I have four children and it is my second child that has been diagnosed with Bi-polar and ADD. When people find out that she has these disorders they automatically ask if my next two children have been diganosed yet. What? My next two children are boys but have not shown any signs of anything. When I say that, I get as a response... are you sure? and they will. I then ask why they think this, I am told by those parents that their younger children are also on medication and have been dignosed. I am then told something that no Doctor has ever told me that most children with Bi-polar and ADD always have a sibling that have the disorder too. We had to change doctors about 6 months ago for my daughter and was asked by her if my last two children are also having problems or show any signs, but this is the only time. Should I be concerned could I not see something that others see? I always knew something was wrong with my second child but never had a question about her older sister or two younger brothers. I have always been confident in my observations of all my children but with more than 5 other families saying the same thing to me is getting me thinking. Am I suppose to have more than one child with a disorder?
Q: Why do people keep asking me.....
Well Momof4, I am Momof7 and I understand your situation very well. My dilema started when my 1st son was adhd and we knew it was in the family and we just struggled with him and got him help for school. Then the 2nd son came and we were wondering if he to was going to be adhd and he was. The my 5th child the 3rd son came and of course we knew each of our children were individuals and they all had there own strengths and weaknesses but I realized very early that he was different. Ultimately he was diagnosed with adhd and autism. Again that also runs in the family, and everyone asked if maybe the other boys were too but I knew they were not. The 4 girls are all above average and I can definatley say that boys ARE different then girls.
I was recently diagnosed with Bipolar and because it is a biological disease just like any other physical disease and since I recently had all my children checked for a congenital heart problem that runs in our family, why wouldn't I get them checked for bipolar especially since I was not diagnosed as a teenager. I also wondered since it was passed to me through my grandfather and mother, there is a very strong chance that one or more of my 7 children might have it. When I came home from the hospital after a long stay I saw my children in a whole new way and I saw the classic signs in my 2nd son9age 14) and when he was having problems in school they thought he was just lazy, defiant etc. I gave them an earful that he was showing classic signs of bipolar and instead of demoralizing him they should have tried to get him help and that they and all teachers should be educated in all psychiatric conditions.When I took him to get evaluated it seemed very important that it is in the family especially from his Mom and because of the biological inheritance it is especially important to watch all of the children and accept there personalities but to also know if there is a problem that is not quite right you should pursue it with a professional.
I hope this helps and if you are at all concerned about your children there is nothing wrong with getting an initial evaluation from a professional because if something does change as they become teenagers, you will have a concrete initial evaluation at hand. Good luck......
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