New and looking for information

I am so happy to find this group! I have a 5 1/2 year old bipolar son, named Chase, as well as 3 other children. We adopted Chase as an infant and were told that his bio. parents as well as many of his siblings had been diagnosed as BP. Chase is just a wonderful little boy, he's sweet, funny, intelligent etc. However, there is another chase that is very aggressive, goes into rages, it's been heartbreaking to watch as his mom. When he was 4 he started Pre-K, and within a month was in serious trouble at school, hitting and screaming, raging. We were fortunate to be able to take him to a psychologist that had worked with his family. He put him on Risperdal, and it instantly worked. Chase was able to be his true self. We are now a year down the line, the risperdal has had to be increased as he has grown. A couple of months ago we tried to add a medicine for ADHD and it messed Chase up bad. That month he was susspended from school 6x, and had a terrible time...and he's only in Kindergarten. He is back on the risperdal now (increased dosage) and doing much better. I am here to find any suggestions you might have in raising him, Do's or dont's, books or resources that might be recomended. I am desperate to find anything that will help me to be the best parent I can to him. He's a challenging, but wonderful child, and I want to do everything I can to set him up for a successful future. Thanks and God Bless.

Love

Gloria

PS Welcome to the site. Feel free to ask everything you can think of. There are lots of people who care here, and we will be with you on your journey.

I am glad you have found us. I have a 10 yr old son who was originally diagnosed at 5 as being ADHD. He has just started showing signs of bipolar. We have him on Respirdal, too. It seems to be helping him alot. He has always done really well in school as far as grades. But, when He is not on meds he is disruptive.

As parents, we have a very consistant schedule. My son is in therapy,

and has a case worker, that works with him. We treat him like he is a normal kid. We have chores, rules, consequences, and help him have a balance. There are a few sites online, that, I found info on parenting a bipolar child. It really helped me.

Anyway I hope, I have helped some.