JoElle was 4 when she was diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression, but we already knew things were not "normal" when she was only 1; she quit napping before she was even 1, she never could go to sleep at night, even when she was a toddler, then she started crying when she was 2 when I would drop her off, but it wasn't the normal separation anxiety either, then it got even worse after 3- she would stand in her room, naked, not sure why she was in her room (to get dressed), she would ask me, "Mommy, why do I just stare all the time?"
From 3-4 I was at home with her and Alexa so she did ok, we found ways around the difficulties, she went to sleep every night with 2 benadryl still late,at 10-11:30 p.m.
Then it just nose dived when she was 4 and she started mother's day out, I was teaching there, I started seeing her zone out, cry, become despondent, become defiant to me, I thought she was just choosing not to listen, finally realized she just couldn't concentrate on what I was saying so then I started thinking ADHD.
But as I talked to her, I found out her mind was racing with lots of thoughts, she described it like someone spinning a wheel in her head, the wheel would stop on different random things. One such thing was on hurting herself, taking a bad pill, her "wheel" was telling her to cut out her eyes, to cut off her nose, and to cut her wheel out of her head, but she knew not to and didn't want to.
Obviously, we were really concerned. The dr's and hospital all confirmed severe depression and anxiety. Once it was under control, we were still seeing some focus issues and too much energy. She is on sleeping pills to sleep. So we tried ADHD med, for a 5 yr old, the FDA has only approved Adderrall, it did not work, she lost 3.5 lbs in 5 weeks.
So we all agreed to take her off the med, I offered up the question of being bi-polar, so now we are treating her with mood stabilizers, which is actually for seizures, again the only one approved for under 6, but some of my friends have taken it and it has worked as a mood stabilizer. She was having seizure, we just didn't know, she would stare and we couldn't get her attention, then she would tell me she it was like she couldn't breathe and she was upside down, then right side up. Everyone says what she is describing is a seizure.
She is doing better though, we have found a great charter school in our city, called the Classics Academy, please pray she is picked FIRST in the lottery at the end of March. I feel strongly that this is where she is supposed to be, so does Tim. But it is in God's hands. It's free since it's a charter school, but they teach Spanish from K on, and they teach the Trivium way, grammar of every subject is important. Plus, they learn some Latin in the morning and an English world derived from it. The principal actually hired Tim at Fidelity Investments back in 2000! Isn't that crazy!?
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