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!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Still Waiting

We thought we would hear from the school today whether or not she had been accepted, but they called asking to talk to her psychologist, the same one Caroline has had for six years.  I put a call in to her, and she did call the school and had a good talk with the principal's wife, who I guess has authority there too.  She said that they really only had one question and that was if  she was  aggressive toward other kids/teachers, which actually she hasn't been.  She just kind of melts down all by herself.  If she is aggressive, it is toward her sisters, and less often towards us. Anyway, we'll find out tomorrow, hopefully.  
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2 comments:

Jeanette said...

Your anxiety level must be really high. I can't imagine how frazzled you feel.
One favorite activity that always helped you in the past was getting some exercise. Are you still trying to do a daily jog? Do you think Caroline would go with you? Or with her dad?
There's probably some appeal you could make to her competitive athletic nature: she might act as your "personal trainer," so she would stay at your side and not head off to Timbuktu.
She could probably talk and run at the same time. All you have to do is nod!
Perhaps just twice around the block would be enough to reset the atmosphere a bit.

This may not be possible, I don't know.

Hoping the school responds soon.

March 24, 2009 at 8:47 PM
Megan said...

Thanks Jeanette for your encouragement. Yes, exercise is the best stress reliever and I don't use it often enough.

March 28, 2009 at 12:48 PM

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