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Maria and Grant
I want to share the story of my son Grant’s diagnosis with bi-polar disorder because I think most people, even some medical and disability specialists, fail to recognise that people with an intellectual disability can also have a mental illness. The usual tests could not be administered to my son because of his intellectual disability and autism. When Grant was young he would have periods of prolonged crying with no identifiable cause, and by his late teens and early 20s he started having episodes of very unusual behaviour that seemed to come and go in cycles. It started with him not sleeping and the staff describing him as ‘high’. This happened one year around Christmas time. When he came home for the holiday, he wrecked the house. I assumed his behaviour was a result of the excitement of Christmas and the disruption caused by the regular group home staff being replaced by casuals. This episode lasted about 3 weeks. The next year around the same time, the staff again described his behaviour as high, and out of character. He would become explosive and lash out. I also started to realise that he was affected by the hot weather, so we had his room air conditioned. I knew that something wasn’t quite right but we still had no idea that Grant had bi-polar disorder. I asked staff to monitor him carefully to try to figure out if there was something wrong physically. We took him to Dr Helen Beange, a DD specialist, where he had a thorough physical examination which ruled out any physical problems. The third Christmas, he basically went ballistic and for the first time in my life I was horrified to feel that I was scared of my own child. I could see the manic expression in his eyes. He was placed in a cottage on his own and he couldn’t attend his day program. Finally I took him to a psychiatrist who diagnosed bi-polar disorder and put him on mood stabilising medication. I was shattered, and found it hard to accept, thinking, ‘Hasn’t Grant got enough problems?’ So I took him for a second opinion, hoping there had been some horrible mistake. The second psychiatrist, who he still sees now, confirmed the diagnosis. I was shocked to realise that he would have to be on medication for the rest of his life. But it was also a relief because I was worried that his behaviour would adversely affect the 3 people he shares with and put his group home placement at risk. The medication is keeping Grant stable. He recently had an episode and had to have his medication increased after it was discovered that his lithium levels were down. I feel like I am in a state of constant vigilance. It took 3 years to get a proper diagnosis for Grant. This was made more difficult by his lack of speech. The accurate diagnosis can be attributed to good record keeping of the incidents as they occurred. The doctors were able to rely on these reports to assist them in the diagnosis. What I would like to say to other families is that, with proper diagnosis and treatment, mental illness in a person with intellectual disability does not need to prevent them living a normal healthy life. I thought I had a lot of experience advocating for Grant but this experience high-lighted even more the importance of communicating with his carers, trusting my own judgement, and speaking up for him.
Maria Circuitt |
