Bipolar children « Children – General Issues

Articles About Bipolar Children

• Bipolar Disorder in Children and Teens (Nat'l Institute of Mental Health)
  An easy-to-read booklet on Bipolar Disorder in children and teens that explains what it is, when it starts and how to get help.
• Factsheet: Bipolar Disorder in Children (Mental Health America)
  Many children, and especially adolescents, experience mood swings as a normal part of growing up, but when these feelings persist and interfere with a child’s ability to function in daily life, bipolar disorder could be the cause. Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depression, is a mood disorder marked by extreme changes in mood, energy levels and behavior. Symptoms can begin in early childhood but usually emerge in adolescence or adulthood. Until recently, young people were rarely diagnosed with this disorder. Yet up to one-third of the 3.4 million children and teens with depression in the United States may actually be experiencing the early onset of bipolar disorder, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Doctors now recognize and treat the disorder in young people, but it is still an under-recognized illness.
• Red Flags: Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder in Children (About.com – 2/27/10)
  A study conducted indicates that more than 80% of children diagnosed with bipolar disorder come from families with a history of mood disorders and/or alcoholism on both sides of the family. And yet, even when a strong family history of this is present, professionals rarely consider early-onset bipolar disorder. Many children who actually have bipolar disorder have been diagnosed with ADHD. Why? Because the official guidelines for diagnosing bipolar disorder found in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual outline criteria are based on classic adult symptoms. When the last edition of the DSM was published, very little was known about how bipolar disorder affects children.

Education Related to Bipolar Children

Patti's Comments: Below are three important resources that will help ensure the school professionals understand bipolar disorder, its impact on the educational process and the important role an administrator plays.

• Bipolar Disorder: Educational Implications for Secondary Students (Student Services)
  This is important because most administrators have never received any training on the subject and it explains the important role an administrators.
• New Treatment Guidelines for Children with Bipolar Disorder (WebMD)
  New guidelines have been issued for treating bipolar disorders in children.
• Early Adolescence and the Middle School Years (excerpt from Understanding the Mind of Your Bipolar Child)
  Increasing adademic demands, cognitive problems, and hormonal changes.
• Why Johnny and Jenny Can't Write: Disorders of Written Expression and Children with Bipolar Disorder (The Bipolar Child)
  In addition to a motor and sequencing difficulty, a child with bipolar disorder may also have difficulties with the mechanics of writing (periods, commas, and capitals may be very late to arrive in any written product), working memory, intention (let’s get it done), and sustained attention. In a hypomanic state, the thoughts may race and ideas pour out faster than the motor or organizational controls; conversely, in a depressed phase, there may be a slow-down of thought and a paucity of ideas.

Organizations & Services About Bipolar Children

• Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation (CABF)
  Offers information, support, and encouragement in this most challenging arena.
• Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation
  The first charitable organization dedicated to the support of research for the study of early-onset bipolar disorder.
• The Bipolar Child
  Information about Pediatric Bipolar Disorder