Posts Tagged ‘bipolar’
Alone in The Snow At 6 a.m.
One morning last winter, around 6:00 a.m., my husband woke me as he hurried up the steps toward our bedroom. It’s as though I could feel his fear arrive before he got to the doorway. Our daughter, Seeley, will be eight soon. She is autistic, endured significant prenatal alcohol exposure, has ADHD, is riddled with anxiety, and she has been diagnosed with BiPolar2 with Rapid Cycling. As soon as he reached the door, I met his eyes and knew my hunch was right. When he shouted, “I need you, she…
Read MoreTake the Focus Off Yourself
My 19-year-old son, Skyler, has severe, nonverbal autism. Throughout his lifetime, I have spent every waking moment deciphering his body language and nonverbal cues to make the decisions that I felt were in his best interest. Is he hungry and if so, will the meal selection I make be something he’ll be interested in eating? Is he tired and if so, should I let him go to bed early even at the risk of him waking up (and forcing us up) in the wee hours of the morning? Is he…
Read MoreDon’t Be Afraid of the Label
My son, Chase, started school a couple of weeks before his fifth birthday. He had never been in a school setting before. Had never been in a “structured” environment. That first year of school turned out to be, what I would say, just short of, a disaster. Chase was in trouble multiple times a week. I felt like I was getting a call at least once a day, and was in meetings every two to three weeks. I was told Chase had aggression and anger issues. Chase was throwing a…
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