Anthony

Because of Anthony's behaviors, both his therapist and I agreed that he should have a psych evaluation. His pediatrician recommended a neuro-psych eval because of the possible neurological issues.
Anthony's issues in a nutshell: A skull fracture before he was 9 months old, physical abuse, neglect including lack of sensory input prior to 9 months. He basically spent his time in a carseat so he had no stimulation. At this point, Anthony appears to have a high IQ but is limited in how he reacts to others. It's like he is overly sensitive when others touch him or do something to him but on the other hand, when he does something to someone else, he has very little regard for how it impacts them.

We've noticed it since he came to us and knew it might be an issue but as he gets older, it becomes more of an issue, mostly because other people don't understand. For example, when Anthony was two, he would be running around the house and run smack into the wall. Most kids would cry but Anthony's reaction, even at that young age, was to yell at the wall. He firmly believed it was the wall's fault that he got hurt. As a young child, it was kind of funny and we hoped with gentle encouragement and knowledge he would grow out of it. He hasn't. No matter what he does, it isn't his fault or responsibility.

I'm not talking about trying to get out of trouble. I have another kid or two who don't want to take responsibility for things that are a direct consequence of their actions. But their reaction is simply fear of getting in trouble. Anthony really and truly doesn't usually make the connection between his behavior and it's consequences to others. That combined with his intelligence is a scary combination.

Although I have to say that with specific parenting techniques, help from grandparents, working closely with his therapist and educating his teachers, his behaviors have been manageable. With the notable exception of the time period that we were under investigation by Social Services. He was smart enough to realize that he had a lot of control over the situation but not worldly enough to understand the reprocussions. His behaviors during that time period and for a few months after that were nearly out of control. That's when he put his head through a window. Fortunately, he wasn't seriously hurt. With a serious team effort, his behaviors are now manageable again. Notice I didn't say good or fixed or normal. Just manageable.

Which brings me to the psyc eval. We felt we could get a better understanding of Anthony and figure out ways to help him if we had the evaluation done. We also have no idea of what damage might have been done during his first year of life and what issues the skull fracture might have caused from a purely medical standpoint. We already see the damage it did from a social, emotional and psychological standpoint. His therapist also suggested that we have medical documentation of his "condition" because she feels that there will be plenty more accusations in the future simply because of Anthony's confusion over the past and the present and his view of the world and his misunderstanding of his own impact on people and their impact on him.

Which brings me to the actual neuro-psychological evaluation. But I don't have time to go into that part yet because it's almost time to leave for church and I still need to brush my teeth and get my coffee ready. This is the 2nd to last session of our bible study before we break for the summer. So I guess in a few weeks I'll have church and then Chocolatte :)
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