Monday was a Teacher Workday. That let me do horse chores and take Shane to a couple appointments.
The first of which was the orthodontist. I think Carrie took him last time, because it felt like a while since I'd been in the office.
I stayed up front when Shane went back for x-rays. They called me back a little bit later to chat.
It started with a picture of Shane's teeth from over five and a half years ago.
All of this was to compared to today's pictures.
Bottom line: Our previous dental moves had all helped, but Shane would benefit from braces. He has an overbite and the teeth on the right side are advanced forward and not clicking into place.
It's not a surprise. Carrie and I both experienced braces. Most of my siblings needed them, as well (with one twin wanting them to match her sister more than needing them).
So we're in. It's going to cost over $6k $7.5k over three years, but Shane's an only child. It's better to take care of this while he's younger to help make sure he develops a healthy amount of confidence as he matures.
Side note: The ortho mentioned that Shane will need his wisdom teeth removed for sure. Apparently, modern dental thinking is to take them out earlier, because younger teens heal much faster/better than older teens. That's way different than when I had mine removed in college!
Our next appointment was all the way in Northern Virginia. There was cushion built into the schedule, so I told Shane we could eat lunch wherever he wanted. He picked Noodles and Company, but when we got there we found out they were closed on Monday! Sorry, Shane! Shane kept waffling, unable to pick, but settled on Firehouse Subs for pick #2.
I can't remember the last time Shane's had a meatball sub. The restaurant was packed for the lunch rush and it took a while, but that worked perfectly with the plan. There'd just be less wait time when we got to NoVA.
We arrived at a family counseling and psychiatric practice. Shane got absorbed in a marble dexterity maze while I filled out paperwork.
He got called back to speak to Dr. Chris while I was given a set of scales to fill out.
The goal of the appointment was to diagnose if Shane was ADD or ADHD. We weren't looking for medication....yet. Carrie and I would prefer if he learned to manage his behavior without medication. However, if he starts to have trouble in school and a professional says "A-duh" then we'll strongly consider it. As a SPED teacher, I've seen kids who's functionality depended on medication and kids who were thrown pills too quickly because someone found them mildly annoying.
If Shane was identified as having ADHD, we could consider applying for a 504 plan at school. We'd probably look at whether an accommodation to stand at his desk or take a walking break would help him. Right now, Shane's teachers are understanding. If he has a stricter teacher next year and/or matures slowly then formalizing some accommodations could help him focus.
Overall, this was a preventative, fact-finding step rather than a reactive one. Shane is being successful in school. He would not qualify for an IEP even if we got identified and put him on meds, because the schools could say they don't see a negative educational impact (which is a good thing!).
And we wanted to know: Is he or isn't he?
Shane came sprinting out to get me when it was my time to go back. He was happy-happy-excited! Dr. Chris' office was full of frogs. Stuffed, painted, ceramic, and maybe even a live one in a terrarium. I didn't take any pictures in the office, because it didn't seem appropriate.
Shane had talked to Dr. Chris for a long while before Dr. Chris called for me. In some ways, it was like having a way over-qualified babysitter that insurance was helping pay for. Shane seemed like he was having the time of his life. He likes to talk!
Shane impressed Dr Chris in many ways ("Precocious" was a word that came up). That said, he said he could also see where Shane might have trouble focusing in school. Shane was bouncing around the room, looking at comics on the wall, and hamming it up (He had been on a 2.5 hour car ride, so that had to be factored in...).
Dr. Chris' verdict: He can see why we talked to him. While he didn't say "You're kid is 100% ADHD," he said without doing brain scans or deeper testing that the shoe certainly looked like it fit. Dr. Chris said he'd be glad to talk to the school about qualifying for a 504 if we needed. I signed the disclaimers right then and there, but we have not followed up with Walton yet. We may consider doing so after we see how Quarter 2 ends.
It was time to head home after that. Thank God Shane's a good traveler. He played on his Switch and listened along to an audiobook with me when I made him take a break from it.
It was a more draining day for me than him! I'm glad we got it done. The drive will be a bummer if we need a follow up, but saving a ton of money by going to a psychiatrist who takes our insurance may help with paying for braces!
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