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!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Enough Already

I have had it with the attendance lady, who seems to think Caroline is a truant.  I had to call her yesterday to ask her to kindly remove the two absences recorded for the first day of school when she was lost and went to the wrong classes.  She balked but I persisted.  Then yesterday her English teacher marked her absent when she was in class, and we got yet another truant notice from this attendance lady.  I immediately contacted the teacher who was apologetic and verified that Caroline was in class.  Then I called the attendance lady and left a message.  Apparently this lady walked into Caroline's study hall and chewed her out about her "absence" from English class and told her she had better have an excuse, etc.  I am so disappointed in this lady's lack of grace toward a kid who is brand new to the school and who was obviously lost the first few days of classes.  Give me a break!  I called the principal because her demeanor has been so unwelcoming and honestly I think she owes Caroline an apology for assuming the worst about a kid who is trying so hard to do the right things.  

As a result of this mess, I have pushed the IEP meeting and got a time scheduled for Friday morning to start the ball rolling.  She needs grace and understanding not punishment!
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1 comment:

trg said...

So glad you are advocating for her. I just don't understand why these people that have the positions to help kids DO NOTHING to help them. Just boggles my mind.

August 24, 2012 at 8:01 AM

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