*cheers* (cheer with me) YAY!!!
the little super hero's mum again...pediatric bipolar
The SCHOOL is seeing it, we'll the principal anyway and beginning to comprehend.
We had a meeting with them this morning about what we can do to deal with the days she just can't function.
Last week was a three day camp. Just 3 days in Ballarat. We could see her mood building with the anticipation of camp and sleep reducing so we sedated her a couple of nights over the weekend before to make sure she was well rested to last the days, which she did quite well but cracks started to be seen.
She came home Wednesday and literally imploded emotionally like exhaling a huge breathe as if she had been holding it in for 3 whole days.
She basically went walk about for the next 5 days avoiding anything she should be doing and playing truant with her best friend. I'm not surprised, disappointed but not at all surprised. The welfare officer found them both yesterday at her friends house.
At the meeting this morning from the moment we arrived the principal could see she wasn't herself. She had never before seen her so closed off and withdrawn simply refusing to engage and making indications to ward people off including grunting and growls.
I explained that her current state has spent days in the arriving.
So we all went into the meeting letting her wait in the hall so that we could actually talk.
The principal could see over the three days her 'mask' as she calls it begin to crack a little but she was still able to recover the situations she encountered.
She was astonished at how much will power and energy it must have taken her for all these years (she is 11 in year 5) for the school to never in all these 6 years get a glimpse at her symptoms which were more than evident in the child waiting in the hallway outside her office absolutely burnt out from the 3 day effort and still pulling herself back together 6 days later.
Combined learning with both a school and home curriculum is about to become her format. For those days when the mask is slipping and too much energy is necessary to keep it in place.
Interesting though she also seemed to be picking my brain for knowledge of the disorder and tactics we use to manage it. Her niece was only recently diagnosed although a few years older.
I gave her one of Stephen fry's descriptions of bipolar.
Bipolar is like the weather. It is important that you remember that the rain will end, but no amount of wishing it will stop the rain. It simply is raining for the moment which we must accept.
2 Replies
That's great they can see and offer some different options now
Its huge particularly as this episode has lasted the longest ever and doesnt look like it will be settling any time soon. Only the medication is enabling any attendence at all without it she would be sedated or hospitalised or both.
Bit worried about her friends mum though. She also has bipolar as does my husband. And while she has loads of family support she doesn't have someone always there to keep her on track. Letting both girls stay in the house all day rather than taking them to school isn't a first and she has had multiple dealings with agencies before. It's the big drawback to them being best friends.
She is type 2 my daughter seems to be type 1.
And the two girls between them walk all over her. Mine gets grounded for doing so and iv told the school it isnt the mothers fault. My daughter knows full well she is to go to school and that the mum will drive her there.
However they both dug their heels in on her.