a bipolar daughter and the family who loves her: Worry

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.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Worry

The biggest problem we are having right now is that Caroline seems to not understand the word "boundaries" and "you may not cross them." She has been so lonely for friends that she has been taking off on her bike to a nearby park, where she has befriended a group of boys who skate there. Great. If we could afford to have her in camp the whole summer, we would. I am really hoping that this week at camp starting on Monday will result in a new friend or two to hang out with. This afternoon she was down at the end of our street on the banks of the river where another boy appeared with his dog. Too many ways and places for her to get in trouble around here. And we are not convinced the mania is completely gone.

2 comments:

Anna said...: She is a damsel in distress. A beautiful and lonely girl.......

Are there church service projects she might participate in?; June 19, 2010 at 4:24 PM
Hartley said...: Send her to me Megan. :) She can go to summer school (camp style) with Gabriel all summer - lots of teenagers and lots of supervision. Win-win.

:)
Hartley
www.hartleysboys.com; June 21, 2010 at 10:46 AM