Jackson's update

It has been a while since I gave you all an update on Jackson.  In fact a little more than a year has gone by since his diagnosis.

There is an interesting article in Newsweek Magazine this week about bipolar children.  A very interesting article, but it is based on one of the most severe cases, with the boy having numerous disorders.  And it painted a pretty bleak picture for the future of any bipolar kid.  We wish it would have gone more in depth with less severe cases since most are not as severe as the cover boy.  Fortunately, Jackson does not seem to be this bad.  But many of the statements made by the parents are the same as we feel.

Here is the link to the article.  Also check out the links under “From the Editors” for more information on the disorder.  

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137517

Jackson was more or less stable for a few months, but started showing signs of the original voices and internal images again.  So after increasing dosage a few times with no improvement, we have started down the path of a med change.  We did an abrupt switch a couple months ago from Risperdal to Seroquel, with horrible results.  It was like Jackson’s evil twin emerged.  He was angry and absolutely raging for 2 days until we got him back on the Risperdal.  As it turns out, there is a small percentage of the population that has this opposite reaction to Seroquel.  Go figure.

After stabilizing again, our concerns soon returned about the Risperdal.  So we just completed a gradual switch from Risperdal to Zyprexa, and still on Strattera for anxiety.  He does not seem to have the voices, or he at least doesn’t talk about them any more, but he is pretty defiant and oppositional much of the time.  He gets angry easily and has taken to running away (next door or to the playground) when things don’t go his way.  We may not stay on this med, but are still evaluating.

He has pretty much given up on school this year.  His para-pro (teacher assistant) left a few weeks ago for personal reasons.  He had bonded pretty tightly with her and he does not have the same “click” with the new one.  With only a couple weeks left, he has told us he won’t do any more work in school.  We likes to learn, is very intelligent, and knows most of what he is supposed to know at the end of 1^st grade, but mostly refuses to hold a pencil.  So he is passing to 2^nd grade and we are just riding it out ourselves.

For 2^nd grade, we have decided to switch schools.  The Brighton district has 5 elementary schools and one of them (not ours) has a classroom for emotionally impaired (EI) students.  We discussed this at the beginning of this process, but it is the most restrictive of all options.  The school is required by law to try less restrictive options first, which we have now done with limited success.  Jackson is classified as EI, so he does qualify.  He will take a transfer bus from our school to that one each day.

Michelle and I met with the EI teacher and are very excited that this can be an environment where Jackson can learn and grow successfully.  She was a nurse for 20 years in the psychiatric ER, treating all sorts of disorders in crisis mode in all age groups.  She has been an EI teacher for the past 8 years with no signs of the usual burnout.  She is a tough cookie but is a passionate advocate for these kids.  Brighton is lucky to have her.  She runs a tight ship in the classroom and the kids seem to love and respect her.  She introduced us to the class and each student introduced themselves and told us where they came from and how long they have been in the EI room.  We are not as concerned as we once were about Jackson learning bad behaviors instead of learning better ones.  Even the kid that was just pulling out of a meltdown pulled it together to impress us.  And he did.

It is pretty much a “one room school house” and a tight knit community.  There are a number a para-pro’s on staff to support, with a social worker holding group therapy sessions regularly.  Meltdowns and outbursts happen regularly but are openly discussed after the fact so the students talk about how to handle these episodes in themselves and their peers.  There were 5 students in the room that day but it varies as some go to general ed classroom some days, while some are in treatment facilities part of the time.  We are going to take Jackson to visit and meet her and the kids, and maybe even start participating in group activities yet this school year so he can get excited about school next year.

Summer is coming, so there will be less stress and fewer rules for Jackson to follow, so we are hoping for some peace in the house.  We try to keep a positive outlook, and some days are better than others.  Michelle is in charge of Jackson’s school contacts and I tend to take the lead with the meds, with his psychiatrist very willing to discuss via email.

Our main request to you is to openly discuss this disorder with anyone that asks so that more people are aware of it and understand it, rather than it being looked at shamefully or as some sort of secret.  The best thing I read in this article was from one expert who said that the brain is the most complicated system in the body.  If lungs and hearts and other systems can become damaged or ill, then why would we expect the brain to never become damaged or ill just because it is a child?  The parents are sometimes the only advocates for mentally ill kids, and it helps when the extended family is too.