Kayden

Written May 2019
by Sheryl and Dennis Hayley

Our son, Kayden, came to us on his first day of kindergarten with his eight year old sister. We had a 6 year old foster daughter already living in the home. His sister was shy and sweet. Kayden was all over the place! He was touching everything and checking out every room in the house. He was very hyper. He found the front loading washing machine and got on his knees and watched that machine for the longest time, day after day.

He could not play well with the girls. He would get mad and have fits over anything. He would bang his head into the floor, throw things and yell and yell. It was a nightmare going anywhere with him, and he was having big problems in school. He was on an IEP already when he came to us and we were thankful for that. We got him into counseling right away. We also took him to the doctor many times. The doctor gave us Guanfacine and Melatonin because he did not sleep very long at a time. Kayden was up in the middle of the night just having parties, watching TV, setting up train sets, all his toys were everywhere, and he was making all kinds of noise!

This went on for a long time before the doctor gave him anything, but thank goodness for the Guanfacine and Melatonin! Then our doctor finally referred him to CDRC to see Dr. Phelps because he was having so many problems in school and at home. Not a lot happened at our first visit because they were concerned it may just be due to things that had happened in his old home and we didn’t know him very well yet. In the meantime, Kayden was put on Metadate which helped, but he was still having problems.

Two years later, we went back to see Dr. Phelps, but this time we had a better understanding of Kayden. During this visit, he was diagnosed with Autism and ADHD which opened a lot of doors for us. Dr. Phelps also wanted genetics testing done which had to be ordered by his regular doctor. That test revealed he has XYY Syndrome which can also contribute to learning difficulties. He also has a heart murmur which so far is causing no problems.

We decided to adopt Kayden and this has helped a lot with his behavior. He rarely bangs his head anymore and only occasionally will bite himself. He does really well at home, but still struggles at school, although it is tremendously better than it previously was! Kayden is a great son and a wonderful addition to our family now. We love him with all our hearts. He has brought us so much happiness and opened our eyes to the world of disabilities. We feel so blessed to have him in our lives!