It's been a really long time since I've updated on how Elliott's doing, outside of the shit that was going on with the bully at school.
There's actually quite a bit to bring you up to speed on. There's lots of good news but also some struggles as well. With Elliott, things are kind of a mixed bag right now.
For starters, the bully situation seems to be completely resolved at this point and Elliott's attitude about it has changed for the better. He no longer feels like a victim and that's huge.
He's also doing better with the after school program. Both he and Emmett go on Thursday's only and that seems to be the compromise that works best.
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Lastly, as far as good news goes, he's been off all his medication (aside from ADHD meds) for a few weeks now. This may sound strange, but there's absolutely no difference between Elliott on and Elliott off the medications he was on.
What this tells us is that the meds weren't doing anything positive for him and that removing them hasn't had any negative behavioral impact. We only did this with the approval, help and guidance of his doctor. It's proven to be for the best.
I mentioned above that we were also facing some struggles as well and that's definitely the truth.
Elliott is extremely emotional about everything and can cry at the drop of a hat. He can sorta *rage *when he is challenged or pressed to do something he doesn't want to do. I don't know how much of this is normal pre-teen shit or how much is rooted elsewhere but it's getting old.
He and Emmett are at each other's throats all the time. One minute they're getting along fine and the next minute they're screaming at each other. Elliott is almost always the instigator and seems to enjoy creating chaos. It's really frustrating.
Another struggle is the way he perceives the world around him. He tends to misunderstand what people's intentions are and can hear what he wants to hear, rather than what is actually said. This is common with kids on the Autism Spectrum.
I would say that any time he's upset or anxious, his ability to accurately perceive the world around him can be profoundly compromised. Dr. Reynolds gave it a name but I don't remember what it is and it really doesn't matter.
What's important to know is that this is very difficult to navigate and one of the reasons it took so long to figure out that he was actually being bullied at school.
This makes life difficult for Elliott because he's always been a walking anxiety attack, with impulse control issues (ADHD) but as he gets older, it's impacting his perception. Struggling with perception has impacted his interpersonal skills a great deal.
He's still the same sweet kid that loves animals, family, school, his friends and exploring nature. This doesn't seem to impact his ability to empathize, show compassion, affection or anything like that. He's an amazing kid that I couldn't be prouder of.
There are some things we will continue to celebrate in the new year as well as things we're going to continue working on.
