Difficult Decision

We have been a little puzzled by some changes in Abby recently. Ever since the beginning of August our lives have been pretty busy with camping, a trip to Seattle, and a long trip to California, and we have not done any of her therapy program (with the exception of stopping the self-stimming behavior). Yet in that time she has progressed back to the point or even better than she was a year ago when all this regression started (with the exception of not being potty trained still). She still has a lot of "issues," but we just aren't seeing the same disturbing behavior that we were back at the beginning of the year.

So we're wondering if the therapy has been helping all these months and she's now rapidly reaping the benefit of that, or did it just go away, or is she just maturing and growing up and out of some of this stuff? During the time we were doing therapy we didn't see this much progress, so now that we've stopped and are seeing a return to her "normal" self, we are questioning whether we need to continue the therapy.

After some prayer and discussion with hubby, we have made the hard decision to cancel her next appointment with the neurodevelopmental specialist. I hope we don't undo all we've done, but at this point we don't see the need to put Abby--and me--through the program. She had really begun to hate doing her program every day, and when she found out we weren't doing it anymore, she was so excited!

Another factor in our decision is that we have two appointments with a specialist recommended by our pediatrician back in June. We couldn't get in for five months, but we will see him this month. I am a bit skeptical about these visits, but I'm willing to listen and hear what they have to offer. Afterall, we did ask our ped for advice, and it would probably be a good idea to follow through with his advice instead of just dismissing it without checking it out, huh?

All this to say, please pray for wisdom and guidance for us. I am truly shocked and dismayed that there really are no specialists in the area of FASD, and no one really seems to know what to do. Most treatment is parent driven and I sometimes feel like an explorer lost in a world completely unfamiliar to me yet refusing to believe that medication and/or doing nothing are my only options. If that turns out to be the case after all my searching, so be it. But for now, I am not going to be content with that. Abigail is an incredibly bright (and beautiful, I might add) child who just needs help in reaching her potential!

Lord, help me help her, please.