Some of the Evaluations

I haven't read of of the evaluation yet. I read Patches, Michael, and Ruthie's. In that order. I will highlight some of the interesting points on them. My thoughts will be in parenthesis.

Patches has Schizo-Affective Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Rule out PTSD, only b/c she refused to talk about any thing. Her IQ is 78,. Her eye contact was more intense than what is typical. (boy is it ever, it's weird and uncomfortable) It suggests we utilize an RTC for her due to her increasing instability coupled with limited response to intervention. Do not allow her to interact with children unsupervised. (Duh.) She is unable to read emotions on cards. (or faces) She She claims some really funny things like, she has lots of friends, they all just met her on the first day of school, she only gets along with dogs b/c she is only used to dogs, she doesn't like anyone, when asked why she lives with us she said "I been here a long time", and there is nothing good about us but couldn't recall any negative details. Her GAC score is 62

Michael has PTSD, RAD. His IQ is a 79 (he wants to be a shark or a robot when he grows up, sounds reasonable). It suggests we try AT. (Oh good, so the last 2 yrs we were on the right track.) He made some interesting points like, when asked why he likes living here he said "they give you food and water" and when asked if he likes his teacher and has friends he said "it's not fun to do the CRCT" (way to stay on the topic, kiddo). His GAC score is 65.

Ruthie has Anxiety Disorder NOS and Mild Mental Retardation. Her IQ is 62. Is says she should reach the level of a 6th grader as an adult and be able to achieve some independence (we are talking freedom, folks. She will not live in my basement with her babies even though she tells me this all the time). She has a hard time telling reality from fantasy. She made some comments about her dissociation episodes need to be checked by a doctor to rule out organic causes before we come to any conclusions. Ruthie claims to have one friend (same girl she made up the story about claiming she was a victim of this poor girl), claims other children are mean to her and laugh at her and she has no idea why ( she really doesn't know why and laughs, too), she says she doesn't tell the teachers b/c she is afraid (if you are confused, you are not alone), when asked why she was adopted she said, "it's inappropriate" (what is? the Dr didn't know either, LOL), she was asked about her forgetfulness and she said, "I forgot", she has an imaginary friend that wears pink and purple, has brown skin with green eyes, and is nice to her, and she is afraid to play outside (this child LIVES outside). Her GAC score is 75. (Woo Hoo)

I am exhausted for them. They are so darn cute but so lost in a conversation. They all have learned to mimic what your face does so you don't know they have no idea what the heck is going on. That's why Ruthie laughs when they make fun of her. Michael and Patches can not figure out what how you feel. I can tell them over and over I am not upset and they still freak out on me. It must be so hard to be them.

I think it is a double edged sword that they can hide their disabilities so well at times. First, they can fit in for brief periods and people don't assume they are stupid. What makes it difficult is that people expect them to understand what they are talking about. They are shocked when they see the other side of them after meeting them a few times. They get really frustrated with them when they don't respond the correct way. It can seem I am mean to them when I won't let them do things or talk to certain people. I separate them from others when they are struggling to maintain themselves. It would be so much easier if their disability was obvious and it wasn't so scary. I wish the public was more informed and supportive. I wish I wasn't so defensive when people try to "help". I am working on that for their sake.