The Endless Loop of Revolution 9

Spring Break is always a dicey time of year for our family for a number of reasons.  All three kids have Spring Break off of school a different week than Tom does at the school he coaches at, so Tom has to work while the kids are off.  The break always falls in March, Tim's notoriously most unstable month of the year.  And, here in the Midwest, the weather is dicey, as March can be 60 degrees or 10, depending on how fickle the groundhog felt in February.

Tim and I were invited to speak at the NAMI Milwaukee kick-off luncheon for NAMIWalks 2011 this past Thursday.  Tim was the number one fundraiser for the Milwaukee walk last year, and they are really hoping to recruit more teens to join the walk this year.  They asked us to talk about Tim's story and how we managed to raise just over $2,200 for last year's walk.  It was a great honor, and the audience of NAMI clients, walk team captains, and NAMI staff were very gracious, patting Tim on the back and shaking his hand after our speech.  They showed the picture I took of Tim and Green Bay Packer Greg Jennings large on the wall beside us, which made Tim ask me quietly, "Am I famous?"  "Of course!" I answered.  He beamed at the notion.  

Tim came home with me Thursday afternoon to spend a few days at home on the tail end of his Spring Break.  Since Tom would be working, I pondered things for Tim and Dianna and I to do (Alex, our oldest, was off school but working most days) that would keep us occupied and entertained indoors since it was snowing off and on and 30 degrees outside.  I'd been trying to get Tim to the eye doctor every time he came home since October, and each time he would get to the car or, in one case, as far as the doctor's office door, and then decline adamantly.  Tim is absolutely convinced that the drops the doctor uses to dilate his eyes will cause him to go blind and the sheer thought of the bright lights in his eyes is enough to send the "friends" in his head on a rampage about how we were putting him in danger on purpose.  But he's been without glasses for more than six months because he broke his last pair so I was bound and determined to get him in.  I emailed his therapist earlier in the week and told her we were going to attempt the eye doctor again, and she had a session with him on Wednesday to go over what the eye doctor would do, that he could decline drops, and he agreed to give it a try.  So Friday morning Tom and I drove him over there and held our breath.  He told the doctor right off the bat, "no drops," and when she replied, "no problem," he visibly relaxed.  He made it through the rest of the appointment fine, picked out a cool new pair of frames, and he left smiling, pleased at himself that the overcame his fear.  

Friday afternoon the kids and I went to a great local small business, Clay Monet, and painted pottery.  It's a really great little place and the owner is a very friendly, helpful, personable lady.  We spent nearly three hours deciding what to paint, laying out our plans, and painting our pottery.  

Friday night the kids wanted to watch a movie on Netflix - Tim BEGGED to see Jaws.  Apparently he's heard about it and was dying to see if it.  Dianna wasn't too keen on it but caved.  I was iffy - I remember seeing it in the theater when it came out in 1975 and being scared out of my wits.  But Netflix reminded me it was rated PG, so I caved as well.  Tim thought it rocked, and Dianna thought the grossest part was (spoiler alert) when the shark blew up.  And I remembered that I was eight in 1975, and 35 years later, it's not as scary as I recalled. 

Saturday the kids slept in until after 12:30, which normally I would never let go on, but it gave me a quiet morning to get some little things done I'd been putting off.  We spent the afternoon at indoor glow-in-the-dark miniature golf.  It's the most disorienting game of miniature golf I'd ever played, but Tim seemed to take it all completely in stride.  

We had dinner as a family Saturday night, played Monopoly, and listened to The Beatles, my favorite band of all time.  The White Album was playing and when Revolution Number 9 came on, Tim seemed to go into a trance, then started rocking and whispering to himself.  I wondered to myself if this song sort of represents what it's like to be Tim, and listen to chaos inside my  own head.  Have you ever really listened to it?  I had to listen to it again later, when the kids were in bed, and I was physically agitated thinking that is what Tim experiences every single day.  I honestly don't know how he accomplishes anything with that kind of overwhelming barrage of information constantly pulsing.  I asked him while it was playing if something was wrong and he just stared, shook his head, rocked and whispered.  I forwarded on to the next track and he relaxed a bit, but never quite got back that night to the jovial guy he was at dinner.  I've found myself drawn to the song today, playing it several times while I listen with my eyes closed, trying to imagine that running as the soundtrack of my day, day in and day out, and a feeling of hopelessness came over me.  How in the hell can my son's brain turn on him in such a sinister manner?  And what kind of God would let that happen to any human being, let alone a child?  My feelings about God and religion are for another day and another post, but the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness that surrounded me as I contemplated being confronted with what it's like to be in Tim's brain reinforced my disillusionment in a higher power of any type.

