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 2, 2011

Frustration!!!

I am so frustrated with Caroline's stubbornness today over schoolwork, particularly math.  I am just venting but I am so tired of fighting with her over her assignments and how slowly she does them.  She is the biggest procrastinator, completely self-distracting!!  I wish she could take an ADHD med but since stimulants are out we will just have to deal with this in other ways, which I am not sure what they are right now!  Arrgh!!! I can't wait for this school year to be over!!
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4 comments:

Wrye said...

Sorry for your frustration today - I so understand. My daughter is on an ADHD med that's not a stimulant, called Intuniv. Maybe worth a try?

Be good to yourself.
(((hugs)))

March 2, 2011 at 4:38 PM
Anonymous said...

My ADHD daughter was fighting tooth and nail over math homework all year long. We do a part-time private school. She goes to school 2 days/week and we do work at home the other days. Math was the bane of my existence. Suddenly she's doing it and doing it well. I hope it lasts a long time. Last night I was having to tell her to put her math away because she was tired. It was craziness!! Hopefully your daughter will make a similar shift!

March 4, 2011 at 2:52 PM
ann said...

It is very hard when you are the parent and the teacher. I just started home schooling my son and sometimes I experience the same frustration. We are using treca digital academy. Hang in there.
Ann

March 5, 2011 at 8:46 AM
GAFlyGirl said...

hang in there! homeschooling can definitely be challenging. I have one who is hyperactive and presents a challenge every day. all my boys struggle with focusing and my oldest is the slowest worker when it comes to his schooling too. It really takes the practice of patience that's for sure. Homeschooling does seem to be helping him with speed and understanding of his work though.. atleast when the motivation is there.. hang in there!

March 10, 2011 at 7:58 PM

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