not a typical 5th grader

One of the things that drove me nuts about Drew's old school is they would always say that things Drew did were not "typical" 5th grade behavior. Well, ummmmm, Drew is not a typical 5th grader.  He has a neurological disability that needs to be accommodated according to federal guidelines.  That never happened.

Drew tics A LOT.  ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT. Moving 24/7 is bound to make a body tired. He is also on meds that can make him sleepy.  An accommodation that we tried to be put in place was that he be allowed to go rest if he was overly tired.  We were informed that being tired was not typical behavior and they refused to accommodate it.  Everytime he would dose off in class they would call me and force me to pick him  up.  I continually pointed out that other districts had accommodated kids with TS by allowing them a quiet place to sleep for 30 minutes or so if needed.  It was not an every day thing or even an every week thing.  But once in a while it would happen. I was told that there was no way the school or district would allow such a thing to be accommodated.  If he had a diagnosis of narcolepsy it would not have been a problem.

So today, Drew has done math and spelling.  Then this happened during silent reading.

It happens we adjust and move on.  too bad public schools can't do the same.

another piece of the puzzle

Sleep has always been an issue for Drew. I should say waking up has been a problem for Drew.  I have always said he loves his sleep.  He is impossible to wake up.  We suspected sleep issues for a long time.  I have heard him stop breathing (apnea) when we have shared a hotel room.  I had mentioned it to doctors in the past.  But no one ever did anything to see what the issue was.

UNTIL we moved here and got hooked up with the children's hospital.

A week ago Drew and I traveled to Broomfield for a night.  It was not a pleasure trip but me found some fun.  Drew had a sleep study scheduled at the satellite Children's Hospital.

First we stopped for dinner.  We went to Gunther Toody's for dinner.  Drew was in heaven.  they had monitors with old Popeye cartoons on.  He didn't say much while he was drinking his root beer float

Then off to the hospital. After getting Drew hooked up to all the machines and ready for bed our night started.  Drew barely stayed awake while they were getting things hooked up so he was out cold.

I wish I had been so lucky.I could not sleep.  The "bed" for the parents is not a bed it is a slab with a pillow.

About midnight the respiratory therapist came in and told me that Drew had yet to go in to REM sleep.  He had been asleep three and half hours. That was the first clue as to the explanation of the sleep problems with Drew.  He also said that there had been some dips in his oxygen saturation. 

The RT came in at 3 and said Drew FINALLY had gone in to REM sleep and he could finally put a CPAP mask on him.  He immediately went into REM sleep.  They woke him up at 6.  The RT told me it took about 2  - 3 weeks for the results to be scored.

On the way home (after a Starbucks stop) I asked how he felt. He said he felt a little more awake than usual.

I was surprised when the sleep doc called Thursday.  Yes Drew has sleep apnea.  The numbers were astounding.  I am not publishing them.  We now know why Drew is IMPOSSIBLE to wake up in the morning.  

Tuesday afternoon Drew will be fitted for his CPAP.  We are hoping for improvement in Drew's sleep.

Stay tuned for an update once we see what happens