Note: I would have embedded the YouTube of Revolution 9 here, but Sony Music prohibits playing it on any site but YouTube.  If you want to hear it, click the link above and you'll be taken to it on YouTube

Tom took Tim back to ODTC today, and while Tim is happy there, he always hates leaving home, as much as I hate having him go.  He's on the waiting list to move to one of the group homes on the campus which is one step closer to coming home for good, and I'm hoping we get him in to one soon.  He'll be 17 this summer and we're running out of time before he becomes a legal adult and can't stay in the dorms or group homes for minors.  He's made tremendous progress in the past 18 months and he, his therapist, and we all feel he's ready for this next step.  Here's to hoping he gets into the group home soon, to have as much time in it before he's 18 as possible.

Throttling Artistic Expression?

I got an email today from UK reporter Brendan O'Neill.  Apparently he's writing a story about the RMU dance team.  I don't know anything about Mr. O'Neill other than what I've read on his column at The Telegraph.  The byline there describes him as, "the editor of spiked, an independent online phenomenon dedicated to raising the horizons of humanity by waging a culture war of words against misanthropy, priggishness, prejudice, luddism, illiberalism and irrationalism in all their ancient and modern forms."  I can only assume he thinks I am all of the above. 


Below is the text of his email to me in its entirety, and my email response to him.  Maybe I'm over-reacting?  Time will tell.  


Dear Chrisa,

I am a journalist normally based in London but currently writing a couple of pieces from Chicago. I am writing on the controversy over the "straitjacket dance" performed by RMU students last month. But I am coming at it from a different angle than most other journalists.

My interest is whether in effectively censuring the dance troupe in response to a complaint from one woman, RMU has impeded on students' freedom of expression. If you have time to answer the following questions, as briefly as you like, that would be excellent:

1) Why should your feelings of offendedness override students' rights to peform as they see fit? Might this be seen as a potentially authoritarian stance?

2) Surely there is not right "not to be offended". There is, however, a very important right to artistic expression. What do you think about that?

3) Is it not possibly an attack on artistic students' freedom of expression to forbid them from performing this dance again?

4) Do you think there is a danger that this episode will lead to RMU only commissioning "safe" dance routines that are unlikely to cause offence? And isn't that potentially a recipe for bland, almost censored performances?

Thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely,
Brendan O'Neill


Dear Mr. O'Neill: 

Interesting take on it.  I'd be happy to answer your questions, because, as your questions illustrate to me, you haven't bothered to read the letter I actually wrote to the school President and coaches.  It seems you have already conceived of what you feel are the correct answers by the way the questions are phrased.  I surmise you intend to write an article about how I am a soul-crushing busy-body, bound and determined to sanitize the world against anything that might offend.  You obviously know very little about me, nor care to.  If you took a few more moments to get to know me, you'd realize I am not as one-dimensional as the questions you pose seem to suggest I am.

In response:

1) I never requested that the school censor or in any other way stop the team from dancing in whatever costumes they see fit.  Nowhere in my letter did I suggest they start reviewing the dance team's costumes, as President Viollt said would now be done to Tribune reporter John Keilman.  His choice.  Not my request or suggestion.

2) Of course they have a right to "artistic expression."  Keep in mind, however, this dance team is not part of the Fine Arts department.  It is considered and regulated as an athletic sport - which you'd know if you'd seen their website or read the response I received from the Athletic Director of the University.

3) See the answer to #1.  

