Good morning! I hope you don’t get rising water in the living room :-).
I talked to our church education director last night about Pat, and she said I should call the local elementary school. She also said Pat seemed weird to her, but not disabled, based on interactions in the nursery. “Are you doing okay, Pat?” “Yes. I’m going to take all the trucks to Jupiter, where I will teach the natives to speak Greek.” “Okay, just tell me if you need to go to the bathroom.”
This morning I called the school, and talked to an administrator with experience in special ed. She had me describe what he’s like, and said he didn’t sound autistic to her, just very intelligent and rather bratty. I was surprised when she said that many 5-year-olds are sufficiently involved in their fantasy worlds that they expect their friends to call them Tim, or whomever they’ve decided to be! However, most kids don’t have a supporting cast of seven brothers and sisters.
The administrator said we should have our GP check Pat out, with emphasis on his interactions rather than his growth and shots, and then if our doctor feels it’s necessary, we’ll get a referral to a “pediatric neurologist.” In general, the person I talked to said that “behavior modification” was in order! (Suggested that he should go to school, of course, but we’re not going to get involved with that this year. He can go to Sunday School for “socialization.”)
Tracking down what’s “wrong” with Patrick may be more like the blind men and the elephant, than anything else. I vote for a pediatric evaluation.
In a lot of ways, Pat reminds me of my own son. “Single child” kinda thing, even though Pat has siblings, where my son’s were imaginary. The most inventive kids are the ones who are allowed (by what ever circumstance) to do what their minds suggest.
Pat is not destructive, and he’s not anti-social, so I would just have him checked by the pediatrician. Although, I would also explain that Pat is not a disruption. To you and the rest of his family, Pat is “different,” much the same as your other children.
We could all use “behavior modification.”
My daughter was distraut a few years ago when she was diagnosed as “OCD.” The thought flashed in my mind that all of us are OCD in certain areas, but that doesn’t mean we are profoundly different than those around us. I told her to think about the areas where she was OCD, and then decide if it was a problem to her. That was the last I have heard of her OCD diagnosis.
I suspect Patrick hears the beat of a different drummer, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’m sure you will do all in your power to make sure he is diagnosed correctly, and that he receives the proper treatment. If any. It may be that he is truly, just “different!”