Frequently Asked Questions, My Mission

My hope is that I can save another mom from going through the pain that I have gone through. I want to protect her from the shame and judgement and helplessness that I have felt in parenting children with mental illnesses. I want to provide for her financial needs and help her to navigate the school system, and I want to make her feel seen. I want to invest into her life, so that she can invest into her child, and that child can grow up to change the world for the better.

I am selling art to fund the psychiatric care of at-risk children while they are young so that their challenges don't led them into addiction, incarceration and suicide by late adolescence. Creating a nonprofit is my ultimate goal, but it comes with legal expenses and far more knowledge than I currently possess. But, I can start with one. One precious little boy has come into my circle, and he needs financial help for his psychiatric care. So I'm starting with him. I plan on featuring his mom and him in my first podcast!

In the words of Lao Tzu, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
If others would be willing to join my cause, we could grow this into an actual 501(c)(3) tax-deductible charity. Please contact me to see how you can help. 

Because, it is nearly impossible to provide an at-risk child with the testing and treatment required to be successful without funding. The average wait for autism testing is three to five years. Years! https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/02/children-with-autism-wait-up-to-five-years-for-an-nhs-appointment

Elijah was tested for autism at age seven. He didn't score quite high enough for a diagnosis; so we were instructed to have him tested again in a year. As soon as we got home, I tried to place his name on a waitlist. I was informed that no child previously tested would be entered on a wait list because of the intense demand. So, I began calling every testing center in the country. It was a three year minimum wait- if they even allowed my son to be added to their lists.

Then I offered to private pay. He was seen a few months later. (I do not blame the practitioners in this case. Most physicians lose income for every Medicaid patient that they accept.)

It is grueling. Expect to wait at least a year. Anticipate that every children's hospital will not even allow your child's name to be added to a waitlist. If you decide to choose the available, lower income route, you are gifted with Telehealth. There is no connection, no exam, no time...often it's a nurse that prescribes your medication and an unseen doctor that signs off on it.  Andrew saw low income Telehealth psychiatrists for five years. They placed him on SSRI's every time. When we finally had him seen in person by an experienced psychiatrist, we were told that the treatment they prescribed likely caused his rapid cycling bipolar disorder.  For the record, SSRI's should never be given to anyone with a family history of bipolar disorder. Imagine where we might be right now had Andrew gotten the help that he needed in childhood?

Because, the first indication of high functioning autism is often the development of substance abuse disorder during the teen years. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/03/autism-and-addiction/518289/ 

There is a trifold risk of substance abuse in those with ADHD.https://chadd.org/about-adhd/co-occuring-conditions/ 

The rate of suicide in people with bipolar disorder is 60%https://psychcentral.com/bipolar/suicide-in-bipolar-disorder#bipolar-disorder-vs-suicide-rates

The rate of addiction is bipolar individuals is around 70%

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29596721/

The rate of incarceration in the mentally ill population is 64%

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29596721/

I will put them into an account to help one precious little boy. Then I pray that account grows into a successful nonprofit to help an entire generation. I will add a page to this website once I start making sales that will show each dollar and cent raised in real time.

Please choose your desired piece of art from the dropdown ARTWORK tab at the top of the page. Then you can email me or use the chatbot on the right to notify me of your selection. You can only pay for the artwork through Paypal at this time, but I will have a P.O. box to accept checks and a business checking account to allow for direct purchase from this website by October 9, 2023. Please see my Paypal account link below.

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/mybipolarfamily?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US