When my son was three, he was diagnosed with ADHD. At age five he was diagnosed with hearing loss in his left ear and a severe speech impediment. At the age of 11, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which accounted for his violent mood swings.

I felt like I was living on an emotional roller coaster. I never knew how my son would be from one moment to the next. One minute he was laughing and carrying on, then the next minute he wanted to rip your head off, then he would be sad and miserable the next time a mood swing came by.

Finally after 6 months of repeating the same thing to his neurologist, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In the two years since then, he has been put on medication for bipolar disorder, in addition to the medication he takes for his ADHD and his most recent diagnosis, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Today he is a lot more pleasant to be around. We are making progress. On days when he is under stress, he does have delusions. We tell him, "tell the delusions to go away."

We now have community support with my son’s counselor, and he has made great progress. Living with this disorder is not fun, but it can be done. Make yourself knowledgeable about the disorder and always tell the child it is not his fault, it is an illness. Above all, always support your child, no matter what.