- Six years later.....
23 Feb 2010 I have known George for six years, I was horrified to find out, and today we said Goodbye. George was referred a long time ago by the specialist neurologist in the Big Town; although we have paediatricians of all sorts, complex cases are sent to the Teaching Hospital in the next town. Anyway George was referred because he has Tourettes and ADHD and was struggling in school.
He was a very quiet boy. His father always brought him and he and I got on well. I had no idea what George was thinking because he didn’t talk much. I tended to talk to or at George about what Tourettes was and how to manage his ‘shakes’. These tended to be worse when he was stressed and when he was cold. This was another boy who felt he was the only boy in the world with this problem, but at that time, there was another boy in his school Tourettes. After a while I wondered about his understanding and referred him on to the Speech and Language Department of the local University. It turned out that he had an oscure but significant problem with comprehension and he was given exercises to do on a daily basis – they helped and his language and conversation improved.
As his language improved, so did his life in school. His ‘shakes’ got better and he seemed to be responding to the ADHD medication. Gradually life at home improved too - the problems he had with his mother improved, he got on well with his siblings, he made friends and spent a lot of times on bike rides in the countryside. His father listened to me when I suggested ways of allowing him to grow-up; he had been protective of this boy who hadn’t always understood, and who seemed to get lost very easily.
A serious strength of our department is that we leave files open and can see people with a long-standing problem when they need the contact and support. So I was able to see George fairly regularly, particularly when things seemed to be going wrong. His mother left the family home and so did his sister. The sister came back. Times of transition are difficult so, George left school, it seemed sensible for me to keep on seeing him rather than moving him on to adult services.
George made a much happier student than school boy. He began to play the guitar and showed real talent. After a couple of months, teaching himself, he was playing music rather than notes. George enjoyed his college courses, he got a girlfriend. The shakes seemed to ease off, he was less affected by ADHD – many young people become much better at this age – he seemed on course for adulthood.
Now he is 18. He still plays the guitar, still has his girlfriend, still takes medication. But he has coped well with some difficult situations and is enjoying his course and planning for his future. I can’t justify seeing him any more. He is tall but today I could still see the boy he was as well as the hairy legs and adult face of the man he has become.
We said Goodbye. I felt as proud of him as any mother as he left.
He was a very quiet boy. His father always brought him and he and I got on well. I had no idea what George was thinking because he didn’t talk much. I tended to talk to or at George about what Tourettes was and how to manage his ‘shakes’. These tended to be worse when he was stressed and when he was cold. This was another boy who felt he was the only boy in the world with this problem, but at that time, there was another boy in his school Tourettes. After a while I wondered about his understanding and referred him on to the Speech and Language Department of the local University. It turned out that he had an oscure but significant problem with comprehension and he was given exercises to do on a daily basis – they helped and his language and conversation improved.
As his language improved, so did his life in school. His ‘shakes’ got better and he seemed to be responding to the ADHD medication. Gradually life at home improved too - the problems he had with his mother improved, he got on well with his siblings, he made friends and spent a lot of times on bike rides in the countryside. His father listened to me when I suggested ways of allowing him to grow-up; he had been protective of this boy who hadn’t always understood, and who seemed to get lost very easily.
A serious strength of our department is that we leave files open and can see people with a long-standing problem when they need the contact and support. So I was able to see George fairly regularly, particularly when things seemed to be going wrong. His mother left the family home and so did his sister. The sister came back. Times of transition are difficult so, George left school, it seemed sensible for me to keep on seeing him rather than moving him on to adult services.
George made a much happier student than school boy. He began to play the guitar and showed real talent. After a couple of months, teaching himself, he was playing music rather than notes. George enjoyed his college courses, he got a girlfriend. The shakes seemed to ease off, he was less affected by ADHD – many young people become much better at this age – he seemed on course for adulthood.
Now he is 18. He still plays the guitar, still has his girlfriend, still takes medication. But he has coped well with some difficult situations and is enjoying his course and planning for his future. I can’t justify seeing him any more. He is tall but today I could still see the boy he was as well as the hairy legs and adult face of the man he has become.
We said Goodbye. I felt as proud of him as any mother as he left.