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Childhood-Onset Bipolar Disorder
It is estimated that one-third of all the children in the United States who have been diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder with hyperactivity are actually suffering from early-onset bipolar disorder. Until recently, bipolar disorder was not viewed as an illness that could occur among children.
Many psychiatrists are reluctant to give a diagnosis of bipolar disorder to a young child for many reasons. Distinguishing between normal and abnormal behavior in children is difficult as all children suffer from some degree of impulsiveness, hyperactivity, and a low tolerance for frustration. Also, the symptoms of early-onset bipolar can overlap or mimic the symptoms of ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder (CD), and/or anxiety disorders, clouding the picture even further. Bipolar disorder in children usually presents quite differently from the way it presents in adults. Children normally have a more chronic course of illness and tend to cycle very rapidly. Some may have frequent spikes of highs and lows within a 24 hour period. Bipolar children tend to be oppositional and inflexible, they are often extremely irritable, and most experience rages that can last for hours at a time.
According to Demetri and Janice Papolos, authors of "The Bipolar Child", the symptoms observed in children with early-onset bipolar disorder most commonly include the ones listed below:
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This Site Updated 04/09/11
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