Happy Tears

Wildman is playing T-ball!! I can't believe it. He actually likes it and listens to the coaches! I stand there in awe that this is really happening!
Okay, in order to understand my excitement and amazement at his seemingly minor feet, you must know where we started. So, this may get a bit long...
I have never been one to buy into the whole ADHD thing very well. It is way over diagnosed and used as an excuse far too often. However, God decided that I needed a first hand lesson on what true ADHD looks like and boy am I getting it now!
 Wildman was always a demanding baby. He was happy as long as I was holding him and he had my full attention. (well, that hasn't really changed as he's gotten older!) He has always had difficulty in public places or even small crowds. As an infant, he screamed when given any toys with music or lights. Once he could crawl and move about, he was always on the go. Of course me being a first time mom, I thought it was so cute how he literally stood and walked ALL day long at a year old. He never even sat to play with toys. He ALWAYS stood while playing. Even in his sleep he moved all night long and slept fitfully.   
Wildman was always sick. He had his first sinus infection at 2 days old. He had severe reflux. He had recurrent throat infections. He was on antibiotics about every six to eight weeks for the first four years of his life. He is VERY sensitive to medications also.
He had a lot of sensory issues. He ate mostly bread or macaroni if anything at all. He could go all day with just milk. He was sensitive to sounds, crowds, and smells. He never got dizzy. Seriously. I could spin him forever and he would just get up and walk away with no effect at all. He was very picky about clothes and shoes. He screamed as an infant when socks were put on his feet. He always needed to be held. He took forever to go to sleep and I had to lay down and hold my arm around him or he wouldn't go to sleep. He never slept through the night.
He was very aggressive toward other children from the time he could crawl to get to them. He would crawl friend's children and hit or pinch them. I remember thinking that the other kids must have done that to him when I wasn't looking because how would he know how to be mean at such a young age. I tried everything to socialize him. We were asked politely to leave playgroups or not told about play dates due to him hitting, pushing, spitting etc. That was all he would do when around other children. He never even attempted to play with them. He would actually go out of his way to get to another child just to hurt them. Of course I blamed myself and cried every day.
Going out in public was very difficult. He cried if sat in a shopping cart or stroller. He fussed when I held him and if put down, he took off and I don't just mean a little bit. He would take off running and not stop for anything. Eating out always resulted in him screaming or him clearing the table. I know now he couldn't handle the noise and visual stimulus but I had no idea then.
So, we mostly stayed at home. All day long he got into as much as he could and I tried to keep up, keep him entertained and to figure out how to discipline him. Nothing worked and I tried it all. It was just like he jumped from thing to thing thinking "okay what can I get into next". Now I know some of you are thinking just discipline him and that's what I used to think but EVERYTHING I tried did not work. I cried just about every night.
Not to say that we didn't have good times, we did every day but there was just so much difficulty in between. He has always been very bright and a self directed learner. He would point to all of the triangles in a group of shapes before he could even say triangle. He knew all of his shapes and colors before he could name them verbally. He has an amazing memory. He was and is a very loving child with me, family members and close friends.
We tried pre-school at 2 and a half to try to help with socialization but were basically asked to leave after he chunked a block at a child across the room and the block cut her head. This was after daily reports of similar incidences and he was only there 2 hours 3 days a week. So we went back to staying at home. We tried preschool again at four and it was the same scenario. I was beginning to believe something was severely wrong.
Finally, the last straw. He was a little over four and we were taking a walk with my parents which we did frequently. He was riding his bike on the walking trail and having a good time when all of a sudden out of the blue he just lept from his bike and ran through the bushes into a busy street laughing. He was running down the middle of a very busy street and wouldn't stop. I was screaming and trying to catch him and somehow after what seemed like an eternity (but was only a couple feet) did. Cars were honking and stopping and he didn't even register what he had done. He was just laughing.
I began intensive research and in desperation with nowhere else to turn made an appointment with a doctor who worked with an organization called Defeat Autism Now. I knew he wasn't autistic but I learned there are similar treatments for ADHD and Autism. This doctor works with diet and nutritional supplements to naturally treat these conditions. HE GAVE ME MY SON BACK!! I began to see results right away after starting him on the diet but life was still challenging. It has progressively gotten better as we have tweaked his supplements and restored health to him. And as I have accepted his diagnoses of ADHD, gluten intolerance, dairy intolerance multiple other food allergies, hypoglycemia, anemia and (my diagnosis) of sensory processing disorder and learned ways to improve management of these conditions.
This past year we began to formally homeschool and have been belssed with a large support group with multiple weekly activities. Only in the last six months, have we been able to join in on many activities without complete meltdowns (although they still occur). We are part of a small homeschool class for his age group.  I have to stay on top of him the whole hour but he is able to participate and not asked to leave. What a triumph!
So, you see I am not crazy to celebrate the fact that he has made it to two t-ball practices so far and has participated just like all the other kids. It really is a miracle for us. Even when I signed him up (after much begging by him) I thought we would attend once and be kicked out or too embarssed to come back after his behavior. But so far he is doing great! I fully expect that we will not make it the whole season without a meltdown or two but this glimpse into what life can be like for him after SO MUCH struggling makes me cry. Only now it is happy tears!