#The babysitter parents guide trial#

Over the years Julie has been a strong advocate and volunteer with National Alliance for Mental Illness and the Balanced Mind Parent Network, and she has assisted with the creation and implementation of the Advanced Juvenile Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) for Chicago Police officers. Julie Joyce is a Chicago Police officer and the mother of an adult son who lives with bipolar disorder and ADHD. It is a life-long illness so don’t neglect yourself. Last but not least, don’t forget to take care of yourself. It can take years to find the right combo and most of them come with side effects.

#The babysitter parents guide trial#

Medications suck and it is trial and error. Finding a good psychiatrist is like dating you need to find the one who you can build a relationship with. If the doctor is not listening to you or your concerns find a new doctor. It may be like trying to find a needle in a haystack but it is well worth it. If you suspect your child is suffering from a mental illness find a psychiatrist who specializes in mood disorders and children. It won’t provide all the answers you are seeking but it will give you some insight into how your child’s brain is working. Once you have that ruled out get your child a neuropsych. Many medical issues can mimic symptoms of mood disorders. Start out with an endocrinologist to rule out anything medical. They are trying to diagnose based upon the information you are providing to them and unless they have background in child psychiatric issues they are probably just using best judgement. A pediatrician is not an expert in mental illness. There is NO TEST that can test for mental illness. Don’t let any other parent educator or doctor influence you.

If you think something is wrong with your child you are probably right. If I had to write a guide for parents just starting out I would tell them first and foremost to trust their instincts. Not that medication didn’t come with its own problems, but it was our best option. Medication was really the only solution to help my son. There were a lot of trial and error experiments back then. He recommended my son start vitamin therapy immediately.Įver try to get a 6 year old to take a bunch of horse pills twice a day? I had a better chance of winning the lotto. The doctor from the clinic told me that’s why my son was so hyper. My son had a blood test which showed he had high led levels and had some vitamin deficiencies. When that failed we tried a clinic that offered vitamin therapy. I found a group called Tuesday child which focused on behavioral therapy.

There may have been more but I don’t recall. He advised me to put him on a special diet.

Although he was a fabulous doctor he really didn’t know anything about children and mental illness. When he attempted to kick his kindergarten teacher I knew it was time to look for help. By kindergarten he was getting increasingly more aggressive and angry. No one had to tell me there was something wrong with my child, I knew this wasn’t normal behavior. This look would come over him like he was possessed by the devil. At the age of 3 when he didn’t get his way he would call me names or try to hit me with a toy. He was also very aggressive at such a young age. I never heard anyone scream like that in their sleep. The first time it happened I thought the house was on fire. It was beneficial when I needed a babysitter but I always worried he would wander off with a stranger. If those kid leashes were available back then I probably would’ve bought one. I often tell people raising my son was like having 5 children at once. He had more energy than any kid I ever met. At a very young age I knew there was something different about my son. My journey began where every parent’s journey begins, with the pediatrician. Wouldn’t it be great if there were such a guide? There is more information available than 20yrs ago, but it is sorely lacking still.