4) Honestly?  I seriously doubt anything will change.  There was a reporter, he called and asked questions, and the President of the University responded.  I think you're unlikely to see them in straight jackets again because they've already done it, all the way to the National level, not because of any censoring by the University or anyone else.  And for that, there's little reason for anything to change, is there?

Mr. O'Neill, you, as much as RMU, and others who replied negatively to my letter seemed to miss the point in its entirety.  The point was not to quash a bunch of teenaged girls.  The point was that these young women are at exactly the age when most mental illnesses hit.  Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia routinely begin showing between 15-24, and college students are particularly susceptible to depression.  Suicide is the third leading cause of death for persons their age, and NIMH statistics show that between 10 and 20% of them will experience some type of mental health concern in their lifetime.  Even more concerning is that more than 60% of them will never get treatment, and a major reason for that is the stigma they fear of persons with mental illness, because of how they are portrayed in the media and entertainment.  Think of it this way - of the 30 or so girls on RMU's three dance teams, between 3 and 6 of them either have or will develop depression, bipolar disorder, paralyzing anxiety, or schizophrenia.  And, if they'd just done a dance routine dressed as crazed  mental patients, would they get help?  Would they tell their coach? Their friends?  Probably not.  And if they'd thought of that before they chose those costumes, maybe they would have chosen differently.  

60 years ago, if they had done a routine in blackface, someone may have voiced concern.  And they would very likely have been pooh-poohed as not having a sense of humor, or as wanting to sanitize the team's creative expression.  

30 years ago, if they'd dressed in the exaggerated stereotype of butch lesbians, someone may have voiced concern.  And they would very likely have been dismissed in kind.  

15 years ago, if they'd dressed and danced as retarded persons, someone may have voiced concern.  And they would likely have been told to lighten up.  

Today, the dance team at a private university would never have considered those portrayals. 

Something to ponder.  

Please let me know when you publish your article.  I would love to post a link to it from my blog.  

Chrisa Hickey 

Say What You Need To Say

I've gotten lots of comments on the last few day's worth of blog posts.  I don't post them all.  I don't post ones that are personal attacks against me, because they don't further the discussion.  I definitely don't post the ones that border on death threats.

I'm going to continue to say what I need to say, no matter what you comment.  Because I know, raising my voice in unison with all these wonderful voices, we can change the dialogue.



Thanks to Sara, a beautiful, brave young woman with Bipolar Disorder, for creating this video.

RMU Sent Me a Letter Today

I got the following email from the Athletic Director for Robert Morris University today:

Ms. Hickey-

 

I am writing in apology that the Robert Morris University Women's Dance routine and costume was perceived negatively, as you have described in your letter. In no way did the students and/or the coaches plan to poke fun at, or discriminate against, any persons. At RMU, we hold all of our student-athletes to the core Champions of Character standards which include; Respect, Responsibility, Servant Leadership, Sportsmanship, and Integrity.

 

Our dance ladies are truly saddened that their dance has had this negative impact on your family.  As mentioned, all of our athletes are involved in service and volunteer projects, and we would be more than happy to entertain any service ideas that you have pertaining to persons with mental illness. Oportunities such as these would serve as both a learning and service project, and truly teach life lessons.  

 

We applaud you for being a strong advocate, and would be appreciative if you would accept our apology. Thank you.

 

~Megan M. Smith Eggert~

Director of Athletics

Robert Morris University

And I replied: 

Dear Ms. Smith Eggert:

Thank you for your letter.  I appreciate your taking the time to address my letter to Mr. Viollt, Ms. Heller and her staff.  I have gotten some comments on my blog (www.chrisahickey.com) and one email from an RMU dance team student and, while I understand that they don't fully understand my motivation, I appreciate...most of their comments.  

I do want to reply to you what I replied to the one student who emailed me directly.  My biggest concern about the costumes is that these young women are at exactly the age when most mental illnesses hit.  Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia routinely begin showing between 15-24, and college students are particularly susceptible to depression.  Suicide is the third leading cause of death for persons their age, and NIMH statistics show that between 10 and 20% of them will experience some type of mental health concern in their lifetime.  Even more concerning is that more than 60% of them will never get treatment, and a major reason for that is the stigma they fear of persons with mental illness, because of how they are portrayed in the media and entertainment.  Think of it this way - of the 30 or so girls on your three dance teams, between 3 and 6 of them either have or will develop depression, bipolar disorder, paralyzing anxiety, or schizophrenia.  And, if they'd just done a dance routine dressed as crazed  mental patients, would they get help?  Would they tell their coach? Their friends?  Probably not.  

