. Once we know what we're dealing with, we can get her help. I don't want to do medication so I'm hoping some other therapeutic resources. Wish us luck.
3 comments:
Oh Ginger, I'm sorry that it's such a trial right now with Camille!! *hugs*
My thoughts on labeling: I think that you are the kind of fierce mother who would be sure to NOT let a label dictate who your child is. The fact that you're worrying over it, in fact, assures me that it's so. You wouldn't let that happen to her, I know it. Like you said, you can use it as a stepping stone to learn strategies for coping and minimizing. Already, the fact that you homeschool eliminates a TON of how she would get defined by the label.
Thanks Aimee. It's so hard because I have so many friends who urge me to not label her and I keep explaining, I am not so much labeling her as labeling her problems. We're at a point were she's just miserable and needs more help than we can give her.
See, and to this friend's way of thinking, you're doing the best thing you can for her by labeling her problems (and not her). Getting some concrete definitions of what is going on with her means you will be able to concentrate your research and dedicate yourself to helping her even more greatly. At the same time, I know that you will be sure to watch her for signs that something that you're trying's not working well, or if you think another issue is cropping up. I don't think you could help yourself from doing that, it's who you are as a person and a mom. *hugs*
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