I have a daughter (15 years old today) who is somewhat new to our family. She does not have a diagnosis of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), but often is highly oppositional to prove a point, either to us parents or to herself. This morning she exemplified another effort to "show me" that she is in charge and we (parents) are not. This morning, hubby said happy birthday to B. and reminded her that, on birthdays, you get a day off from any chores. Do you suppose she is not doing any chores, then? No, instead, she's cleaning... more

John was 6 years old and already diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). One morning, he was sitting on the floor, refusing to get dressed for school. As many times as I might ask him, or in as many ways, he wasn’t going to move. In fact, the more he thought I wanted him to get ready for school, the less likely he was going to do that.

So, I told him I wanted him to sit down. Of course, he stood right up. He still didn’t get ready for school, yet the degree of his opposition was becoming more evident. I told him... more

We just learned the results from the Sensory Profile. Livi is found to have a low sensory registration (she is not bothered by things that bother others- high pain tolerance) sensation seeking and sensory sensitive behaviors. In the tactile department she was found to be mildly defensive, meaning she is bothered by messy hands and the waist band of her clothing. The OT told me that Livi craves sensory input and hops, jumps and bounces to feel her body in relation to her space. Heavy work and Proprioception are the main things we will work on.... we... more

One of the first things the Occupational Therapist had me fill out was a sensory profile.This is a screening tool that will help the Occupational therapist learn about our needs and the issues we are facing at home. It will enable our occupational therapist to create a sensory diet tailored to Livi’s exact needs and pin point what her sensory issues are all about. I’m looking forward to learning the results. The one I filled out was for ages 7 -36 months and had 38 questions. This is for caregivers/parents to fill out to give the OT an idea... more

What it's like to be the sister of someone who has borderline personality disorder........

I love you...get away!

Borderline Personality Disorder not only affects the people who have it but the lives of everyone else around them. I live with kids that have many problems. One of the hardest disorders to have in my house is BPD. Living with siblings that have BPD and that don’t receive any treatment is very hard. You know that their mood can change any second. It just makes it that much harder to live with them.... more

I took a teen daughter to therapy today. This particular daughter is one of the most angry kids to have come into our family and the therapist (and us) has work cut out for her! My daughter’s previous adoptive parents - and professionals that they’d used - felt that this girl might have borderline personality disorder. Today, our own therapist confirmed this as a possibility. It was at least confirmed that much of what we are dealing with are behaviors that someone with BPD might show.

This is not my first experience... more

My husband and I have purposefully adopted children with mental illnesses. One of these adoptions was a sibling group of three. The oldest child had obvious mental illness. The youngest child has FAS and mental retardation. The middle child, we were told, had no problems whatsoever. He was very cuddly, age appropriate, grade level, and sweet as can be – the previous mom called him “teddy bear”. The caseworker even once termed him the “bonus child”. It sounds offensive to write, but I never thought that to be her intent. I assume... more

So Many people have told me “ Oh That’s Normal” when talking about my active sensory seeking daughter. How do you differentiate what is normal and what can be more of a red flag behavior? Many people have asked me how Livi’s behaviors are any different than just an active toddler. It is hard to tell, but working with children for so many years I just knew that something was a little different. So how is it different? Well for starters my girl is always bouncing, moving, hopping, climbing…she has a constant need to move. She is high endurance... more

The appeal form read:

"Your services will only be continued if you appeal by the later of: 10 days from the date of this Notice; or, the date that the services will be terminated or reduced."

We had our appeal package in the day before John's services (including residential care) were to be flatly terminated. So, we argued that we had submitted the package in time. Barely in time, but in time nonetheless.

The woman on the phone INSISTED that over 10 days was too late. Her supervisor insisted the same, and told us some malarky... more

My son is about to not get mental health treatment that he desperately needs. He needs fantastic amounts of support to function very simply in a limited world. It isn’t like he just wasn’t going to get one therapy or another. Rather, his entire world as he knows it would change – not for the better.

I have an adopted daughter who needed a liver transplant when she came to us. She was in foster care and UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing – THE listing center if you need a transplant) removed her name from the transplant list because foster care is considered... more