About our Daughter

I am mother to four wonderful daughters, ages 13, 15, 17 and 19, 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. She is in the very challenging teen years, and she is attempting a big public high school for the first time. In spite of the trials, she enjoys lacrosse, running, 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!

Recommended Books, Articles


STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The Bipolar Child, by Dimitri Papolos
The Omega 3 Connection, by Dr. Andrew Stoll
The Out of Sync Child, by Carol Kranowitz
Taking Charge of ADHD, by Russell Barkely
Straight Talk About Psychiatric Medications for Kids, by Timothy Wilens
Why Do I Still Feel Depressed:  Recognizing and Managing the Ups and Downs of Bipolar II Disorder and Soft Bipolar Disorder, by Dr. Jim Phelps
Transforming the Difficult Child, by Howard Glasser, Jennifer Easley
How Children Raise Parents, by Dan Allender
Why Christian Kids Rebel, by Tim Kimmel


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

another great book is Perfect Chaos. I read it last fall about and mom's struggle with her bipolar daughter. It was really good.

March 14, 2013 at 5:27 PM

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