There is a vibrant community of adults with and parents of children with mental illnesses and we connect from all over the country via social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter.   The concern about the team's costumes wasn't mine alone.  I was just the first one to blog about it.  I'm not the only.  I've talked to a few of them and, considering your offer about service, we feel the best use of the team's time would be to work towards starting a chapter of Active Minds on the Robert Morris University campus.  Active Minds is a non-profit organization dedicated to changing the conversation about mental health through student-led discussion and action.  College campuses all over the US have Active Minds chapters - a very active and vibrant one is right down the road from you at the School at the Art Institute.  It would be wonderful if there were an Active Minds chapter at RMU, started and sponsored by the dance team.  You can contact Becky Gordon, the Midwest Coordinator for Active Minds for information on how to start a chapter at RMU.  She can be reached at becky@activeminds.org, and I have copied her on this email.  

My goal with the blog post and, when offered, the interview with John Keilman in the Tribune, was to start the conversation, and to raise awareness that persons with mental health conditions aren't as they are portrayed.  If we can save one life at RMU as a result of this, I hope you will share my feeling that it was well worth the publicity.  

Thank you again for your letter.  And if I can help in any way get an Active Minds chapter up and running at RMU, I am at your disposal.  
---------------------------------

Regards, Chrisa Hickey 

I hope we can move forward and change the campus of RMU to the betterment of all the students.

Look At Who Resigned....

From the Huffington Post (my comments in italics, click the blog title for the full article on HuffPost):

CONCORD, N.H. — A 91-year-old freshman lawmaker who suggested the mentally disabled should be shipped to Siberia resigned Monday from the state House and said he was sorry that his "big mouth caused this furor."

Rep. Martin Harty's comments came to light last week during testimony at a hearing on proposed cuts to the state budget. He said he was kidding around with a female caller who supported funding for the homeless when he raised the issue of eugenics and the world's population growth.

Harty, a Republican from Barrington, said he didn't know what to do with mentally disturbed people and suggested renting a spot off Russia. He said the woman called him an Adolf Hitler and hung up.

"I was just getting the hang of it some, but with the slightly unfavorable publicity I've been getting the last few days, I'll never be an effective lawmaker," Harty said in his handwritten resignation letter.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that, with that attitude, he wouldn't have been effective even if this never came to light.

Republican leaders quickly praised Harty for resigning.

Republican House Speaker William O'Brien said Harty came to see him Monday to offer his resignation in person.

"We both agreed that this is what is best for the House to move forward," he said.

State GOP Party Chairman Jack Kimball said Harty's comments were inappropriate and he was satisfied with his decision to quit.

"He failed to represent the sentiments of his constituents and the core values and principles of the Republican Party," Kimball said.

You think?  I can't believe he got off so lightly.  Had he said this about Hispanics or persons with Autism, there would have been an uproar from his constituency.  But because it's the mentally ill and cognitively disabled, it's just "best" that he resign. 


So, so far to go.

Straightjacket Dance Criticized - Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-dance-straitjacket-0315-20110314,0,7810200.story

By John Keilman

A Chicago dance team that performed in straitjackets last month has drawn criticism from a mental health advocate who said the outfits displayed insensitivity toward people with mental disorders.

The Robert Morris University competitive dance team wore the costumes, which included wild, frizzy hair and dark eye makeup, at a national contest in Minnesota. Chrisa Hickey, a Barrington mother whose 16-year-old son has schizoaffective disorder, complained to the school after she saw an online photo of the dancers last week.

"It's accepted as entertainment," she said. "But if you've seen your kid restrained and medicated because he's having a complete psychotic break, it wouldn't be entertaining."

