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Amelia is such a special girl, and i would call her exceptional. Amelia is kind, witty, and so smart. Amelia struggles with an eating disorder called bulimia.Bulimia nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by a cycle of bingeing and compensatory behaviors such as self-induced vomiting designed to undo or compensate for the effects of binge eating. At times it becomes hard to understand why she does it but learning the signs can help parents stop their child from developing an eating disorder.At first we didn't see Amelia become withdrawn from school, her grades began to drop and became irritable. Amelia had trouble concentrating, sleeping, and became obsessed with food. Amelia became obsessed with being skinny and was stressing over school, at 15 is it hard to deal with things. Amelia learned to cope and it lead to an eating disorder.

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-Appears uncomfortable eating around others
-Skips meals or takes small portions of food at regular meals
-Disappears after eating, often to the bathroom
-Any new practice with food or fad diets, including cutting out entire food groups (no sugar, no carbs, no dairy, vegetarianism/veganism)
-In general, behaviors and attitudes indicate that weight loss, dieting, and control of food are becoming primary concern.  -Evidence of binge eating, including disappearance of large amounts of food in short periods of time or lots of empty wrappers and containers indicating consumption of large amounts of food.

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-Has calluses on the back of the hands and knuckles from self- induced vomiting
-Teeth are discolored, stained
-Extreme mood swings
-Withdraws from usual friends and activities
-Shows extreme concern with body weight and shape

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-Noticeable fluctuations in weight, both up and down
-Body weight is typically within the normal weight range; may be overweight
-Stomach cramps
-Abnormal laboratory findings (anemia, low thyroid and hormone levels, low potassium, low blood cell counts, slow heart rate)
-Dizziness
-Fainting/syncope
-Feeling cold all the time -Sleep problems
-Dental problems, such as enamel erosion, cavities, and tooth sensitivity

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Everyday is a journey with Amelia, sometimes she seems to be better but others it's tough. An eating disorders never truly goes away, it eats at you, in the back of your mind there's a voice that tells you food is the enemy. As parents it is our duty to tell our kids that food is not the enemy it helps us live. I tell Amelia she is perfect as the day she came into this world. These websites have helped me cope:

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/eating-disorders/bulimia-nervosa.htm This website has hotline one can call/contact. Helps you set a better example to your kids.
https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/by-eating-disorder/bulimia This website goes into the specific signs go what bulimia is and what to to look out for if you think one of your kids is suffering from an eating disorder.
https://www.womenshealth.gov/mental-health/mental-health-conditions/eating-disorders/bulimia-nervosa This website talks about the ways bulimia can be treated and what works best for your child.
https://centerfordiscovery.com/locations/lakewood/Center for Discovery Lakewood is an eating disorder treatment center that focuses on treating young males and females 10-18 years of age for eating disorders that are deemed as moderate or severe in nature and require a higher level of care, such as residential treatment or partial hospitalization.

The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, (ANAD) is a non-profit (501 c 3) organization working in the areas of support, awareness, advocacy, referral, education, and prevention.

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National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders

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ANAD support groups provide a space where people can come and recognize that there are others who are going through a similar journey or have felt similar feelings and be understood. This can be very empowering especially with such an isolating disorder as eating disorders, that can be difficult for those not in recovery to respond to initially. Usually support groups are a first step for many people to talk about their eating disorder or for parents and caregivers to talk to others about their loved ones eating disorder and their questions or concerns.

ANAD Support groups are a free support service, where those without access to other resources can attend and connect with others.

Please use ANAD's Treatment Directory to find an ANAD support group near you. If you cannot find a support group near you, please consider volunteering to start one!

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About Our Support Groups * National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders

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ANAD support groups provide a space where people can come and recognize that there are others who are going through a similar journey or have felt similar feelings and be understood. This can be very empowering especially with such an isolating disorder as eating disorders, that can be difficult for those not in recovery to respond to initially.

