New website for mental illness information

Having trouble finding information about various mental illness conditions and disorders. Don’t know where to start?

The following information was received about a new blog and information base for bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses, but I think it is much broader than that.

Here is a free blog on which parents can check out several different illnesses. Psychiatric disorders include ADD and ADHD, Bipolar, Depression and Anxiety. Doctors who moderate the blog are reportedly on staff at Harvard.

www.physiciansforpatients.com

The main website includes links to all conditions, topics, doctor credentials, and background.

For bipolar, in particular, go to http://bipolar.physiciansforpatients.com

Physicians for Patients is a physician enhanced online support community. A physician is dedicated to each site to help guide discussions and answer questions. This resource will enable people to share information and obtain alternative opinions.

The bipolar information physician is Brian Gondos, MD, whose specialty is Psychiatry. Dr. Gondos is dedicated to the Bipolar site. He is board certified and trained in Psychiatry at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital.

This is a new website and is being developed, so have patience.

C.H.A.D.D. - June 3

The next C.H.A.D.D. meeting is this coming Wednesday, June 3, 2009, at 6:45 p.m., at Family Service in McHenry. Family Service is located at 4100 Veterans Parkway, just east of Illinois Route 31 and about one mile south of Bull Valley Road.

The June topic is Time Savings Techniques, and the speaker will be Erin Kelly of "Arranged By Erin". The presentation is directed at adults but much of what Erin will cover can be transferred to helping your children learn about time management and ADD.

Family Service offers free childcare for children over 4. Meetings are open to all and are free.

For more information, contact Lyn Purpura, Coordinator

www.chadd.net/109

Email: lyn.chadd@sbcglobal.net

Cell phone: 815.651.1125

Parent of a child with FAS?

Are you the parent or caregiver of a school-age child or children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)?

The Family Empowerment Network in Wisconsin will host a one-hour teleconference on school advocacy for families affected by FASD. The call will take place on Tuesday, June 9, 2009, from 11:00AM-Noon.

Terri M., a mother from northwestern Wisconsin, will be their guest and will talk about her successful school advocacy efforts for her daughter this past year. She was at a point of frustration because the school wasn't responding to her requests for accommodations for her daughter, who was having meltdowns daily after school.

The IEP didn't address the behaviors that Terri was seeing. This is a success story you won't want to miss. You can plan to come away with some valuable tips. Terri also has an organizational tool that she developed that she will share with you.

This teleconference is primarily for Wisconsin residents but, space permitting, will be open to those beyond the state line.

For call-in information, call Patti Cameron, Coordinator, at (608) 262-6590. Call June 1st or after, as she is out of the office this week. If you just can’t wait to inquire or register, call Dr. Georgiana Wilton at (608) 261-1419. If there is space available, you will be given the toll-free telephone number and the access code for the teleconference.

I can personally relate to this mother because of the difficulties that I encountered when trying to solve extreme absenteeism problems about five years ago. The school’s response was, “Our responsibility ends at the curb in front of the school.” I knew that wasn’t true. Anything that affected the child’s education needed to be addressed.

It cost the school district over $150,000 for three years of therapeutic day school expenses and 60 miles of daily transportation. While I’m glad they spent it, the student missed a rich high school education and friends, as he was excluded from activities. The whole issue of “Inclusion” was ignored during that time.

Parent Empowerment Call-in

On June 4 there will be two education telephone call-in programs for Illinois parents who have a child with an emotional and/or behavioral concern. These tele-meetings will focus on giving parents the information they need to advocate for and to support their children.

The program, called Parent Empowerment Call-Ins, will present "Empowering parents With Measured Outcomes."

The programs are free and even offer a tollfree number. Pick one of the following; then call 2-3 minutes before the starting time. Enter the access code and wait for the program to being.

Thursday, June 4, 2009, 12:00-1:00PM
Call (800) 260-0719
Enter Participant Access Code: 102408

Thursday, June 4, 2009, 7:00-8:00PM
Call (800) 260-0719
Enter Participant Access Code: 102409

These programs are sponsored by the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health, Child and Adolescent Services.

