I'm ADD which is supposed to be a "mild" form of autism and, I guess aspberger. I wasn't diagnosed until I was in my late 30's and then only because a friend of mine was complaining about her husband's behavior and she was describing me to a "T". Typical of someone who is ADD, I hyper-focused on researching it and by god, I'm classically ADD. For me, finally knowing why I didn't think like everyone else or behave like everyone else or find it necessary to be like everyone else was, I can't describe it, it lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. Opened my eyes. Most people with ADD have IQ's off the charts like autism etc., but we still crave typical social situations, so we "dumb" ourselves down with drugs (both legal and not) and alcohol (age doesn't matter), and try to focus with caffeine and tobacco (we are always trying to go up or down depending on the situation and how we feel). Structure is really important to keep us focused but it thwarts the creative side and we hate that. We are either off or on, there is no middle ground. Drugs like Xanax and Ritalin help greatly but only a psychiatrist "gets"it. Other doctors think we are addicts waiting to happen. Truth be known, by the very nature of our "disease" we can't remember to take our meds often enough to become addicted. I'll head to the kitchen to get my bottle of Ritalin or Xanax and decide along the way I need to go the bathroom and forget all about it, until 2 days later. In my case, once I knew what I had and why it made me feel different or act differently, or want to act differently from the rest of the world, I was able to learn to use it to my advantage. Truth be known, I learned these coping skills as a child, just didn't know I was coping. There are times, weeks even, where I can't keep a thought straight in my head, I know to just chill out and play dumb. Yes, Ritalin will help but I need to take such large quantities I can't sleep and then I take too much Xanax and can't think. Yes, vicious cycle. I don't like it, so I just allow myself to be a total airhead since, frankly, nothing helps anyway. I've learned when drugs will help (most of the time actually) and when they won't. There are times I wouldn't trade being ADD for anything in the world. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I gave myself the equivalent of a couple years of med school in one month. Only someone with ADD could pull that off (we've all heard of the kids who finished med school at 21). Unless I'm having a "duh" period, I defy anyone to get the better of me, unless I decide the fight isn't worth it (hey, I'm lazy too). What I'm getting at is find your kids strengths and weaknesses and do your best to give him what he needs to succeed by focusing on his strengths. There are strengths there, you just have to learn to see the forest for the trees. Teach him to compensate for his weaknesses, or as Stacy and I did, let him figure them out for himself. Remember, your kid's true problem is he is smarter than 90% of the rest of the world. You have to figure out how to make him feel as though he fits in. I will say, though, based on my parents mistakes with me, don't make him do anything he isn't interested in other than forcing social skills on him. We shut off and tune out so fast you won't know what happened. Never give ultimatums. We don't care. Suggest alternatives. If he is drawing on his bedroom walls, don't threaten to beat him, let him draw on the driveway instead. That will be the end of it. Beat his butt and send him to bed and the next thing he will do is draw on the house with a can of spray paint. Remember, his peers already think he's "weird", you can't top that. Okay, I hope this makes sense. Good luck. Basically, just use your gut instincts with the kid and forget what the experts tell you. He's an individual like no other in the true sense of the term, learn to make the most of it. Laura

Wow, this thread took wings again! Let's see if I can answer. missymoo - we wonder, too, about the discomfort of being still. But as I said upthread, she stops the pacing when we're not paying attention to her. She was never a particularly active dog, so other than maybe being bored, I'm not sure it's discomfort. Yesterday DH was gone and I was puttering around the house. She landed in one of her favorite spots and was there the entire afternoon. tibbrix - We live in NC, so the water is really cold right now. I just don't think I could do that. I wouldn't want someone tossing me in a cold lake in February. And she hates water unless DH is in there with her. I don't think he'll go for that. :) mimi - the vet has done a bunch of range of motion and that type of testing. There haven't been any tests with machines or anything. She doesn't think the dementia is really an issue because of the dog's attentiveness, being in-the-moment when she's there, etc. She said there is still a lot going on upstairs, and there are no other symptoms of dementia. We have her on pain management drugs, which are limited because she is also on Prednisone, which means she can't take NSAIDS. She's also on a supplement and fish oil for arthritis. I will look into the PAWS, that might help some. starsplitter - we have not used glucosamine/chondroitin for this dog, although we gave to another dog years ago. I'd have to ask and research it, it might not work with the Prednisone. The Pred is for a chronic liver ailment, and is keeping that well controlled. She only get 5mg every other day, so super low dosage, but long term. Thanks to everyone for all of the suggestions and words of advice. We've never had a dog live this long, so we're in new territory.

I went through therapy intended to help with vertigo and balance issues. Can't be sure it's the very same therapy that was suggested to your daughter. I went through therapy twice-first time, I think, it was in 2009. They concluded it was not helpful to me. Second try was done in several years. The diagnosis was affirmed by then, and it was not positional vertigo as was initially thought..and the problems weren't vestibular. The therapists were wonderful, and I'm sure they've helped many people. But I got worse, and never recovered. New symptoms appeared that plainly never went away. The exercises that were beneficial to others harmed me. Maybe because they had different conditions than me, even though some symptoms were the same. Vertigo or dizziness(which is similar but not same..and it's important to understand the difference) or presence of both can be signs of many many things, from side effects of a recent flu to neurological conditions that ultimately have nothing to do with vestibular apparatus. It works just fine while some other things don't. And it takes time to properly diagnose, and sometimes-a very, very good doctor. So, bottom line-it can be very helpful, it can do nothing, and it can-potentially- harm too. I guess it depends on what causes the vertigo. everybody starts with checking vestibular, and they are right-at the very least it needs to be ruled out, including Meniere. But it doesn't mean the problem always lies there. I would try to pursue it and see how it goes. The therapy didn't help me when the condition just started, that's true, but didn't harm me either. It took several more years into the disease to react to it like I did. And it does help to many, many people. But the reasons are important to figure out. As was mentioned already in previous posts. They can be very simple, and they can be anything but. In any cause, she should exercise extreme caution when driving. and of course abstain from it when having an episode. Did the doctor recommend Meclizine to help with the symptoms?

I bought a vanity set that had a pre drilled top for a single hole faucet and I needed three holes. Hired a stone guy to come drill more holes. Turns out it was porcelain. He wore out a hole saw bit and barely made a dent. It was the first time he saw a porcelain countertop and the description of the vanity did not specify what the top was made of. I ended up buying a remanent from him of an engineered stone. He slightly oversized it so that it met the wall better. Was a better choice in the long run for me. So, we know that it is a tough material!