Robert Morris President Michael Viollt said the costumes were inappropriate and will not be worn again. Outfits for the dance team, which until now have not been approved by the school, will go through the same committee that approves the uniforms of sports teams, he said.

He said mental health awareness at Robert Morris is conducted mostly in classes dealing with the subject but added that the university will consider any changes that might help increase sensitivity toward people with the disorders.

"We will look into the whole gamut of it," he said.

The incident illustrates a growing effort to combat what some feel are demeaning or frightening images of people with mental illnesses — images they say are all too common in American culture.

Advocates say this barrage of negative depictions contributes to the ostracism felt by many who deal with mental disorders and might prevent some from seeking help.

"There's a general stigma of blaming the individual for the illness, and that makes people afraid to go and get treatment, afraid of being labeled 'one of those people' with the straitjacket and the frizzy hair," said Suzanne Andriukaitis of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Greater Chicago.

Hickey, the Barrington mother, writes a blog about raising a mentally ill child, and last week she received an anonymous tip directing her to Robert Morris' website. It announced the dance team's top 10 finish at the United Performing Association's national competition in late February and included a photo of the team in costume.

Hickey said the women's straitjackets, unkempt hair and black-rimmed eyes appeared to make light of people with mental illness. She was particularly displeased because a similar dance routine, performed by a Wisconsin high school, had been in the news a few weeks before Robert Morris' competition.

Parents and advocates had criticized the dance team at Waunakee High School for wearing straitjacketlike shirts emblazoned with the words "Psych Ward." The team apologized and changed its costumes, and Principal Brian Kersten said the school was looking into ways to increase mental health awareness.

Viollt, the president of Robert Morris, said he had seen his school's dance team perform with wild hair and darkened eyes, but the routine was meant to evoke zombies. He didn't know when straitjackets became part of the performance.

The team's coach, Julie Haller, could not be reached for comment.

Hickey said that while she expected some people to view her objection as an example of political correctness run amok, she felt it was important to raise the issue. Negative images persist because those who live with the realities of mental illness rarely make a public fuss, she said.

She added that she didn't think the dancers chose the costumes out of malice and that she hoped the university would use the episode as an opportunity for education.

"It would be great if they could make sure that kids are aware of (mental disorders) and know it's OK to get help," she said. "That would be a win for me."

jkeilman@tribune.com

State Senator Suggests Shipping Mentally Ill to Sibera, Says Hitler Was Right

Reader Erika posted a link last night to this article from ThinkProgress.org on my Facebook page.  When I read it, I felt physically ill.  It's about New Hampshire Republican State Senator Martin Harty and a phone call he took from one of his constituents, a community health care center manager from Stafford, New Hampshire.  She is concerned about the state budget cuts to mental health programs and programs for the homeless.  What Senator Harty said next - comments he admits he made - are unbelievable: 


Barrington Republican Martin Harty told Sharon Omand, a Strafford resident who manages a community mental health program, that “the world is too populated” and there are “too many defective people."


 Harty then stated, “I wish we had a Siberia so we could ship them all off to freeze to death and die and clean up the population.” Omand said Harty appeared to be serious. After Omand responded that his idea sounded like what Adolf Hitler did in World War II, Omand said Harty responded, “Hitler did something right, and I agree with (it).”


The Republican State House Speaker William O’Brien said that “at Harty’s age [90 years old], he has earned the right to say what he thinks, but ‘he needs to appreciate that as a representative, he will be held to a higher standard.'"


I've been staring at that for 20 minutes.  I have no idea how to respond to this.  Maybe if we replace the word "defective" with "elderly," a la Senator Harty:


"The world is too populated," and there are "too many elderly people."  


Would ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox have picked up the story if he'd said that?  Would Speaker O'Brien have been more outraged?  

Stigmatization By Another Dance Team

An anonymous poster alerted me to Chicago's Robert Morris University dance team and their recent 8th place finish in a dance competition.  Their costumes?  You guessed it.  Straight jackets.  (Update 3/14/11: here's the cached version of the story and picture, as it has dissappeared from the live site)

I can't believe we're seeing this again, particularly so close on the heels of the fallout from the Waunakee High School dance team performing a similar routine.  RMU Dance Team Coach Julie Haller is quoted as saying the team gave, "a very sharp performance."  Sharp indeed.  The image of the team in straight jackets, blackened eyes and wild hair pierced right through  my heart.  Of the 10 young women on this team, statistically, at least one of them has suffered mental health issues in their lifetime.  At least two of their parents have.  Their third leading cause of death?  Suicide.  