After all, what good is a goal, if it is not specific and does not have a deadline?

For years I have attempted to get S.M.A.R.T. goals in my stepson's Individualized Educaiton Programs in District 200.

Specific
Measured
Appropriate
Realistic
Time-oriented ( a deadline)

Maybe, if all parents demand SMART goals, we'll get them into use.

You can forward this article to any parent with a child in Special Education by clicking on the small envelope below the article. Enter that parent's email address and your own; then send. The email addresses remain private and are used for no purpose other than to send that one message.

Tourette Syndrome - know this one?

ABC-TV showed a re-run tonight of its special on Tourette Syndrome, a neurological disorder affecting 1 in 1,000 children and affecting boys about three times as often as girls.

This was a powerful program that should be seen by every parent, school teacher, staff and administrator, family, because you will encounter a child or an adult with Tourette Syndrome.

The children in the program have extreme cases; many are not so severe.

Tourette Syndrome is marked by motor tics (twitching, involuntary movements of body, face, eyes, arms, head) and vocal tics, such as barking, squealing and shrieking. One of the tics is swearing, over which the child (or adult) has no control. He or she will just blurt out the words.

Several years ago a consultant told me she had encountered an executive in a major company whose employees complained to her about his swearing. At that time I was able to help her with basic information about Tourette Syndrome and steer her to the national association for this disorder, so that she could further educate herself and help her clients.

It is critical that teachers and other students understand this disorder, as well as other emotional and mental disorders, so that they accept and include these children.

For more information, go to the Tourette Syndrome Association website at http://tsa-usa.org/

You might check ABC.com and see whether this program can be viewed online. And the Tourette Syndrome Association may offer copies of this program for sale online or by telephone. Every school should own a copy of this program!

Bullying is alive and well in schools

Whatever happened to "thinking" in schools, especially when it comes to dealing with kids in special education?

A friend wrote about her son's experience in his new school. He was doing very well in adjusting to his new school, and they seemed to really understand his disability - for the first time, in a long time. Now, we're not talking Woodstock here...

Okay, so today the boy comes home and has been kicked off a field trip because he hit another student at school.

The back story? The other kid had been teasing this boy and also thrown his Math book into the stair well (according to the school counselor). And the discipline for the other kid? Nothing. He didn't get bumped from the field trip.

Yes, there ought to be zero tolerance for hitting in school, but there should be zero tolerance for teasing, too, since it's a form of bullying. It's not just a "form" of bullying; IT IS BULLYING.

If I were the Principal, either they'd both get kicked off the field trip or, better yet, sit them down and have them work out their disagreements, and provide some strong coaching to both. And then send them both on the field trip.

Isn't this what we want our kids to learn? Work out your disagreements.

If they don't do it this way, then the kid who didn't go on the field trip will have it "in" for the one who teased him, and there will be more "occurrences." Duh.....

Webinar will be online

If you missed tonight's webinar with Heather Forbes ("I'm the one who needs the time-out"), you can catch it online at www.JourneyToMe.com Heather is the mother of two adopted Russian children. Everything she mentioned certainly sounded familiar!

Heather's own website is www.beyondconsequences.com She is the author of three books:
- Beyond Consequences, Logic and Control, Volumes 1 and 2, and
- Dare to Love

How about this quote from one of her slides? "Problems and happiness have no relationship." Have you read Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning?

If you are in Denver and interested in a two-day workshop with Heather this week-end (May 15-16), go to www.EveryDayIsMothersDay.com

Tonight's webinar was sponsored by Journey to Me, The Adoption Gathering Place. Donations to support the organization and these monthly webinars are appreciated.

The Bridge Builder

A local school district vocational coach mentioned this poem during a meeting last week. It's a good one.

The Bridge Builder

An old man, going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.

The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fear for him;
But he turned, when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.

"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim, near,
"You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again will pass this way;
You've crossed the chasm, deep and wide-
Why build you this bridge at the evening tide?"

