This post does not have any pictures of Emma-sorry, guys! ; ) I will post some pictures of her riding her big girl bike (w/training wheels) the next time. I promise.
For those of you who have been following Emma's story, you know that we have been searching for answers to our questions. With respect to Emma's privacy I am not going to give a detailed list of what her personal challenges have been or our challenges as a family. If you know us in real life, then you KNOW what I am talking about.
Today we finally met somebody somebody with the RIGHT answer. We have "fired" two Attachment Therapists who did not get it. Dr. "P" is a psychologist and he GETS IT. After a phone consultation with Greg last week and meeting with us today, he diagnosed Emma as having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Greg and I had suspected that Emma's condition was trauma based for quite some time and we had actually even discussed PTSD. Emma's prior diagnosis of RAD just never felt "right", we had challenged both Attachment Therapists on the diagnosis. Call it parental intuition. PTSD fits Emma; when Dr. "P" said it...well, it was like a giant light bulb lit up the room. I think that I even said something like "Thank God you get it". He probably thinks that I need therapy, I was talking a mile a minute in his office!! ; )
SO, NOW we can start to help Emma heal. This is a good thing. He sees all of Emma's potential, I like that. Below is a link to PTSD, and the article is LONG. Feel free to read it if you wish. I am including a quote from the article (not my own words, the words of Dr. Bruce Perry). It really sums things up I think!
http://www.childtrauma.org/ctamaterials/ptsd_interdisc.asp
"Typical signs and symptoms of PTSD include impulsivity, distractibility and attention problems (due to hypervigilance), dysphoria, emotional numbing, social avoidance, dissociation, sleep problems, aggressive (often re-enactment) play, school failure and regressed or delayed development".
I'm sharing this information so that family and friends can better understand Emma and our family. I hope that it might also help another family in the same situation as us.