I wrote the following email to Mr. Viollt RMU President, Coach Julie Haller and the two competitive dance coaches, Lindsay Parrish and Katie Burrows:


Dear Mr. Viollt, Ms. Haller, Ms. Parrish, and Ms. Burrows:

My name is Chrisa Hickey and I am a resident of the Chicagoland area, as well as a mother of three young adults, one of which is considering Robert Morris University for his degree when he completes his general education at our local community college.  I am writing to you regarding your recent dance team victory at Nationals, as described in the press release on the Robert Morris University website.  

First off, congratulations on the victory.  I'm sure these young women worked hard to make it to Nationals and to come in eighth in the nation.  I have a question, however, about the routine and the choice in costume in particular.  Why straight jackets?  Why wild, disheveled hair and blackened eyes?  Why a routine that, at best makes light of and, at worst pokes fun at the mentally ill?  When did it become ok in our society to satirize a serious national health concern for entertainment?  

I'd like to tell you a story about my middle son, Tim.  Tim is 16 years old.  Tim was always a little different than other kids.  It was hard to pinpoint just what was different, but there were signs all throughout his early childhood.  His pre-school offered speech therapy and chalked up his unusual and unprovoked rage and fleeing behavior to Autism. Testing by a Neuropsychologist and the school district added diagnoses of Expressive-Receptive Language Disorder, Sensory Integration Disorder, and Developmental Delay. 

Speech therapy gave way to a full-time special education class, which gave way to the first of five therapeutic day schools, first for Autism, but after we engaged a child psychologist and, at her recommendation, a child psychiatrist, schools for children with emotional disturbances. But it wasn’t until age 11 after weeks of uncontrollable rage, when his psychologist sat me down and gently explained that my child was psychotic and needed to be hospitalized, did I realize what she’d been trying to soft-shoe to me for nearly a year. Tim did not have an Autism Spectrum Disorder. He had a mental illness and needed hospitalization and, very likely, medication. As I sat, stunned, she gently told me, “he will likely be hospitalized several times.” I brushed that notion off at the time. But between that first hospitalization March 2006 and June 2009 there would be 11 more, accompanied by 27 different med combinations, daily therapy, and refinement of his diagnosis from Bipolar NOS, to Bipolar 1 with psychotic features to Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar subtype. Tim was actively psychotic – hearing voices, plagued by delusions – and alternately manic and depressed for much of that time, if not all of his life. It was just much more noticeable since his speech had gotten to the point where he could explain what was going on in his head.

In June 2009 Tim was granted an Individual Care Grant from the state of Illinois, a unique state program that provides funds for intense community based or residential services for severely mentally ill children. It was a month before his 15th birthday and, after years of talk of suicide (and one attempt) alternating with violent, destructive rage, we decided he needed this type of treatment. Either my husband or I had been with him (except for the 5 hours a day he was in school, when he went to school) every hour of every day since he was four. We were all exhausted. Our oldest had spent as much time out of the house as possible, and our daughter mostly hid in her room, understandably diagnosed with PTSD in 2009.

Tim went to residential treatment in August 2009, and he resides there today. Through intense treatment, a very predictable and rigid schedule, and Clozaril (we had several psychiatrists, including the head of pediatric psychiatry for a large hospital in the Chicago area tell us we were down to that or ECT), Tim is pretty stable today. His voices are never gone, but he has learned how to block them out (the meds help). He does cycle, as regular as a calendar, experiencing psychosis and depression in mid to late winter, and psychosis and mania mid fall, yearly for the past three years running. He is still plagued by anxiety that feeds his psychosis, but his personality is starting to show again. Tim will most likely never be independent, and we understand and are preparing for that. But he can and will have a life he can enjoy and be proud of, thanks to the difficult choices we’ve made today.

