Is He Bi-Polar?

Hi D.,

I've responded throughout your email where you see these arrows: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Thank you, we appreciate the support. We are having a problem with our son accepting punishment -- whether it’s time-out or grounding. He has difficulty accepting any responsibility for his actions. He is relentless in the pursuit of what he wants, which is usually just to play.

He is very young for his age. We have been trying to work with him to go out and come home on time. Once he gets out he just refuses to come home. He'll be punished and then just do the same thing again. Currently we are having trouble keeping him in his room or the house when he is punished.

What are some strategies to help with this?

>>>>>>>>>>>>> Two sections of the ebook will help you with this problem: "The Art of Saying Yes & No" ...and "Anger Management"

He continually comes out of the room trying to insight us and has escalated in this behavior. We ignore, walk away and keep redirecting him back to his room, but when he is in one of his moments it is very difficult.

He does have ADD and it is possible that he has bipolar, although the meds have not helped him, and we are currently weaning him off.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Please see the two sections of the ebook: "Dealing with Teenage ADHD" ...and "Dealing with a Bi-Polar Teen"

He is 13 and the current Dr. we have been seeing since January has been unable to place him in a specific diagnosis. He has symptoms from several disorders and no clear distinction towards one. It is possible that it may still be emerging.

He has been difficult from day one. The most disconcerting thing though recently is that we have seen a major escalation in his anger and frustration levels over the last few months. Things seem to be getting worse daily. The more doctors, therapy and medications we try the worse things seem to get.

Any help or suggestions you can give would be appreciated.

>>>>>>>>>>>I'm going to send an attachment that will be quite helpful, please read the whole thing. It sounds like he may have some bi-polar tendencies. Does anyone else in the family have bi-polar disorder?

>>>>>>>>>>You have access to the Online Parent Support CHAT-ROOM now. If you think it would be helpful, you and I can set-up a day and time that is convenient for both of us and talk more -- in real time -- about your son. He sounds like a handful, but no more so than any of the other kids I work with. We may want to consider having me chat with your son too at some point. You can look over his shoulder during the chat if you and I decide this could be helpful.

In any event, I'm going to direct you to My Out-Of-Control Teen E-book because the answers to your current child-difficulties will all be addressed there.


Here's to a better home environment,
Mark