voice Archives - Fighting for Answers

Awesome day yesterday.

David put in for and was accepted to be a member of the student council at his school.

He met all of the expectations in his classroom.

We had dinner last night without complaint or reservations.

We did some outdoor stuff last night without complaint or reservation.

Then bedtime happened.

I don’t know what it is, but when we have back to back good days, and sometimes it doesn’t even take that much, things fall apart.

I ended up having David sit on the couch with me because he and I were both worried about the way things were going. He had an episode where nothing was right, not the snack that he wanted, not the drink that he has when he takes his bedtime medicines. Everything was going south quickly.

We talked about what was going on with him while we sat there. He said student council. He claims that he went out for it because a friend dared him to. Now he wants to give it up because it will be too much work to keep it going. So many excuses. “I am not good enough”. Was the most telling one.

I told him he had to give it six weeks. If on November 1, he thought it was still too much work, then we would talk about it.

I explained that people were counting on him to do the job that he volunteered for, and that those people need his voice to share their concerns and needs with the school administrators.

He is worried that being a leader means people will see him as a geek or a nerd.

I explained that this wasn’t the case. I talked about the qualities of a leader.

Decision making
Tenacity
Confidence
Likability
Voice

In the end, I don’t know if it was his medicine kicking in, or if I was finally getting through to him, but he was fine. And we escaped a major blowout that may have resulted in a call out of the Sheriff Department.

Tweet #fighting4answrs

We need to continue to raise awareness regarding mental health. Focus on mental health shouldn’t revolve around those with real or perceived mental illness committing violent crimes. Instead, it should be brought to the American conscious much like AIDS or Cancer.

Mental Health encompasses so much more than one illness. It includes ADHD, schizophrenia, Autism, Bipolar, and so many other axis of diagnosis. Much like an MD, doctors can specialize in one area of mental health.

To raise awareness, people need to use their voices. Parents and patients alike need to voice their stories.

Raising awareness begins with one voice in a forest. Who will be that voice? You? Me? Our children?

In my mind, the answer is all of us. We all need to be that voice in the forest, because the forest is a vast wilderness of people who don’t understand what the mentally ill or the people who care for them are dealing with. In order to advocate for change in the mental healthcare system, we need to ensure that people are aware of what is needed.

This past Friday I had the fantastic opportunity to speak to a group of professionals about the culture of care in my state regarding mental health. I spoke about David. About adoption, behaviors, fear, and asking for help. I also spoke about the failures in getting him help. About the frustrations that I feel as a parent in trying to get him the services and help that he needs. The culture surrounding mental health needs to change.