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, December 6, 2012

The "Alternative School"

There is a school here, a charter school, just around the corner from our house practically.  The mission of the school is to provide a positive learning environment for kids with learning differences.  The reputation of the school, as I have heard from other people, is that it is a "last resort" school for kids in danger of dropping out of high school.  It is very small and very structured.  I want to look into it and believe that it might be right for Caroline, but the kids look pretty emo if you know what I mean.  I don't want to make snap judgments, but we don't want her hanging out with the wrong crowd.  Sigh.  Nothing easy here.
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2 comments:

Wendy said...

I work with teenagers, and some of the 'emo' kids are the most understanding & accepting kids you'll ever meet. Just as you don't want Caroline to be judged by looks or a diagnosis, please don't judge these kids by how they look.

December 6, 2012 at 4:37 PM
Megan said...

Thank you for the reminder. I appreciate it. And you are right that I can be quick to judge. I guess Caroline has to this point stayed away from dark music and interests and it is a bit of a fear of ours that she might feel so excluded that she will choose friends that also feel left outside and are choosing to deal with it by being as different as possible. I was that kid in high school and it didn't come without cost. So I am more sensitive to this issue maybe.

December 6, 2012 at 9:41 PM

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