The school has been really good.  I've noticed that not too many people understand OCD.  Whenever I mention to other parents that she's gotta see the paediatrician about behaviour, it's assumed she has ADHD.  People understand ADHD more these days as such a large number of children have it and therefore, I believe, we've had to learn more about the condition.  OCD is almost unheard of in children.  I can't even get assistance through the public system as no paed has any experience with this condition.  I've got Carer's Allowance now which is a huge help toward her therapy.  I just recently paid a huge sum of money for a specialist to go into her classroom and work with the teacher and teacher aide to teach them how to minimise anxiety in the classroom, and handle anxiety attacks if they do occur so that I don't get so many calls at work to pick her up when they can't get her to breathe properly.

She's doing much better this term, the teacher has put strategies in place now to help her at school and as a result has had no problems with panic or anxiety, although it's only been a week.  So here's hoping this last term of Prep is going to go well!  When we find out who her Year 1 teacher will be, I'll pay that same specialist to come in and go over everything with that teacher and any aides if they have any in the room.

Well, better get onto this housework before it builds up more and causes any problems...

The paediatrician mentioned 2 weeks ago that because we are vegetarian, my daughter's iron level will be low and that may be the cause of some the behaviours.  She rang yesterday and said she was surprised that my daughter's blood tests have shown that her levels are spot-on with everything.  Goes to show that even vegetarian families are providing their children with all the vitamins and minerals they need in a day.

The paediatrician also hasn't written her report, which means the school still has nothing to go on other than what I tell them after an appointment.  I know she's just being thorough and wants to make sure that the conditions she's diagnosed are not a symptom of something else before writing out the report, but until the report is done my child can't get the extra help she needs at school and the problems aren't officially recognised.

I'm going into today's appointment with 2 goals: To get the Carer's Allowance form filled out so I can start actually being able to afford to help my child and to pay for her paed appointments without having to reduce our groceries each week; and to get her to write up a report stating the 2 conditions she's already diagnosed so the school can have a copy of the report and put things in place to help my daughter day to day.

It got me thinking, though, do you get your 2 and 5 each day?

Anyway, I had a night out planned for next Friday night.  Just a trial run.  Was going to the pub down the end of my street from 8 until 10.  Only have 1, maybe 2 drinks just to see how the babysit went and how DD responded to her and everything else.  Spoke to my boss about it and she mentioned this girl has had problems.  When more questions were asked about this girls problems, it turns out she cuts herself, which I wasn't overly concerned with in itself, but she's also attempted suicide twice in 2 years, once was when she was babysitting her 2 younger siblings.  The parents came home from a meal at a restaurant just before they left in December to find their 17 year old daughter without much of a pulse.  She took a whole heap of sleeping pills.  How is that responsible??? It would be better to leave my child at home alone than to have her traumatised (and essentially alone) by the babysitter offing herself while she was charge of the child!

I'm not desperate to find a babysitter, but she turns 6 soon and I hardly go out anywhere, and it would just be nice to have a babysitter.  For instance, next Wednesday we have staff training which will go pretty late, so Miss 5 will have to just come along with me and be awake until 10pm on a school night.  Far from ideal.  A babysitter who could come here and keep her in routine would be much better.  But I'd rather have her out late for staff meetings or training, or miss out on movies or nights out, than leave her with someone who is going to kill herself or start cutting herself when she's meant to be babysitting.

I just don't know why it's so hard to find a babysitter who I would trust enough with my child, my very reason for everything I do in life.  Apparently this girl has had help, and that's great, and maybe in a few more years she'd be ok, but it was only December when she last attempted suicide.  I've been asking around work and at the school Miss 5 attends, I've asked friends with children but they either don't go out, have family in town, have a husband/partner at home to watch the kids, or they are single and the other parent has the children every second weekend.  Not much use to me at all.

With my boss, she has 3 kids and her friend has 3 kids.  They babysit for each other, they don't let anyone else look after their kids, and they don't babysit for anyone other than each other.  I need a friend like that with just one child.  It's hardly fair taking on someone else's 3 children in exchange for them looking after my one child.

Or maybe I'm just expecting too much from a babysitter.  I'm not fond of just ringing random numbers in the newspaper in case the person is just like the one my boss reccommended.  It also doesn't sit well with me to advertise needing a babysitter for that same reason.

Lest We Forget!