Launch of first South African website for parents, family and friends of children with Bipolar Mood Disorder and severe ADHD

www.bpkidssouthafrica.co.za is the brainchild of two ordinary Durban mothers, Elisa Lopez and Lee Rodrigues who, until they met, believed they were the only individuals on the planet having to deal with a bipolar child.

‘When we met,’ explains Elisa, ’we realised just how much our girls have in common and quickly realised that there have to be hundreds of thousands of parents in South Africa going through the exact same thing.

’Meeting each other allowed us, for the first time, to have someone else in our quarter to just be there and to understand what the other is having to deal with. Both of us have experienced the lack of understanding from family, friends, teachers, colleagues, business associates … the list goes on. So to have another person who actually understands the trials of living with a bipolar child has proven to be invaluable.

‘In South Africa, popular belief is that the bipolar child does not exist and the parent just needs good parenting skills. Reaching the correct specialist who instantly recognised the disorder changed our lives.

’Support and answers are only available from abroad, most commonly in the USA. The new webiste is designed to reach out to local parents who feel as hopeless, desperate, tired and isolated as we did.

‘We were fortunate to find a wonderful doctor (PHD in Psychology), Dr Bruce Bradfield, who kindly agreed to address concerns directed to him on the website. We have also started a Facebook Group page Bipolar Kids South Africa, to which we have had an amazing response.’

Visit www.bpkidssouthafrica.co.za or email bpkidssa@mweb.co.za. Or contact Lee on 083 227 2304 or Elisa on 082 780 6335.