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!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Don't Cancel Another Camp, Please!

Ok, so today the second of the three lacrosse camps Caroline was supposed to attend this summer got cancelled for lack of numbers which confounds me because lacrosse has become really big here. The soccer mom is now the lacrosse mom. But the good news is she will now be playing on two leagues this summer, which takes care of three evenings a week and most weekends.

She told me she is no longer interested in going to the pool because apparently some of the other teen girls there remembered her indiscretions from two years ago when she was manic and brought it up. I just knew that would happen. The good thing about this is that we don't have to worry about mr. 21 year old who has his eye on her. The bad thing is that leaves very few options as to how to occupy her during the day. Really, I've got to think of something. She is too young to have a job. She is too young to volunteer by herself at the SPCA. And as amazing as her writing a novel is (we are up to page 145) she can't just sit around all day typing. Aaargh!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

What about volunteering to help with younger kids at vacation bible schools, online games, online penpals for girls (there are some safe sites for that)? Also, maybe once a week you could check out a pool/waterpark in a neighboring community with all of your girls.

Good luck!

Amy said...

What about pet sitting or baby sitting when a parent is home but just needs to get things done? That way she would still have supervision but also some responsibility. Also does she do well with chores-if she earns something for them? My sister-n-law is doing this great idea this summer. She gives her kids "screen tickets" meaning anything that has a screen-T.V. computer, gameboy, etc. But the kids have to earn the tickets-they earn them by reading-minute for minute or by doing chores. You could also have them earn some through positive behavior. She has a timer for each kid. I have not tried it yet but I am planning on it. We will see how it goes and I'll let you know. Just some ideas-hope they help.

CC said...

That stinks about the 2 camps being cancelled. Does Caroline like arts and crafts? Latch hook rugs, cross stitch, beads, scrap booking, making pot holders, stained glass (kids version), puzzles, ceramics, sudoku, books on CD, etc... ?