The scores are in and the progress continues

Yesterday was report card/parent conferences night. I was a little leery at out my daughter’s grades would look. Her Math and Social Studies grades on the previous report card were both “D’s”. In our house, that is unacceptable regardless if the school district considers it to be passing or not. Because of her struggles with the two subjects we had told her she needed to improve them for the next marking period. We did not yell at her, but we did make it understood that these grades must improve.

Last night I met with her teacher and heard how wonderful she treated her fellow students and her genuine concern for their feelings. Which is great to know that your child is a good citizen in the classroom and in general when away from home and the watchful eyes of their parents. My biggest concern was her grades and where improvement was needed.

Her teacher slid the report card to me and I began scanning the form looking at the grades. To my surprise she had brought both her Math and Social Studies grades up to a C-. It is not honor roll material as far as grades go, but I was very proud of her. She had been working hard over the last several weeks, but seemed to have been struggling just as much as ever. I was worried that her grades would reflect this as well. On the contrary. She ended in up a B- in Reading and English/Writing and an A in Science. She is working much harder to “critically” read material instead of whipping over it as fast as she can to get through it. She is a very good reader, her problem has been that she doesn’t retain the information due to her speed reading. That has been her downfall in the grade department with those two subjects. She is still doing well and has actually taken her father’s advice and began the critical reading work he tried to teach her. Even her teacher has noticed it and mentioned that my daughter is no longer one of the first children to turn in their reading tests any more. She is really focusing on the material being presented.

Her Science grade did surprise me at all since Science is a very big draw for her. If Science is involved you can bet her little, perky nose will be right there in the middle of it to see what is going on. For Christmas this year we bought her an “Eyeclops” which magnifies things to and insane degree and shows some great detail. (Don’t let her near your legs if you haven’t shaved in a day or so…GROSS!!) A few weeks ago I happened to be at a Goodwill store looking around and came across a youth microscope with a ton of accessories from slides, petri dishes to a scalpel that had never been used. So I scooped it up for her to tinker with. The methylene blue had dried up within the sealed container, but that was about all that was wrong with it. My husband ending up getting her a fair sized bottle of it as well as scientific grade glass slides and cover slips from the biology department at his college for her. The slides have such a better clarity than the plastic ones that came with the package. She has been tickled pink. Then the other night we made slime in the kitchen with various ingredients. The joy in her eyes to see the chemical changes in the materials is quite a sight. So her Science grade was no surprise at all. Even her teacher commented on the intensity in which she focuses during that part of class.

I think part of her increased grades and attention at school has been the higher dosage in her ADHD medicine as well as her increased sleep at night. (Insomnia is an unfortunate side effect of the medicine in some children.) Not only did the change in dosage help, but her doctor suggested that we begin giving her Melatonin at night to aid her sleep. Her doctor is against prescribing medication unless it is the absolute best thing for what ails the child. He has been hesitant in her prescription from the start and had even mentioned that as a doctor he would like to see her off of the meds by age 12 if at all possible. (We have agreed too, we would like to see her mentally condition herself to work with this disability rather than use the meds as a crutch her whole life…if it is possible for her.) He suggested adding Melatonin to her nightly ritual and see if it helps. Because of his feelings on medicines he did not want to prescribe a sleep aid for her, and instead suggested a natural supplement. We gave her the 3mg of Melatonin at night when she was preparing for bed and noticed her falling asleep faster nightly.

I have been researching Melatonin and it’s effects on the body. Since her body does not naturally produce enough Melatonin to compensate for the Concerta she takes daily she is needing to supplement it in pill form. My mother recently came across some information about dealing with menopause that she thought my daughter may benefit from and suggested we give it a shot.

For irregular menstrual cycles it is stated that during a full moon you should sleep with the moonlight shining on your face for the first three nights and then sleep in total darkness for the rest of the time until the next full moon. Apparently (which I did not know) the tiniest light; even from your digital alarm clock, can disrupt the body’s natural process for producing Melatonin. The human body relies on total darkness to produce this chemical naturally within the body. My nine year old does not have to currently handle the worries of her menstrual cycle being regular each month, so it isn’t too much of a concern in that department. However, the total darkness and light from an alarm clock pieces of it do apply to her.

My goal this weekend will be to test this new idea out at home. I will be purchasing a room darkening shade to install in her bedroom and will be removing the alarm clock as well. I will discontinue her nightly Melatonin dosage and see where things end up over the course of the next week or so.

I truly believe that the increased sleep she has been getting over the past few weeks since she started taking the Melatonin has directly affected her improvements within the classroom and with her behavior. While she is not a “wild child” she has often times been extremely needy for attention on top of her being distracted easily from her tasks. Since I can remember with her, the more tired she gets the more “ramped up” she becomes trying to fight off sleep and its clutch on her. I am sure that with her recent improvements within the classroom that she is getting more sleep at night allowing her Concerta to do its job so she can focus on her studies. Her teacher has also made comments regarding such, which began the wheels within my mind to begin turning and putting pieces together.  I am hoping this new experiment at home will offset the effects of her prescription and allow her body to perform on a more natural basis of its own when it comes to her sleep cycles.