I am the parent of a child with a mental health disorder.
These shootings are hideous acts that leave me stunned because I think to myself, in another time, my daughter could be the one inflicting harm on her peers. I pray to God that it would never, ever happen!
I am the parent of a child with a mental health disorder.
We have documented diagnoses. Help is hard to find. Qualified help is nearly impossible to find. We have seen a handful of experts. Her doctors past and present, psychologists, psychiatrists and a team of attachment therapists. We have tried medications. We have tried therapies. We have changed parenting techniques. We have had her brain scanned. We have spent thousands on her mental health care. And to date, nothing has worked to cure her, to right her damaged brain. We continue to see her spiral downward.
I am the parent of a child with a mental health disorder.
I have reached out to our county for assistance. I ask what they can provide, what services are there to help our family. They only point me to a weekly support group of other parents led by zero professionals. They send me leaflets defining the disorder. I do not need further definition. I’m living it. Every single day, I’m living it. Our county is of no help.
I am the parent of a child with a mental health disorder.
Over the last 2 years I have tried with all my might to educate our school about my daughter’s issues, as her behavioral issues rise and rise in the classroom. I have fought for help via a 504 Plan, which offers little help. I fought for an IEP evaluation to show that my daughter qualifies for help with her documented diagnoses. The school insists that her behaviors are on par with her peers, that “all kids do that,” and that she is "just fine academically, so there is no need to worry about her behaviorally." They insist that my daughter’s behaviors are all at home and they are completely blind to the behaviors she dishes out at school. And yet she continues to spiral downward. My concerns have never been heard, my concerns are swept under the rug. The school district is of no help.
I am the parent of a child with a mental health disorder.
The road I walk is lonely. I have to fight to be seen. I have to fight to be heard. Yet I am invisible to most. I am exhausted from fighting to be seen. I am exhausted from fighting to be heard. I am exhausted.
I am the parent of a child with a mental health disorder.
Today’s issues are multifaceted! It’s not all about guns. It’s not all about politics and our political leaders. It’s not all about proper parenting. It's not all about loving more. It’s not all about just one thing. Mental health disorders are at the core of the issue. I can attest to it. Because I am living it. And I pray one day we can cure it because these shootings have to stop.
I am the parent of a child with a mental health disorder.
