Flashback #1--July 2009

Many of you know some of the challenges Holly (and we, her parents) have faced over the last several years. In a nutshell, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 8.



Over the years, we've seen three different psychiatrists and four or more therapists to help Holly cope with changing moods, frustrations and emotions. We've tried many different types of medication with marginal results. Counseling was very effective, but she was only able to make progress with it on "good days." And last year we were starting have more bad days than good.



Several years ago, my mother started sending us articles on Asperger's Syndrome. This was something I had considered but only in passing. However, with my mother's encouragement, I brought it up to the psychiatrist. He was dismissive about it and others concerns we had. He steered us back in the direction of treating her for bipolar disorder.

We kept Asperger's in the back of our mind, but continued with the treatment the psychiatrist suggested. A few months later, he quit private practice and we had to find a new psychiatrist.




We found one that we liked okay, but as time went on, we became frustrated because we didn't feel like he was listening to us much like the last psychiatrist. He spent all of 15 minutes with her once every three months and we weren't seeing any improvement. We decided to look again for another psychiatrist.




While we were looking for a new psychiatrist, we decided to go to an Asperger's support group to find out more information. The people we talked to there suggested we see a developmental pediatrician and recommended one in the area. We made an appointment and waited...

When we finally got in to see him at the end of July, he spent 2 1/2 hours evaluating her, talking and listening to her and then discussed his findings and made suggestions. His diagnoses were as follows: Asperger's disorder; ADHD (we already had this diagnosis); a nonspecific mood disorder--possibly bipolar or something else; anxiety--(finally! someone besides us and her teachers who recognized this); and possibly oppositional defiance disorder. His recommendation as far as medication was to continue the Adderall for ADHD, start Prozac for the anxiety and discontinue the Lamictal (a mood stabilizer for bipolar disorder).



Within days of the change, we saw a marked difference in her moods, level of frustration and general level of happiness. At first, we were holding our breath waiting for the next wave of bad days to come--they didn't.


A month later, she started school. The teachers, principal and counselors at school noticed the difference in her right away. I stopped in to the school in mid-September to drop off something and the principal commented that she was like "a new kid." She started her internship at the school and they were overwhelming pleased with her--so much so that they started paying her in mid-November.



In the next couple of months she will start a new internship at the middle school in our area. She is looking at colleges for next year and making plans to become a special education teacher. Her progress over the last few months has been phenomenal and we are looking forward to a great future for her!