Channel: Cincinnati Children's

Category: Nonprofits & Activism

Tags: strongchild psychiatrymental healthmental health crisispsychiatrycincinnati children'sadvocatehappy lifebipolar disorderreduce impairmentmental health treatmentbehavioralcollege hillbehavioral healthmental illnessresidential treatmentnot embarrassedpeer support groupsautismstruggle with mental healthpsychiatristmental health diagnosismental health careadolescent psychiatrybehavioral disordersmentally illbipolarearlier treatment

Description: cincinnatichildrens.org/patients/child/special-needs/medical-health/mental-behavior At 14, Xavier Taggart is able to sit and relax and enjoy life. But getting to this peaceful point was a challenge. When he was a little boy, Taggart was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, ADHD and eventually autism. At around age 8, he transitioned to a new psychiatrist, who created more problems. Denise Jaeger, Xavier’s mom: “During the transition period, you know we were having some more behavioral things with him. The intermediate psychiatrist wasn't really listening to parent input and was putting him on a medicine that made him very manic. It was very scary what was going on with him. He was wanting to jump off roofs, things like that.” Xavier’s mom brought him to Cincinnati Children’s where they met with psychiatrist Dr. Emily Harris. Emily Harris, Child Psychiatrist: “One of the most important things I’ve learned over the last 10 years of working in this field is the earlier you get treatment, the better. Especially for children with depression. If we are able to get the symptoms from the start to the finish to be over in 6 weeks or less, it dramatically decreases their reoccurrence of depressive disorder even into adulthood.” With doctors’ visits, peer support groups, and new medications, Denise started to see a difference in her son over time. Denise Jaeger: “He is just a different kiddo. He has grown up a lot. I love how much he advocates for himself and that he is proud that he has bipolar and autism. He's proud of the differences of what those things include and doesn't feel like that it is something to be embarrassed about. That’s important because I think it should be an open conversation.” Dr. Harris: “Mental health treatment is not because you are weak, or because you are not strong enough to pull through or you are not trying hard enough. The whole point is to reduce the impairment the disorders are causing so you can function and be yourself. It’s not to change your personality or change who you are. It’s to let you be a kid and let you be able to grow up and develop in a strong, healthy way and be more effective and live a happy life.” Xavier’s journey is ongoing as he checks in with Dr. Harris every few months. By sharing his story, the teen hopes to help other children who struggle with mental health. Xavier Taggart, Mental Health Patient: “When I was young, I was very nervous to talk about it. I wasn’t sure what people would think about me but now that I talk about it, I feel like I’ve gotten a lot of help.” Denise Jaeger: “He just likes life more. It makes me happier as his mom to see him happy.”