Replies to 'School Issues'

Here it is past 1 AM, and Scott is still working on a power point that is due in a few hours...mind you, he's had a week, and I've sent him to the computer to do it multiple times over that week...and he played around...he has a few slides done tonight...it is for biology...on what distinguishes humans from animals...I told him to get the titles down for the rest of the slides, and then do the pictures...he is using a little camera that attaches to the computer...but I don't really want to be up all night...I have things to do tomorrow...or I mean today...I really want to go to bed, but if I do, he'll be up all night........I should just make him stop and turn it in the way it is...not finished...on the other hand, I want him to pass the class....

I am not going to babysit him anymore...he will have to do his work or fail....he's in 10th grade, and it is high time for him to get responsible...he might be in high school all the way through 14th grade if he doesn't figure out how to get in gear.....I think it's the fatigue and frustration talking here....

The psych doc for the ADHD is running a bunch of lab tests on Scott...hormone levels, thyroid level, vitimin and mineral levels, liver enzymes, lipid profile, histamine level...a bunch of body chemistry tests...because the body's chemistry plays a lot into how well a person can concentrate and perform daily tasks, and how tired or energetic a person is...and how focused (or not) they are on their work...interesting to me...I wonder why his original psych doc didn't run these tests...that guy was dead set against the boys having sleep studies...even though almost half of the cases of ADHD can be linked to a sleep disorder...imagine that...body chemistry and sleep affect behavior...who-da-thunk-it??  I wish that insurance companies would catch up with that line of thinking..."mental health" issues are really more about body and brain chemistry...which is a HEALTH issue...not a behavior problem!!  We could do with more testing in the beginning, and less Ritalin and Adderall in our lives.......obviously treating the symptoms without getting to the root causes is just a bandaid...and a bad one at that.......

Culinary Kid John sees the same doc on Friday...and she will be running the same tests on him....he has ADHD and Narcolepsy...and the whole "gay or not gay" issue....the psych doc said that it is normal for some boys to be confused about that...usually around 14 or 15, but ADHD causes some emotional and social developmental delays, so age 19 is not abnormal for this issue to show itself...I just hope that she can convince him that maybe he could have been influenced by this online friend due to lonliness (from being away from home and in a big city not knowing anybody his own age)...and that not being attracted to the one girlfriend that he ever had doesn't mean a thing...maybe she just wasn't "the one"....he's still young...there is no need to rush into rash decisions...there are many things that affect that aspect...thyroid levels, other hormone levels, vitamin levels, mineral levels.....so the psych doc will be filling up a lab slip...and about 12 vials of blood will be taken for the tests...better come prepared with the OJ for after the blood draw...

Culinary John will be going out tomorrow afternoon to make personal appearances at the restaurants at which he would like to do his externship.  There is one in particular that he would like to work at....they do catering, as well as running a small cafe...but a majority of their business is catering...he went out today, but found out that a lot of the restaurants don't open until 4 PM...surprising...I thought most of them were open for lunch.....anyway, instead of waiting another hour for them to open, he came home instead.....so he will go out again tomorrow...and hopefully, he will be able to meet with the right people and land a position somewhere...if it ends up being an unpaid position, he will have to find himself a part-time job...maybe being a server or busser at a restaurant...then, he can get tips, on top of his regular pay...

I am falling asleep as I type...Scott had better hurry up...I'm ready for bed...I may just go there, and leave him to his own...he made the choice to play around earlier, instead of working like he was supposed to...

Good night...I'll let you know how the presentation goes...Becky