About our Daughter

I am mother to four wonderful daughters, ages 17, 19, 21, and 23, and wife to the greatest husband on earth. God has given us a special child to raise one who was diagnosed with early-onset bipolar disorder at the age of seven, though she showed signs of it from the age of fifteen months. She also has ADHD, Sensory Integration Disorder (sensory seeking), Dyslexia, and Non-Verbal Learning Disorder-NOS, all typical comorbidities for a bipolar child. In spite of the trials, she enjoys lacrosse, running (finished her first marathon in October of 2014!), and reading and writing her own books. I will share with you the many joys and sorrows we have faced and will face in the future with the hope that you may find better understanding about this mental illness caused by both chemical and structural abnormalities in the brain. I desire that you will be encouraged by this blog if you are also dealing with a bipolar child. Thank you for reading and sharing in our journey.

How Did You Know She Was Bipolar So Young?

I wrote a long explanation of how we came to this bipolar diagnosis in a child so young under my post of March 19th of 2009. If your child or a child you know bears similarities, please seek out a good psychiatrist and don't wait for "things to get better." Often they will simply get worse, and the longer a child is unmedicated, the more damage their brain can accrue. Early diagnoses and treatment are key to providing these children with a chance at a successful life later as a teen and an adult.
Never change, start or stop a medication without the approval of your child's physician!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Might Change Plans

We are seriously considering putting our youngest, Mae, back in school. My eleven year old is a dream to homeschool, eager to please, wants to get everything done on time, does more than she needs to, and I enjoy teaching her. Mae, on the other hand, is giving us a major run for our money. We are trying the ADHD med Focalin, but I am not seeing a big difference in the meltdowns. She is more focused, but still much too emotional over everything. She is very rigid in her thinking, and demanding, crying a lot. Working with her feels like torture, so we are trying to find a way to put her back in private school. I am much too stressed out everyday to the point that I think I am getting an ulcer, and I feel frozen with anxiety. With all we have gone through with Caroline, I just can't put myself through the ringer again. Mae was fine in school last year behaviorally, but she would bring home a lot of undone schoolwork if she wasn't on the ADHD med. I guess I need to give myself a break. Maddie cleans the kitchen for me all day long, so she is a balm to my sould. I hate the thought of giving up only three weeks into the school year, but I was willing to try it, and she was excited about it, but the honeymoon has work off and the writing is on the wall. I can only take on so many commitments and the accompanying stressors.

4 comments:

Corrie Howe said...

It sounds like a hard decision. But I know you are talking to the Lord about these decisions. Praying for you and your daughters.

Corrie Howe said...

I'm forwarding a blog award to you. You'll have to come to my place (Just Because My Pickle Talks) to find out more about it.

:-)

Megan said...

Hi Corrie! I couldn't find the blog you meant to forward. Which one is it? You have some good ones on your blog list!

Corrie Howe said...

It's called the Lemonade Award. Did you go to http://www.justbecausemypickletalks.blogspot.com? I have two blogs, but this one is my "main" blog about my asperger's son. I double checked. checked to make sure, you're the second won listed under. You can email me if you have any questions at corrinhowe@gmail.com