Shadows Lurking | Taylor Swift Fanfic

83: w e h u g n o w

I have a feeling you got everything you wanted
And you're not wasting time stuck here like me
You're just thinkin' it's a small thing that happened
The world ended when it happened to me

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                  October 2015

Taylor stood in Amerie's 7th grade classroom, it was parent-teacher day.

"Hi I'm Miss Higgins, your daughter is amazing. Amerie is very progressed for her age,her reading level is of a 13 year old. I just have some concerns, Amerie doesn't really play with the other kids, she doesn't speak at all during school. Now I'm not sure if you have been told this when she was in Kindergarten, they usually do not worry about these things. But Amerie is showing signs of autism spectrum disorder. She doesn't make much eye contact, and when she does it's very forced and prolonged. She also has a lot of repetitive hand movements, sometimes she may flap her hands or draw spirals on them with her finger. I'm not sure if you have noticed any of this at home, but here is a small leaflet on how we can help Amerie." Miss Higgins explain

"Autism? I'll look into it, I just honestly thought she was a shy child. But it makes sense, the way she is. She can't handle change. When I cut my hair it was really hard for her to trust me, she thought I was different, that I was changed. It makes sense now, I just want what's best for her." Taylor spoke

Amerie sat in the book corner reading, all they had was picture books, which was rather boring to Amerie.

"Of course, but please don't be worried ever. This is completely normal, I'm sure Amerie will thrive as well. She is incredibly smart, sure her maths skills are below average, but I'm not too concerned about that as her English level is much more advanced. Her vocabulary is very varied, she knows a lot of words. She can complete sentences with accuracy and high level vocabulary much more than her peers." Miss Higgins explained

"She's my little smart girl." Taylor smiled

"She's incredibly talented. We had a music teacher in yesterday, Amerie knew every instrument and was able to even play a song on a ukulele. Most of the 7 year olds were just playing them with no intention of making music, but Amerie she outshone them." Miss Higgins smiled

"That's my doing." Taylor chuckled

                           Present

Amerie sat in the all too familiar psychologist office.

"I'd like to confirm Amerie's ADHD diagnosis. Here is the paper work, a leaflet on medicating ADHD, tips on ADHD in girls and handling ADHD. In my opinion I think medication will be helpful for Amerie. A low dosage at most, just to help with her focus and anxiety." Dr Shepherd said.

"Of course, we will look into it." Taylor smiled accepting the leaflets and support sheets

"Are there any questions?" Dr Shepherd asked

"How will this affect her autism?" Taylor asked

"Well, ADHD is something she was born with. So you shouldn't notice any other behaviours to the behaviours she normally has. When someone is both ADHD and autistic, which is extremely common. It actually becomes a whole different neurodiverse disorder. Some people refer to it as AuDHD. Now it may feel like a fight in her brain, a need for routine from the autism, but then a need for spontaneous action from the ADHD, which can be extremely difficult. Some have described as it feeling like one side of the brain is autism, and the other ADHD and they constantly fight. Which isn't how it works, but it explains the feeling of having both disorders." Dr Shepherd explained

"Thank you. How will the medication help?" Taylor asked

"The medication should help to calm her brain down. It may be so she has less thoughts constantly, her focus will improve and it can help with anxiety." Dr Shepherd explained

"Thank you, that's all." Taylor said

"Of course, we will meet in a couple months time for a progress appointment, a letter will be sent explaining everything with a date included closer to the date." Dr Shepherd said

"See you soon." Taylor smiled heading at the room

"You were quiet." Taylor said to Amerie

"Well what am I supposed to say. You think this is good news to me, finding out more ways that I'm different." Amerie snapped

"Hey, calm down. Look it's okay, to be different. Having ADHD and autism is normal, you're normal. It may be hard for you, to accept, but I can promise you this isn't the end of the world." Taylor reassured

"Sure feels like it." Amerie mumbled

"You're incredibly strong don't forget that." Taylor said

"Sure.." Amerie sighed

"Don't put yourself down." Taylor said

"I'll try not too." Amerie sighed being pulled into a hug