So the McBean has been on Ritalin for 4 days now. We have not noticed any changes. While we are glad he is not having any adverse reactions, it would have been great to notice some change in his ants-in-the-pants-iness.

We had his ears checked this morning and the fluid is still in his right ear. It is not infected, but we are following up with the ENT next month. I really hope the McBean does not need tubes in his ears.

We are also counting down the days until our vacation! Spring Break here we come. The McBean is very excited about our trip to Disneyland (as are Bob and I). I am excited about visiting family. I think we all need the change of scenery.

Bob and the McBean (Tommy) and I live in Michigan. Bob and I work at the University and the McBean is in Kindergarten. The McBean is a child with autism (and ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder). While he is very high functioning, every day is a new and exciting challenge. We have been living with an official diagnosis for about a year now and we are still navigating our way with the help of psycologists, psyciatrists, speech therapists, OTs, aides, IEPs and now medications. We know that this is a lifelong process and our hope is that by dealing with it head-on now, we can make things easier for the future.

Great things about the McBean: He is very smart with an almost ridiculous memory. For example, he can remeber the names of the past winners and even contestants from Jeopardy shows that aired months ago. I cannot tell this child we are going to do something "later" and then not follow through, as he will remember what I told him. He is very sweet and funny.

Challenges with the McBean: He is very stubborn and set in his ways (for a 6-year-old). He likes to stick to his routines. He can be obsessive about a particular genre or theme (right now it is Star Wars).

We are doing all that we can to help the McBean and I am so thankful for the wonderful professionals that we are working with to give the McBean all the tools and help so that he can grow up and be a strong, successful and independent man.