Mental Illness

DeeBot,
My nephew was diagnosed a few mounths ago with bipolar, and is doing better also, its day to day but seems better.

As far as the parents, talk about it with the one's who will listen. It will be great for you also to get things off of your chest, and use humor to break the ice.
Bipolar is more common than people think and chances are that they will know someone that also has this disorder.
Good Luck to your Son it sounds like he's headed in the right direction, and good luck to you. The EH

Bi-polar is more common than most think. People we don't suspect are afflected and live productive happy lives. It is at 18-20 that males seem to be diagnosed with no previous signs. I wish you the ver best in this battle

deebot,
I think that you will find that it is a lot more common than you think.
The good part is that he has been diagnosed and needs to remain on his medication and doctor visits. My daughters best freind is bi-polar, who often goes off of her medication because she thinks she doesn't need it, then it takes months to stabilize again. Your son's condition should have no bearing on his playing.

Best of luck to your son.

TPM

Jimmy Piersall comes to mind…

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Deebot...

Would suggest you work closely with the people who run the Goodwill Games, they have an excellent reputation. This is a great contact you already have in your pocket.

Good Luck!

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TPM - you are exactly right. One of the biggest challenges for people that have mental illness as well as other medical conditions is they feel "they're all better" and don't need the medication any longer. Then, they and their loved ones have to face all the challenges of the behaviors and regulating their medications once again.

Mental Illness is something that the world is becoming more knowledgeable about which decreases fears and ignorance in people. It's truly a better place now for people suffering, but there's a long way to go yet.

Best of luck to you and your son Deebot. I like the suggestion of having a talk with the Coach so that he fully understands what your son is battling. Education is power!

TPM & lafmom make an important point. I got to know a person diagnosed with bipolar fairly well. There was a long cycle of taking the medication, doing well then going off the medication with the ensuing problems resulting from no medication.

I'm sure the docs have already warned you about that one. But I can say from observation that it is critical.

We'll be praying for your son. Glad to hear the problem is diagnosed and being treated.

As far as the parents and coaches - what, specifically, is their problem? What are their concerns?

deebot.....sure you, your son, and family have been through a lot.....hope that baseball works out.....can't give you any advise on how to make that happen.....other than what has already been said.....communication....to coaches, and parents.....

It just seems like a good thing that you have a diagnosis, medication, and the knowledge you need to help your son.....

Best wishes......and I sincerely hope he gets to play ball......

deebot,

Thank you for sharing your son's story. It does seem that mental illness is becoming more visible and perhaps slowly, more people are understanding it. A few years ago my husband and I learned that a good friend of ours from high school, who had become very prominent in our local sports, business, and political scenes, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

What kinds of things are the coaches and other parents doing? It sounds like they might need some education about the illness, and perhaps if you give some specifics of their behavior, some members could give helpful advice.

Best wishes to your son.

deebot,

Noticed that you mentioned your son has attended one of our events. If we can do anything to help him, please don't hesitate to contact us. pgjerry@qwest.net

I'm familiar with bipolar disorder.

I for one have never understood how anyone could look at a kid or anyone else for that matter any differently because of mental illness. Why is it any different than physical illness? Can a kid help the fact that he has a mental illness or a bad knee? Whats the difference? I'll tell you what it is, its ignorance of the facts. Its a stigma caused by ignorance. You can see and understand easily when a kid has a broken bone or a pulled muscle etc. But people see a perfectly healthy kid and don't understand mental illness. It can and is treated with medication and sometimes therapy and your son or anyone else's should not be treated or looked at any different than anyone else's. Of all people the parents and coaches should understand this and should be supporters of your son. I wish you and your son all the luck in the world.

Having been involved with youth sports for more years that I can count, I have seen the situations like this over and over from the 8 year old to the 18 year old-- so do not feel that you are alone because you are not--

Also be advised that many colleges and universities have special situations for students with "learning disorders", I much prefer this term to "mental illness", and if acknowledeged can make a difference for a young man or woman getting into college and then getting the support they need.

My son had a learning disorder, not bi-polar, but a learning disorder nonetheless and had an excellent college career both on the baseball field and in the classroom.

Since we are involved with assisting players to get into college we want to know if any such conditions exist and if on medication we want to know so that we can sort of watch over the player and make sure all goes well and that the colleges he is talking to are aware--as I noted above many college/universities have special conditions for student athletes like this.

If we can be of any assistance feel free to contact us

deebot, Been thinkin’ about this since you posted. I think you may be surprised that you are not alone with this issue. You can’t control the cold hearted ignorance of the parents. However, there are federal laws protecting your son with regards to the high school teachers and coaches. If you think you have a problem with the coaches, schedule a meeting with the athletic director of the high school to discuses your concerns. This may be a wonderful opportunity to address these issues at the school, educate, and bring some degree of sensitivity. As you may already know, control what you can. High school is tough enough. I commend your son’s courage getting back in the game and wish him nothing but success. I was not being facetious about Jimmy Piersall. Reading about how Piersall dealt with this issue at the major league level may help your son. Good Luck!

