After discussing at length, with Dr. Pattie about our concerns that there might be more going on than we are currently aware of with Elliott, a course of action has been decided.  

We went through this enormous checklist of what Bipolar Disorder looks like in kids and while he didn’t meet every single item, he met more than he missed. 

Again, this doesn’t mean anything for sure but it does raise more concern that this could be what we’re looking at.  

The plan at this point is to have him evaluated at the end of August, when he has a followup appointment with Dr.Reynolds, his psychiatrist. It’s been about 10 years since we’ve been through this process with Gavin, so I’m unsure of what to expect this time around. 

I was to stress that this isn’t about trying to tack another diagnosis on one of my kids.  

The reality is that the treatment plan currently in place, isn’t helping him. We’ve been working on this for a few years now and not making a great deal of progress.  

It could be that we just haven’t found the right combination of medications to help him or it could mean that we aren’t treating the right disorder. I’m not sure what’s what at this point, but that’s why we have to explore this deeper.  

The whole point of this is to provide Elliott with the highest possible quality of life. Whole I really hope that we aren’t dealing with Bipolar Disorder, it won’t change who he is. It will simply change how we help him..