a bipolar daughter and the family who loves her: Interesting Article About Another Childhood Mood Disorder

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.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Interesting Article About Another Childhood Mood Disorder

CABF has put up on their website a link to a great article delineating the differences between early-onset bipolar disorder and another pediatric mood disorder that has been getting more attention as a distinct and separate diagnosis. This disorder is being labeled Severe Mood Dysregulation (SDM.)You can read about it online at Psychiatric News under January 21st, 2011. I think there are many kids who probably fall in this category who are presently labeled ADHD or bipolar.

5 comments:

Chynna said...: Thank you for sharing this. I'm going to check it out this afternoon. Is it okay if I share it on the White Elephants blog?

I hope you're feeling better.

Chynna
www.lilywolfwords.ca
www.the-gift-blog.com
www.seethewhiteelephants.com; February 19, 2011 at 2:51 PM
ann said...: This sounds like my son. He does not have the mania. He has the frustration,aggravation, and extreme anger when things do not go his way. He also has the facial symptoms. He is easily angered and snaps easily. You never know when he is going to lose it. It is like walking on eggshells. I recently started home schooling him due to him not be able to interact with others at school in an appropiate way.

Ann; February 21, 2011 at 6:15 AM
Megan said...: Chynna you can absolutely share this on the White Elephants blog! I am sorry I haven't written there lately,I need to!; February 21, 2011 at 8:16 PM
Unknown said...: I don't know if you will see this comment since the post was over two years ago. I just wanted to say THANK YOU! My son was diagnosed with mood disorder (NOS) and the doctors were leaning toward bipolar. I read your whole blog - beginning to end to see if my son sounded like your daughter. He "sorta" does, but not really. Then, I found this post you made. I looked it up and you cannot imagine how wonderful it was to finally see the exact description of my son's disorder! I shared it with his p-docs who didn't know about it. They agreed that it sounded pretty accurate. Then, I applied for the study of this disorder, now DMDD, with NIMH. This week, my son was accepted into the study! Your blog was a fantastic service to me and my family. I can't thank you enough for helping to get us on the right path. THANK YOU and thank God for letting me find you.; July 13, 2013 at 3:23 PM
Megan said...: You are really, really welcome! The more I have learned about childhood mood disorders, the more I have seen that while there are many similarities between bipolar disorder, ADHD, Severe Mood Dysregulation and Oppositional Defiant Disorder, there are differences that can mean very different treatment options. I am so glad you have figured out your son's issues and are getting him the right help! Made my day!!!; July 13, 2013 at 3:58 PM