Meds and extension

We did some med changes with Akila this week, and it did not go well. She has been off of Risperidone all week and she has been bouncing off the walls. We had to taper her off the med so we can try a different one, and it has been helpful to me to see that the meds do make a difference. By the end of the summer with the horrible behavior we were having, I was wondering if the meds were even phasing her. I know now that they have been.

The crisis home has noticed a big difference in her behaviors. They chart behaviors, and she has basically doubled in physical and verbal aggression in the last week compared to the previous week. And school, that has been really hard. Her aide has been communicating with me daily saying she is on fire, and just being awful. She is starting the new med tomorrow, and it isn't soon enough!

I did have her on Monday and Tuesday evening, when I brought her to dance class. I work at the studio, and we started later this year as we moved to a new location and have been in the midst of construction. Partly why I have been absent from blogging this week (and I was out of town last weekend). I noticed a huge difference in her behavior on those two evenings also.

Her stay at the crisis home has been extended, which I am really relieved about. Having her at the crisis home, feels crappy, yet the idea of her coming home doesn't feel right either. She will be coming home, but we need longer to work on the meds so I am so grateful that her stay has been extended. When I was talking to the crisis home manager yesterday, and reporting what the school has been dealing with, she told me about how horrible Akila has also been a the home. I told her that this made me very nervous with the possibility of Akila coming home this Saturday when she is extremely dysregulated. She then called one of the people working on that decision and then called back saying we had the extension. Phewwww.

Another thing that I have noticed while her meds have been different this week, is she has even less filters than normal. At the dance studio, I was sitting next to her. She pointed to a scar that is on my hand from a deep scratch she gave me this summer. She said, with kind of an evil smile, I feel really bad about that. It was creepy. She was smiling while she said it. Then she was telling a dance mom that I was talking to that her blonde hair is really dark, darker than mine. Then she started telling her just her roots were dark. Embarrassing! Another dance mom was asking her how school was going, she said "good, but I have had a huge attitude with my para". A month ago, she would have just said good. Not that she has good filters when on meds, but they are better than they are now.

Obviously, the filter issue isn't the reason we do medications. The fact that she had 6 episodes of physical aggression last week, and 27 this week, is why we do. She had 15 episodes of verbal aggression last week, and 27 this week. And this is a lot less than at home, due to the comfort level of Akila, and the less structured environment. This is part of the reason why we medicate, and it isn't even including all of the benefits to how much better she learns when properly medicated.