Thank you all for the support and encouragement. Smokey, I really appreciate the advice of talking to the AD however I feel compelled to speak to the coach first. If this doesn’t help, I will then address the issue with the AD. Momandcpa, I believe you are right also. Communication is a wonderful thing and by discussing this with the parents that I know I can reach, the word should spread and I would hope things will get better. It is very encouraging to know there are folks out there that are enlightened to this disease and understand that it isn’t contagious. I believe some of the folks we are dealing with are not so enlightened.

Coach May and TR Hit are right.

Been coaching for a good many years and have had ALL kinds of kids/players from different backgrounds and yes, emotional and learning disabilities. If a young man is committed to the game, and works hard, a coach should not penalize a player for having a disability. I think a one on one with the coach is a good idea as if a parent came to me, I would certainly welcome the discussion. As for the other parents, my feelings are a little different. You do not owe them an explaination for your son. They do not run the program, they are parents. If you feel comfortable in speaking to them about your personal situation, then that is something to consider. Your son has a right to privacy and if he is OK with it, then it could be a good thing. I would discuss it with him first before talking to the other parents. If the meeting with the coach does not go well, Smokey was right, go to the AD and higher in the chain if need be. Hopefully that is not necessary. The best case is a positive meeting with the coach, let him know what is going on and as responsible parents, you are on top of the situation. IMO, if you came to me in my HS program, I would do what I could to work with your son, and not draw attention to it. It is also something that IMO, would be inappropriate for me to discuss with the players. Again, I personally feel its a privacy issue. I wish you the best and as a parent myself, I remain compasionate and hope and pray everything works out for your son. I think the feedback thus far has been highly supportive so let that be a confidence builder in speaking with the coach. Good luck and keep us posted!

As in most things, education is most important. I am 59 years old and saw my very first case of bipolar disorder about two years ago. I can understand why someone not familiar with this particular condition would be totally confused if and when they see it. Chances are that most all parents and coaches have not seen or recognized someone with bipolar disorder. It is much more severe than just a learning problem. It is a very serious condition that luckily can usually be treated by medication and support.

deebot, My suggestion (FWIW) is to make teachers and coaches not only aware of the situation, but educate them... make copies of medical reports that deal with bipolar disorder. That way, they will not only understand, but will be able to detect potential reoccurences. If they are unwilling to help your son, they deserve what they get when you go to their superiors.

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:
deebot, My suggestion (FWIW) is to make teachers and coaches not only aware of the situation, but educate them... make copies of medical reports that deal with bipolar disorder. That way, they will not only understand, but will be able to detect potential reoccurences.

Excellent advice from PG. Too often we have vague impressions of things, that may or may not be accurate. And this could benefit others down the road.

deebot,

Kudos to your son, you and your family for recognizing and helping him get the treatment he desperately needs to be successful...many, many famous people have been diagnosed with bipolar and have led very profitable and fullfilling lives...I wish all of you the very best.

Having said that some erroneous info has been offered here...there is absolutely no correlation between Mental Illness and Learning Disabilities...they are as different as night and day...Bipolar (often known as manic depression) comes in cycles...usually treated with lithium to control the manic phase and antidepressants for the depression phase...medication is key to the success of the individual and must be taken daily for the rest of the individuals life...people can cycle slowly or rapidly through these phases and family and friends must be astute to the changes in mental status....

Learning disabilities are caused by a variety of reasons ie...poor nutrition, lead paint posioning, heredity etc...treated with medication the child has the ability to learn and become productive...many times the person has "drug holidays"...mostly on weekends or during summer vacation....unnecessary to alert any coaches, parents, etc. of the existance of the disorder...as a matter of fact, lots of people afflicted with LD are extremely successful at sports as it does not require one to sit and focus which is required in the classroom....

As far as notifying coaches...I will relate my own personal example...my son has severe asthma...as a little guy he had 12 hospitalizations...as many as 70 to 80 trips to the ER for stabilization...he played hockey as well as baseball...I would always inform a coach as to his having the disease due to his inability to run and run fast while in the recovering phase...some coaches were very understanding others perceived me as an over protective mother...even though thousands of people die each year from asthma...thus, I would attend almost all practices and all games when he was growing up just so I could monitor his health...no one will ever care as much as you do...you may find your coach to be empathetic but if not the ball is in your court to assess him...parents, that you feel close to, then by all means share what is going on....some people's reaction to what they are ignorant to is to shun the person involved...sad but true...avoid them and do not attempt to sway them...they are not worth the time or effort...again best of luck

This topic brings to mind the fact that the medications used to treat chronic conditions may appear on the NCAA's list of "banned substances." If your college-bound son takes a medication regularly, notify the college's medical officials in advance of his enrollment. If the drug is found on the list, a letter from the player's home physician will be maintained on file with the university to establish the medical need; removing any possibility of it creating a problem later.

Deebot: I'm sure that many in this community have benefitted from your having raised the issue of your son's illness. Here's wishing all of you the best as he confronts it day-to-day.