The builder lifted his old gray head:
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,
"There followeth after me today,
A youth, whose feet must pass this way.

This chasm, that has been naught to me,
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him."

The Bridge Builder is a poem written by the acclaimed author Will Allen Dromgoole (1860-1934). "The Bridge Builder" is often reprinted and remains quite popular. It has even graced plaques on real bridges such as the Bellows Falls--Vilas Bridge in Connecticut. It continues to be quoted frequently, usually in a religious context or in writings stressing a moral lesson. It is also a favorite of motivational speakers.

"The Bridge Builder" is also used by many Fraternities to promote the idea of building links for the future and passing the torch along for the next generation.

It was possibly first published in 1900 in the now-rare book A Builder. By 1931 Ms. Dromgoole had published thirteen books, 7,500 poems and 5,000 columns of essays, making her one of the most prolific of Tennessee writers. More about her can be read at www.lib.utk.edu/refs/tnauthors/authors/dromgoole-w.html

The poem is quoted in its entirety, as it appears in Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Reprinted with blanket permission of Wikipedia.

PEG in McHenry and Algonquin

PEG (Parent Empowerment Group), operating under the auspices of the McHenry County CARE/Family Council (a program of the McHenry County Mental Health Board), now meets in McHenry and in Algonquin.

Are you the parent/caregiver of a child or youth with significant needs due to a mental health diagnosis, medications, an IEP, inappropriate behavior or defiance issues?

Do you feel alone or in need of support?

Do you want a safe place to discuss the challenges of parenting your "special" child?

Join one (or both? any chance of nightly??? (who, me? stressed today?) of these groups for parents/caregivers. Learn new skills, share information and become empowered. Everyone is welcome.

Look out, world; here we come!!!

Algonquin:
1st and 3rd Wednesdays
7:00-8:30PM
Colonial Cafe meeting room
2555 West Bunker Hill Drive
Contact: Mary Humphrey, 815-788-4364

McHenry:
2nd and last Tuesday
7:00-8:30PM
Family Service - 2nd floor, Room 11
4111 Veterans Parkway
Contact: Teri Lindahl, 815-353-9902

Parenting Webinar - this Tuesday

The amount of support available to parents of kids with special needs is overwhelming. The only problem is so little of it is here in McHenry County, Illinois. Or, if it's here, it's hard to find.

A "webinar" (seminar on the web) will be presented this Tuesday at 7:30PM CDT (CORRECTION 5/12/09: The correct starting time is 6:30PM MDT (7:30PM CDT)) by Heather T. Forbes, LCSW, founder of the Beyond Consequences Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

This teaser got my attention: "I'm the One Who Needs a Time-out!" How true!!!

You can sign up for this webinar at https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/schedule/display.do?udc=1isxuthm8cbog

If you sign up, be sure to show up. Your space will be held for you, and you might keep another participant away by reserving a spot and not showing up. It's free.

Watch the first video clip first on Heather's website at www.beyondconsequences.com/

D155 Parent University - May 16

Crystal Lake (Ill.) High School District 155, along with McHenry County Family CARE, will be hosting a Parent University on Saturday, May 16th, from 8:00am to 12:30pm at Crystal Lake South High School, 1200 McHenry Ave., Crystal Lake.

Participants should have a child in 8th through 12th grade, entering or in any District 155 school.

Registration is requested by May 8. Walk-in registrations will be accepted based on space availability. Child care is available for children ages 3 to 8 and must be indicated upon registration.

The keynote address is using "Love & Logic and Effectively Handling Power Struggles with Children". The keynote will be followed by three break-out periods with a variety of offerings during each period, including:

Dealing with Anxiety, Depression and Bi-Polar Teens
Signs & Symptoms of Drug and Alcohol Use
Anger Management
Legal Issues at Home and on the Roads
A Day in the Life: Navigating the School System
Healthy Coping Behaviors
Bullying and Internet Issues
Let's Talk and Sex. . .and Healthy Relationships
Overcoming the Rigors of High School with Good Study Skills, and
College Issues and Parent Separation Anxiety