When Your Child Has a Mental Handicap

My mind didn't see this one coming, my son in the previous blog entry, had been challenged by something that so many of us take advantage of, our ability to speak.  He was about four years old when I picked up on his rapid speech.  He didn't stutter at the time.  I thought that he was simply excited about whatever he chose to talk about, but I didn't think much else.  However, when it was time for him to attend school, the teacher alerted me to some things about his speech pattern and recommended speech therapy.  Rather than his communication getting better before the therapy, it got worse!

I wasn't a stranger to speech related disabilities since his father would stammer and stutter when he was excited and upset.  A couple of my male cousins suffered with speech problems due to traumatic events from childhood.  I read very quickly as a child (around 8 years old) and was placed in a reading support group by my teacher and parents since my comprehension skills declined rapidly that third grade year.  They told me over and over again, "Slow down when you read.  The commas and periods are there in the sentences to help."

My son, who is now 18, and a high school graduate, shares many of his school experiences on his YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/domkemp.  Do check it out and be encouraged that any handicap that your child is challenged with is not the end, it is only the beginning of a life where he or she will be a beacon of light to others! 

Any challenge is a humbling experience to us all and shows us why we should never take anything our Creator has gifted us with for granted.

Nicholl McGuire
Blog Owner and Author of When Mothers Cry, Laboring to Love an Abusive Mate and other books.

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If You Have a Mental Disorder...

If you come from a long family line of mental illness, then chances are your son or daughter will have the same or something related to a similar mental illness.  But how do you know for sure?  Try paying close attention to your child's habits.  Share your concerns with your child's pediatrician and if that doesn't work, always get a second and third opinion.  Do your homework.  Find out what are the alternatives to prescription drugs if in fact your child does have a mental issue.  I noticed that many males in my own family as well as on my child's father's side have behaviors very similar to bipolar disorder.  Only one man in our families actually got tested and we found out that he as well as three of his sons also have bipolar disorder.

Some parents refuse to admit that they have mental problems.  Others know they have them, but refuse to see issues with their children.  Why allow a son or daughter go through life wondering, "What is wrong with me?" and why let others assume they know what is wrong with your child?

Here are a few websites worth visiting when researching mental illness and other disorders in children.

Auditory Processing Disorders

Bipolar Disorder in Children & Teens

Mental Illness in Children