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!

Friday, May 10, 2013

The Big "Where Should She Go to School" Decision, Again

Once again, we are not sure where Caroline should go to school next year.  The big public high school hasn't been that great, even with a well-followed IEP.  She is begging me to home school her, but I don't know that I want to.  The other options are the online high school for this district, an alternative school around the corner, or a private, smaller school, likely Christian.  Just praying for direction and wisdom.  This is one of the hardest parts of raising a bp kid, the whole educational aspect.  Nothing seems to be a perfect fit, and sometimes not even a good fit.    I want to do what is best for her academically and socially, but I want it to be best for me too.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hear ya, I don’t know that I would ever be able to homeschool my son, I think it would damage our relationship in the long run.

Johanna said...

I can so relate to this. Every year I think there has got to be a better fit than the local public school - but the ones that I think would be a better fit are way out of our reach, financially speaking. My kiddo would definitely do better homeschooling - if he had someone other than me doing the schooling! Good luck - praying for you!

katie said...

Praying for you, for peace and that God will open up doors as He is ready. You are so right about the school thing being so hard!

Anonymous said...

My daughter turned 10 on Wednesday and was diagnosed on Friday. Not a surprise, has been a long time coming:(

We are in a similar situation regarding school. She is in a private school right now, but they are very rigid and do not understand our situation.

I think we are going to school at home- different than homeschool- in that she will do her work online w a real teacher.
At least that is what I think today- could all change tomorrow!!

But I am relieved that she only has 8 days of school left! So glad I found this site!!!!!!!
Diane

just wondering said...

My grandson is attending a VERY small Lutheran school. There are only 11 kids in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades combined.

Not much religion in any of our families, but this tiny school seems to be giving some peace and sense of community, so we're all for it.

High school will be a 45 minute commute each way, but it will be the same kids, same setting, just a different city. We will have to arrange some group car porting but otherwise I think it will work well for him.

He went through 6 schools before the 5th grade. Nobody could handle him and he hated everyone. He's been hospitalized twice but seems pretty stable right now. He just turned 13 though, so his height and weight are going to be affecting his meds soon.