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, March 18, 2009

No, We Won't Let You Quit

Caroline was adamant today that she could not be on the lacrosse team she had committed too because she wanted her afternoons free, she might be going to a new school soon, she didn't want sports to be her whole life, blah, blah, blah.  I've had enough of her starting something (youth group, horsebackriding, guitar) and then quitting before she even really got started.  Her social fears are behind all of this--fear that she will be made fun of, that someone will start to be her friend and then drop her, fear that she will say or do something inappropriate and then be a pariah--all of which has happened before.  We really got in her face this time  (I am really tired of outlaying hundreds of dollars for nothing).  We reminded her of her favorite movie, Facing the Giants, and how she has to keep going and face her fears too.  That seemed to strike a chord.  By the time I got home, she was dressed and ready to go, with a different attitude.  I wish this worked everytime.  She needs to be on a team because she really gets so much out of the common goal.
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