My consumer Allen has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder type one. According to the Mayo Clinic, bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that causes extreme fluctuations in mood. Bipolar disorder type one is when the manic episode is more recent or the most extreme for the individual. The mood swings include having a low mood (depression) and extremely high moods which can be mania or hypomania (Mayo Clinic). These symptoms can be rare, or the person may experience them multiple times a year. A person may have a manic episode for several weeks or depression for several weeks and rotates.
Some symptoms of having bipolar disorder pointed out by the Mayo Clinic are being abnormally upbeat, increased energy, the feeling of euphoria, insomnia, poor decision-making, and more. During a depressive episode, some symptoms may be weight loss without intentional dieting, either insomnia or sleeping too much, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, and more (Mayo Clinic). These episodes rotate after each other causing a cycle of the symptoms. Mania tends to cause more noticeable problems with daily activities like school, social events, work, and relationships. It may trigger a break from reality and in severe cases require hospitalization.
There is not an exact cause known for bipolar disorder, but it is influenced by biological differences and genetics. Left untreated there could be problems related to substance abuse, suicide or attempted suicide, legal or financial problems, damaged relationships, and poor work or school performance (Mayo Clinic). Some barriers that people with bipolar disorder might have are that they may not be able to control themselves, medication may not work, and anxiety and relationships may become strained. The consumer has been instructed by his primary doctor to take medication and see a therapist to cope with his episodes. His most recent episode has been mania, as a result, he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder 1 which involves severe manic episodes.
The consumer’s name is Allen Jackson and he is 16 years old. He currently lives with his mother, father, and older brother in Nashville, Illinois. He is a junior at Nashville Elite High School. He says that he also has a support dog named “Bud”. To cope with having an episode, Allen draws, paints, and writes. Some strengths that he identified are being artistic, empathetic, intelligent, and responsible. During his manic episodes, he says that he gains more confidence, and he recognizes this as a strength as well. He hopes to become an artist after graduating from high school, so he can show his creative side and make people acknowledge their emotions. Another option he identified was to become a writer, for the same reasons as becoming an artist. On his team are his immediate family, teachers, primary doctor, therapist, case manager, vocational counselor, as well as a community employment specialist.
When asked about living arrangements after high school, Allen shares that he is afraid to have his apartment but hopes to have one when he reaches 20 years old. Allen does not currently work but one job characteristic he wants to focus on is being able to be creative. Some stable careers related to his interests and skills are becoming an English teacher or an art teacher. These job options depend on what age category he is comfortable working with elementary, middle, high school, and special education or non-special education. For both options, Allen would need to continue to post-school education and earn a teaching certificate and degree.
Some volunteering options for Allen while he is in high school, are participating in children's summer camp and running an arts and crafts program. This will allow Allen to express his creativity and find an age group he will enjoy working with. Another volunteering option is working at the library. This atmosphere will allow him access to different books and genres to grow as a writer. Volunteering in high school will allow Allen to gain experience and help him decide which career path he would like to choose. Allen states that he hasn't thought about being a volunteer but is open-minded to it. To begin, Allen should volunteer 5 hours a week over the summer, then once getting used to the job he can volunteer more hours.
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At the end of the session, we reviewed Allen’s goals for this year and next school year. His first goal is to start volunteering over the summer. The next goal is to find employment during his senior year of high school. Also, during his senior year, we will begin to research higher education options and career options. A third goal is to decide if he would like to continue to post-education after high school. The final goal was to have an apartment by the time Allen turned 20 years old.
Individual Service Plan Summary
The individual plan starts by learning about the person and their disability. I used the online resource, Mayo Clinic, to understand more about bipolar disorders. This gave me information about symptoms he may have, causes, and types of bipolar disorders. This information and information given by Allen helped me notice the barriers that he might have. Another resource that Allen and his family can use is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders: Edition Five. This manual provides information about different disorders and Allen and his family can use it to understand his disability more. The Mayo Clinic identified some medication that will help Allen during episodes and therapy may help him cope with episodes and understand what to do when he is having one. Two medications that are used for bipolar disorders are antidepressants and antipsychotics (Carter, 2019). The medication can help regulate his mood to combat manic or depressive episodes.
Sessions with Allen highlighted his desired jobs and education goals. From the desired jobs Allen stated, we dug deeper and thought of things he could do in high school to start getting experience. This led to the idea of volunteering during high school and over the summer. He plans to volunteer over the summer of his junior year and find a job during his senior year. The experience of volunteering will allow him to discover what he likes doing and what he does not. It will also give him more social interaction, transferrable skills, and an understanding of a work environment. During his senior year, he and his team will look into post-education options and start applying to the ones that he likes. This will include doing tours, filling out applications, and looking into what is needed financially. If Allen decides not to go to post-education schooling, he will find a job that he finds satisfying. Included in his plan is to have his apartment after high school, by age 20.
Some things not discussed during planning are support systems that he has outside of his team and transportation to volunteer sites or jobs. Since Allen will begin volunteering over the summer and based on which volunteer site he chooses he may need transportation to and from. We will begin looking into different volunteer sites and pick one based on his interests, the community employment specialist will assist in this process. Some ways that Allen can find more volunteer sites are by looking at websites of specific places he is interested in and seeing if they accept volunteers or calling the place directly.
Allen picked people to be on the team that he trusted and would help him in his goals. Aside from his family members, his team consisted of several professionals; a vocational counselor, a therapist, and his primary doctor. Each team member has an opinion on how Allen can or should achieve his goals. However, the decisions were made by Allen and the goals and planning were based on what he wanted to achieve, which is a significant step towards independence.
When working with a team, each member should be able to give their opinion and input, however, parents should have more influence. Parents tend to know what their child is capable of and how they feel outside of school and social events. Parents teach their children how to be independent, such as budgeting, cleaning, and planning. If his parents remain active participants, they can give more information that Allen might not think of sharing that would be beneficial to his plan. Each team member has a different specialization and a blended team can help the consumer think of new things, and explain different things, and a team makes sure that everything is thought of and covered. The final decisions are decided by Allen however everyone influences the plan. For his current service plan, Allen plans to volunteer over the summer, find employment research post-school options during his senior year, and obtain an apartment by 20 years old.
References
- American Psychiatric Association (2014). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: Author.
- Carter, A. (2019). Drugs to treat bipolar disorder. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/bipolar-disorder/drugs-medications-overview.
- Mayo Clinic. (2018). Bipolar disorder. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bipolar-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20355955.
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