Not that any of us confused parents need another addition to the alphabet soup of potential diagnoses for our “combo platter” kids…but, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) released a most interesting report last week of a study that may be the start of distinguishing pediatric Bipolar Disorder (BD) from another, similar disorder – Severe Mood Dysregulation (SMD).

Researchers at NIMH compared the EEGs of children with BD and those believed to have SMD, and found that... more

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network has formed a Complex Trauma Task Force that includes experts in childhood trauma, such as Bessel van der Kolk. The Task Force is hard at work defining a new category that may be included in the DSM-V, due to be published in 2010. The category: Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The definition of C-PTSD, also known as “complex trauma”, sounds a great deal like many of the “combo platter” issues that are faced by adopted and foster children... more

Feeling way out of my league biochemically, I waded in the research on why some doctors are prescribing Actos, a popular medication for treating Type II diabetes, to patients with autoimmune disorders. And ultimately, why our DAN! Doctor prescribed this for LuLu (and why we are seeing improvements.)

If you understand the rest of this blog, it means I’ve figured it out…or at least partially.

DAN! Doctors operate from the theory that autism (and other neurologically-based disorders – like ADHD, and perhaps Tourettes and Bipolar) are greatly... more

I’ve been mulling over Cindy Bodie’s blog on Mental Illness in Children. (She posted it a long time ago…see how long I’ve been mulling!) Cindy is a relatively new blogger to adoptionblogs.com and I love so much of what she has to say. She faces life head-on with her large family of older children, many with some very challenging issues. There is much I admire about that. Her level of energy, stamina, commitment and ability to give those kids what they need (to name... more

Yesterday’s cover story in the Atlanta Journal Constitution was an investigative report of Georgia’s state mental hospitals and that neglect seems to be leading to several suspicious deaths. The first installment of a series is about a 14-year-old girl named Sara Crider.

I couldn’t help but notice the similarities, the possibilities that this could be my child. The report starts by explaining that Sarah had been diagnosed as autistic when younger and been placed in... more

In sharp contrast to the Rosemond article comes this article from MSNBC entitled When Babies See Shrinks. The article discusses the growing trend of early mental health interventions.

It talks about the value of mental health wellness and the importance of understanding the impact the first few weeks, months and years have on children’s brain development. This is in stark contrast to those who... more

There seems to be a growing number of interventions that use the brain’s plasticity as their basis. When brains were found to have plasticity (grow new neuronal connections and have the ability to repair cell damage), things radically changed in the world of neurology.

It hasn’t been too many years ago that scientists, and therefore the public, believed that you had a limited number of brain cells. Sure you have many more than you were actually using, but in the 1970s and 1980s what college student wasn’t warned that drinking too heavily could kill off all your brain cells…and those don’t grow back. You are born with the number of brain cells you have all your life – WRONG!

Well,... more

In Diagnosis Dilemma, I explained that LuLu has several diagnoses that could be considered counter-indicated. The professionals (psychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists) often seem to be at odds over diagnosing children with complex symptoms that seem to overlap, yet can’t be explained by one disorder or another.

The beauty of having “friends” on listserves in cyberspace is that you get such a variety of ideas and opinions, as well as links to information from all... more

A couple of weeks ago in court, the validity of diagnosing LuLu with both RAD and PDD-NOS (an autism spectrum diagnosis) was called into question. You see, the DSM-IV states that autism must be ruled out in order to diagnose RAD. And LuLu carries both “labels”, not diagnosed by the same professional, but she still has them both on numerous medical records, along with other diagnoses that professionals debate as to whether they can co-exist.

So, while the DSM-IV is pretty clear that the diagnostician needs to rule out autism, it doesn’t clear... more

About a year ago, our psychiatrist suggested that LuLu start taking SAM-e, a natural supplement that we buy inexpensively at Sam's Club (you can get it at any pharmacy, but the price at Sam's is reasonable.) It is often promoted for joint health. But it is even more than that. The Amen Clinic website recommends SAM-e for "limbic hyperactivity".

The limbic system is the emotional center of our brains. It lies behind the prefrontal cortex and underneath the frontal cortex. Overactive limbic systems manifest... more