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!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Parades Join the List of Over Stimulation

We went to our city's wonderful Grand Illumination Parade tonight, where all of the downtown buildings light up at the same time to welcome the holiday season, thinking it would be a fun, family event. We forgot one thing: Caroline hates crowds, and too much noise. Parades are pretty much defined by crowds and noise, so this was not a nice family event, but something I would rather forget. She became so agitated and mean, even punching one of her sisters! We went to watch our youngest march with her school's float, but next time we will let Caroline watch it at home on the TV. We forget that things that are normal situations for most kids, are simply not for her or any bipolar child. Lesson learned. Again.
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2 comments:

Cinda said...

It will get better eventually! I remember so vividly taking my daughter to Blockbuster right after she was out of the hospital. We were going to pick out a movie and have a night at home to celebrate her "release" and to experience a "normal" evening. She was so uncomfortable in the store we had to leave. The noise, the people, and mostly just having to make a decision. It was all too much. I hadn't thought of this in almost four years until I read your post. It will get better. And..it is okay.

November 22, 2009 at 11:25 PM
amber said...

Yeah, parades are definitely on my list of No-Gos. Hopefully one day Caroline will be able to say, "Yeah, I think I can handle that." If she needs somebody to watch a parade with on TV, just give me a call :)

November 23, 2009 at 1:50 PM

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