Unfortunately, autism is a neurological disorder and bipolar is a chemical one. I refused my medication after I learned about the fatty acid deficiency, because I won't drug myself if the only problem is nutrient depletion. I forced myself to do homework and not become manic or flighty in that area my entire school life, but not all kids can do that. We'll talk more on Y! though. :)
I could talk all day about my experiences with Asperger's. I can tell you that it made life much harder. It still does. My relationship sometimes suffers because of my problems to this day. But your child has one benefit: you caught it early. I didn't know until after I was eighteen, so nothing was done for it. People just thought I was purposely difficult, intelligent and stupid wrapped up in one, and awkward because I was sheltered (when I really wasn't; I was just naive by nature).
These are the same problems my daughter will probably go through.
That being said, I was diagnosed with bipolar II some years back and put on medications for it. What I can tell you is that it's safer NOT to do that. Some medications can help in moderation, but there's almost always a better way to approach it. For instance, studies on bipolar have shown that in almost every case of a bipolar patient, they have a severe deficiency in omega 3 fatty acids compared to control groups that do not have bipolar. In other words, simply taking an omega 3 supplement every day is now one way being used to treat bipolar, rather than sticking them on lithium or Lamictal or Celexa or Abilify like I was on. You will find in the autistic community that there's a rampant belief that doctors and drug companies try to suppress, hide, condition, or otherwise extinguish traits that can be helped naturally, or simply lived with-- such as the adamant claim we need to 'cure' autism. A lot of people with Asperger's find that notion downright offensive, that we need to 'conform to society' and be 'cured'.
Hit me up on Yahoo or AIM or Facebook and we can chat about your experiences and mine and see if we can learn from one another. Because society is a bit more accepting of the spectrum nowadays, he may not have the problems I did, but I guess it's still good to learn what *could* happen, potentially.
I was talking about the both of us really. My daughter is a year and a half old. She displays all the same symptoms I had, so if you need help, you have the benefit of retrospect and current observations.
Hi Moria - just send me a blank email to atheist.perry@gmail.com and I will send the pdf. Will also send a list of others pdf book i have if you want them.
Boys and girls are more the same in the autistic area than people think. Frequently, girls never get diagnosed because their symptoms sometimes come off as 'normal'. When girls space out in school and focus on their interests, it's considered somewhat normal, especially in maths and sciences. If a girl collects a thousand recipes because her special interest is cooking, that's not considered abnormal. They're also known for being better at hiding the condition because they seem to mimic social adaption better. But Lexi's is very obvious, because she has no capacity to really lie or 'hide' anything at this point. The most severe symptom that tipped us off was her thrashing around every time she was frustrated, and she would get frustrated any time she couldn't do anything once-- but the thrashing wasn't normal kid upsetness, it included bashing her head off of the floors and walls and punching or slapping herself. She's extremely independent minded-- I can't help her with anything except her diapers and getting dressed, really, or she freaks out. There's a lot of things, really. She also still doesn't talk. She's just now feeling out basic words.
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I could talk all day about my experiences with Asperger's. I can tell you that it made life much harder. It still does. My relationship sometimes suffers because of my problems to this day. But your child has one benefit: you caught it early. I didn't know until after I was eighteen, so nothing was done for it. People just thought I was purposely difficult, intelligent and stupid wrapped up in one, and awkward because I was sheltered (when I really wasn't; I was just naive by nature).
These are the same problems my daughter will probably go through.
That being said, I was diagnosed with bipolar II some years back and put on medications for it. What I can tell you is that it's safer NOT to do that. Some medications can help in moderation, but there's almost always a better way to approach it. For instance, studies on bipolar have shown that in almost every case of a bipolar patient, they have a severe deficiency in omega 3 fatty acids compared to control groups that do not have bipolar. In other words, simply taking an omega 3 supplement every day is now one way being used to treat bipolar, rather than sticking them on lithium or Lamictal or Celexa or Abilify like I was on. You will find in the autistic community that there's a rampant belief that doctors and drug companies try to suppress, hide, condition, or otherwise extinguish traits that can be helped naturally, or simply lived with-- such as the adamant claim we need to 'cure' autism. A lot of people with Asperger's find that notion downright offensive, that we need to 'conform to society' and be 'cured'.
Hit me up on Yahoo or AIM or Facebook and we can chat about your experiences and mine and see if we can learn from one another. Because society is a bit more accepting of the spectrum nowadays, he may not have the problems I did, but I guess it's still good to learn what *could* happen, potentially.
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