Now imagine Tim sitting and watching your dance team perform their routine, alongside his brother, a soon-to-be RMU student.  

1 in every 10 persons in the US suffers from a mental health condition, including teens and young adults.  But tragically, less than 40% of the teens and young adults that need mental health treatment ever receive it.  And the primary reason for that is the stigma associated with having a mental illness.  How many people saw your routine?  How many of them are friends and family of you and the dance team?  And how many of them do you think would tell you how hurtful and stigmatizing the routine was?  I can tell you how many would tell you - none.  

Now let me ask  you one more question.  Would you have done a routine dressed as the stereotype of homeless persons?  In black-face?  As cognitively disabled persons?  No.  Of course you wouldn't.  Because it's insensitive to poke fun at the homeless, different races, and persons with mental disabilities.  It's also not ok to perpetuate the false stigma that persons with mental illness are dangerous, disheveled, and bizarre.  Because, statistically, one of the members of your dance team is or will be one of them.  

I have posted this letter on my blog as well.  I hope to hear from you so you can understand my point of view.  I'd also encourage you to read the open letter to Waunakee High School coach Erin Cotter on my blog, written by a 15 year old girl with a mental illness, written after they performed a routine similar to yours.  The Principal of Waunakee High School has responded by increasing mental health education at WHS.  I hope RMU and, specifically your dance team, will do the same.

Parents of Children with Bipolar Disorder and Childhood Onset Schizophrenia Tell Common Stories

I’ll never forget the day my son’s therapist told me he needed to be hospitalized.  He was 11 years old and had spent his entire life vacillating between extreme happiness and extreme rage.  He heard voices and saw things no one else could.  Pediatricians and neurologists and developmental specialists had told us he was autistic.  That he had a sensory perception disorder.  That he was speech delayed.  That he had Oppositional Defiance Disorder.  No one had suggested psychiatric hospitalization before.  I asked her why he needed it and she said gently, her hand on my hand, “because I believe Tim has a serious mental illness.  He needs evaluation and medication.”  She let it sink in for a few minutes before delivering the hardest blow.  “This most likely won’t be his only hospitalization,” she whispered.  And so began our foray into the world of childhood onset Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Type.


Read the rest at NAMI Massachusetts blog. 

Ten Minutes for Mom

I called my doctor last Monday morning and got his answering machine.  Most people who don’t have urgent care near them and aren’t sick enough for the emergency room wait with scrapes and sniffles and coughs over the weekend to see their primary care doctor on Monday.  So I wasn’t surprised I had to leave a message.  My case wasn’t urgent to me.  I just wanted to make an appointment to talk to my doctor about some pain in the back of my head, an eye twitch that had been going on for a week and numbness in the right side of my face.  So I was shocked when, a few hours later, I got a call from the nurse, telling me she’d talked to the doctor about my message, and he wanted me to go to the emergency room.  Right then.  


Read the rest at the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation blog.

March Love Drop - Katie

Last month the Love Drop Team raised over $13,000 (and 3 iPads!) to help two little boys with autism receive a service dog. They were beyond touched, and we did this in only 1 month - that's it. Everyone came together and gave a few bucks each to impact one family's life. If you were a part of it, THANK YOU!  You can check out the final video of us showing up to their house here - it's pretty cool.

This month we start all over again and rally behind Katie, a single mom out in Dallas battling not only two brain tumors so far (she's knocked out one, and currently working on the other), but who's also dealing with hydrocephalus. We're teaming up with folks at Blissdom this month to not only bring the community her way, but to make a huge dent in her medical bills.

Wanna help?  Here are 3 ways we could use you:

1. Give $1.00 - This is the best way to help out and join our team at the same time.
2. Join our blogger network - Blog about our Love Drops each month like I am :) It's easy, it's rewarding, and it REALLY helps spread the word (which in turn helps our families). Love Drop will give you all the content you need.
3. Give a gift or provide a service - Gift cards are always helpful. Places like Target, Safeway, gas stations, etc would definitely help them out.

Thanks for reading!  Here's to love, baby.