Well, I’m back. I so wish I could get back to a more consistent routine of writing here. But life is…busy and unpredictable. So I will just keep coming back when I can and pick up where I left off. For those of you who may have lost track or are just joining and need a refresher as to where we are in Jessica’s story: We took her off of all medication over the summer between 11th and 12th grade and she started school anxious and depressed. We found ourselves in quite a few new and scary situations with a suicide attempt, police and a week-long stay in an adolescent psychiatric hospital (these are some of the experiences that I refer to in the title of this multi-part blog post). At the end of part 3, Jess had returned from the hospital with her Senior year having already started and I put her on Home Hospital for the remainder of the trimester so she could heal, recover, catch up and have a stronger support system as she returned to the school campus.
Now we live in a small town and resources are limited, especially if you have private insurance rather than government aid (such as MediCal). I work for our County Mental Health Department and the kids that I work with have more comprehensive and intensive services available to them than any insurance company will pay for. But here I was with a 17-year-old who needed intensive and comprehensive support, with private insurance. A parent’s nightmare! However, I am resourceful and I am not afraid to ask for help (this is a strength that I wish for all parents with special needs children…we can’t do this alone, as I was suddenly learning). I had resources at my fingertips, as I knew the system and I had amazing support from my coworkers, including my superiors. I was able to get Jessica into an intensive program that was not funded by MediCal and their mission statement was to “do whatever it takes”! Jessica had now qualified for this program because she had been hospitalized and this program was in place partly to reduce hospitalizations and high system use. It provided Jessica a therapist and a one on one person who would meet with her at home or in the community, multiple times per week to help build some skills. Her primary goal was to get back to school. The therapist worked with Jessica where she was and took her out to do therapy, rather than sit in an office (talk therapy never really worked for her). Her one on one person spent multiple days taking Jessica to the school campus after school hours to help reduce her anxiety about going back and then we worked with the school to allow this person to accompany her every morning and walk with her to class for as long as she needed. This was so helpful! She was able to start the second trimester and before long, she didn’t need that escort. Goal completed! Next goal, graduation and college!
On a side not, before I end, when talking about experiences growing the brain…This is really true for everyone, not just children. There is scientific evidence now that our brains are open to growth and learning throughout our lifetime. So as Jessica was creating new brain pathways through her experiences, so was I! And this is true not just for negative or stressful experiences, but for happy and successful experiences as well. Overtime you, as a parent, problem solve, share in your child’s joys and success, you are all growing your brains! So really, no experience is a negative experience…they are all good…there is your silver lining!
Being Jessica's Mom: Growing up on the Autistic Spectrum 