Damn. That is sad.

A psychiatrist diagnosed Rebecca Riley with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder when she was 2 years old.

Is it even possible to diagnose either at that age?

Is it even possible to diagnose either at that age?

Yeah, I found that suspicious too, but I don't know a lot about child psychiatry. I do know that some of the meds she was on are not approved for children.

That is awful, vw. I would be surprised if it were not an accident. A guy I was friends with in HS died when his mother mixed his meds. The laundry list of medication sounds a little sensationalist to me too, but I would defer to someone who knows more than, "I can't imagine what they would've found in my system last week when I had horrid cramps and some bug."

Oh, yeah. I'm not passing judgment without more information. It's really sad.

Apparently there is no lower age limit to a bipolar diagnosis in the DSM, but 2? That just doesn't seem right.

Plus, while I've known some deeply troubled kids with serious disorders, medicating for ADHD in toddlerhood seems to me to be a function of unprepared parents not having the coping skills to deal with their energetic kids.

eta: Daisy Jane, you make a good point about mistakes. God knows I overdosed myself on Chlorcidene D when I was in high school by doubling the dosage and halving the intervals in a fevered state. Complete with hallucenations, it was a bad trip.

I guess I'm just pinged by all the recent stories about kids in foster care, or with irresponsible parents who go to extreme measures to control them. It's a personal issue, which has nothing do with this story...but it just seems suspicious to me.

My niece has behavior inhibition disorder and it took until she was in 3rd grade to get a proper diagnosis. By the time she was 4 the doctor said she probably had ADHD or a related disorder, but because she was so little they couldn't pinpoint what was going on. *shrug* Very sad story though.

Can't remember if it's come up here before, but don't forget to hit up the co. you work for. Many will match to certain amount or give some sort of donation outright.

They don't match, but I am just about to make some fliers to post in the lunchroom and copy rooms.

They prescribed Depakote for a 4 year old? WTF? The state of child psychiatry scares the living fuck out of me.

The story itself is awful, too.

They don't match, but I am just about to make some fliers to post in the lunchroom and copy rooms.

Oh, something else some of my teammates and I did was put together donation cans. Our team leader did a "label" with the Event logo and our team logo, and some details on the event, and some eyecatching phrase in large font. (I think mine said "Got Change?") then taped them to a can (I used an oatmeal canister, others used coffee cans). I had it on the shelf at the entrance of my cubicle, next to a bowl of candy (catches more eyes that way). Many people, drawn in by the candy, dropped a few bucks in the can. And even people who gave quarters, they add up!

Just a thought to help with the cause.

The story itself is awful, too.

Absolutely. Either way, accident or murder, horrifying.

Nice one Epic! Getting a bag of mixed sweets from someplace like Costco would be a great draw...

When I did the AIDS Ride in '97, I turned my birthday party into a fundraiser. A deep pocketed friend of mine offered her house and invited her friends. I showed a brief clip of previous rides and told a story about the first person I knew (of many, sadly) who died of AIDS. I had his picture and vowed to carry it during the Ride.

I made my entire nut in that one night.

A friend of mine sold 'sponsorships' and made homespun patches for friends/companies who donated. The auction for which patch was going on which butt cheek was quite the barn burner, from what I understand.