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https://centerforchange.com/eating-disorders-school-academic-achievement-formula-failure/ This website has been helpful for me as a parent and to share with my daughters teachers.
"An eating disorder sufferer is a contradiction in behaviors. An individual who is deeply entrenched in an eating disorder displays a set of characteristics diametrically opposed to her behavior when not suffering with the disorder. She becomes listless, withdrawn, emotionally numb, unexpressive, disinterested in activities, anti-social, and incapable of concentrating."
Teachers have to
-Encourage counselors in schools to start support groups for those who struggle with eating problems and body image concerns.
-Develop working relationships with counselors who can do one-on-one work with students and who can refer to outside
-Talk to other teachers informally to develop a network which can identify at-risk students and offer support to those identified students.
-Actively give invitations and encouragement to students to get help to overcome their eating fears, concerns, or disorders.

-makes students feel irritable, decreases ability to concentrate and focus, decreases ability to listen and process information, may cause nausea and headache, and makes students feel fatigued and have lack of energy;

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Bulimia Nervosa Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment Guide

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Eating disorders can profoundly affect a child's ability to learn. Understanding some of the ways an eating disorder can affect cognitive function may help educators recognize that a student may be in trouble. Listed below are key ways that an eating disorder can affect a child's cognitive functioning because of poor nutrition. A child's cognitive function will also be affected by the mental disorders that often coexist with an eating disorder, including anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

A review of the research on the impact of undernutrition found that undernutrition

can have detrimental effects on cognitive development in children;

has a negative impact on student behavior and school performance;

makes students feel irritable, decreases ability to concentrate and focus, decreases ability to listen and process information, may cause nausea and headache, and makes students feel fatigued and have lack of energy;

makes students with disordered eating behaviors less able to perform tasks as well as their adequately nourished peers;

leads to deficiencies in specific nutrients, such as iron, which has an immediate effect on students' memory and ability to concentrate;

can make students become less active and more apathetic, withdrawn, and engage in fewer social interactions;

can impair the immune system and make students more vulnerable to illnesses; and increase absenteeism in affected students because of the above impairments.

Despite malnourishment, the perfectionist attitude of those who suffer from anorexia and bulimia may compel them to maintain a high level of academic performance, which is even more difficult given their compromised physical and mental status.

In addition to the effects described above, preoccupation with food often dominates the life of a student with an eating disorder. A survey of 1,000 people with a diagnosis of an eating disorder found that people with bulimia nervosa spend 70% to 90% of their total conscious time thinking about food and weight issues (Reiff and Lampson-Reiff 1999). People with disordered eating were found to think about food for roughly 20% to 65% of their waking hours. In comparison, females with normal eating habits spend about 15 minutes per day of waking time thinking about food, weight, and hunger.

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Impact of eating disorders on cognitive abilities and functioning in school

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Eating disorders can profoundly affect a child's ability to learn. Understanding some of the ways an eating disorder can affect cognitive function may help educators recognize that a student may be in trouble. Listed below are key ways that an eating disorder can affect a child's cognitive functioning because of poor nutrition.

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Having Amelia as my daughter is wonderful i love her and her brother equally. Amelia's eating disorder does not define her, it makes her exceptional meaning she has a different way of perceiving things. Amelia is loving but sometimes she struggles to love herself, everyday is a battle for her, for us as a family.It hurts to see our daughter suffer and we try our best to understand her. Amelia is developmentally the same and different  as kids her age because she has followed the milestones of each stage. The only difference is that Amelia feels things more, she is more sensitive, she isn't able to cope with stress as well as others. Amelia attended Center for Discovery  Eating Disorder Treatment in Lakewood, Ca. This is a partial hospitalization resident and took our insurance. This place focuses on treating young males and females 10-18 years of age for eating disorders that are deemed as moderate or severe in nature and require a higher level of care. Center for Discovery Lakewood offers mindful movement, art therapy and experiential therapy as well as Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Dialectal Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Amelia attends a weekly support group Communities of Healing Support Group-Los Angeles, she is able to share her struggles and listen to others who have overcomer the disorder. I myself have joined ANAD a support group for family and friends and we discuss how to help those suffering from an eating disorder. These services are free and helpful. Amelia is getting better everyday and a bright light in my life, not matter what the future holds i always let her know that we are here for her. All we can do is be there for them and support their recovery. It gets better i always tell her. I just want her to be happier and healthy. Amelia is now 17 and soon she will off to college and i couldn't be more proud.

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Marshmello ft. Bastille - Happier (Official Music Video)