- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- special kids today articles
- special kids today q&a
- community & groups
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
From Our Sponsors
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Walking on Eggshells
Teens With Borderline Personality Disorder
By Gwen Morrison
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Mood disorders
- Panic/anxiety disorders
- Gender identity disorder
- Attention deficit disorder
- Eating disorders
- Multiple personality disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Carol Quigley from Jacksonville, Fla., recalls that from the very start her daughter was a very fussy, cranky baby. "She seemed to over-stimulate far too easily," she says. "She rarely slept, and when she did fall asleep, the slightest noise would awaken her."
Quigley says her daughter had trouble all through school. She was tested for learning disabilities and placed on Ritalin for possible ADD. "The Ritalin didn't do much except to keep her more in the middle, emotionally speaking," says Quigley. "By middle school her problems really exacerbated. She began to show signs of depression and was ultimately prescribed antidepressants."
Quigley says that after that it got pretty wild. Her daughter fabricated stories of abuse, was self-mutilating and threatened suicide. She was defiant at school and at home. "I ultimately put her in a school, a much smaller school, specializing in dealing with kids with learning disabilities," says Quigley. "There she created so much havoc. She began to obsess over friends. She seemed unable to differentiate between someone being a 'friend' and somewhat more than a friend. She scared away peers by the droves."
High school wasn't any better. She wouldn't comply with her medication regime or the current treatment.
Quigley's story doesn't have a happy ending. By the time her daughter was a legal adult, there wasn't any more she could do to keep her under control. She began using drugs in high school, was threatening toward the family and hospitalized for suicidal threats. "She is now living in an adult living facility, a deplorable place for folks who can't or won't help themselves," says Quigley. "It breaks my heart."
One of the most difficult things for a parent is to let go of the control when your child has a disability. For Quigley, she has had to do just that. Unfortunately, her daughter fought the system that was trying so desperately to help her.