Living with a Special Needs Child

Our daughter, O, is 10 years old, but she is developmentally delayed. Which means she functions at about a 4 to 5 year old level socially, and probably lower than that academically. She is mildly mentally retarded and has severe ADHD. She is a handfull, but an extremely loving child and I wouldn't change things even if I could.

I don't want to get into everything with her, you will hear more stories about her as I blog on, I am sure, but there is something that is eating me alive. She is 10 1/2...which means puberty is not far away. How do you explain to essentially a 4 year old that she is going to get her period? How do you explain that she will need to get a pelvic exam? What kind of doctor do you take her to? Do you put her on the depo shot so that she won't have a period? She is not capable of deciding her sexual path in life. What is the easiest course? I want to protect her as well as I can - I am her mother. What if she is taken advantage of - and is raped, but isn't protected? She couldn't raise a baby - and I don't know that I could put her through an abortion or do the abortion anyway! Do I just put her on a birth control regimen to be safe? I realize this is still maybe a couple of years away, but I keep telling myself I would cross that bridge when it came, but I think the bridge is getting closer. I can SEE it and that scares the hell out of me. I can't seem to find any support groups for this thing, although I know there are other parents who have had to go through it. So, hopefully someone will read this blog and help me out. This is my cry for help!!

Yadda yadda yadda

Well, today is Wednesday. Our schedules get all funked up this week because the boys get out of school early today and tomorrow and have no school on Friday or Monday. So, it will be an experience getting them back on track!

I go back to the eye doctor tomorrow to see if I can get some new glasses or possibly get my contacts back. I am praying to get my contacts back!

C came home with a note from a girl the other day. It had her phone number on it! He is in KINDERGARTEN!! My son got his first digits at 5 years old! How does that even happen? I guess he is going to be a ladies' man!! Good for him...not good for mom!!

We have a wedding to go to on Saturday - so mom and dad are keeping the kids. I am so lucky and thankful to have parents around willing to help us out with the kids. I don't know what we would do without them!!

Life in general

Not too much has been going on the last couple of days. Just working and raising kids!! I did reach out to a couple of people from college. Hopefully I will get some kind of response. I have been wondering what became of them - so hopefully I will hear something! I am kind of over the whole being excluded thing...it is just a fact of life - you know there are members of your family whom you love and love you back, and there are others who don't. But oh well, I am happy, I have wonderful kids, I have parents that are unbelievable and a husband who loves me unconditionally. What more could I ask for? Hopefully we have a good weekend in front of us....