Bipolar Disorder Children
Children as young as 6 years old have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In order for a proper diagnosis to be done, they need to be observed long enough to tell the difference between normal childlike behaviors and bipolar disorder behaviors. One thing that must be taken into consideration is the problems that children go through can also overlap with bipolar disorder. When diagnosing children, the same criteria that are used to diagnose adults can also be used except for some minor modifications because of the age levels.
Symptoms for Children with Bipolar Disorder
Children with bipolar disorder are often misdiagnosed as having attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). This is because ADHD and bipolar disorder share similar symptoms like hyperactive, irritable and being easily distracted. Therefore, it cannot be concluded that the child has bipolar mania due to these symptoms. Signs that are specific to bipolar disorder and not ADHD are sleeping too much, unusual sexual activities, jubilant and euphoric moods, flights of ideas and grandiose behaviors.
Children with grandiose behaviors act as if rules do not apply to them. They believe for example that they are so smart they can tell teachers what to do and tell other students what to learn. Other bipolar disorder children can be convinced that they can do superhuman deeds like jumping out of windows and will not be hurt. Bipolar children do not show signs of being tired even though they may have slept a mere 4 to 6 hours every night. They are very active when not asleep and can do things like moving furniture and playing games.
Unusual sexual activity can come out in bipolar children and Adolescent bipolar children with mania. They can be very flirtatious even over what they should be for their age. They may use very explicit sexual type language and try to touch others in private areas including adults.
Children having euphoric moods can break into almost hysterical laughter or being extremely happy. But to observe these children you may think they were on their way to an exciting place or event. This behavior is often observed by teachers and parents. With children having flight of ideas exhibits itself by the child changing between topics rapidly as they are talking and this can happen anytime without being triggered by any one thing.
The other symptoms for bipolar children are the tendency to have many cycles of these behaviors during a day’s time. Going from the elated high moods all the way down to heavy depressed moods that can even cause suicide attempts.
Treating Bipolar Disorder in Children
Children and teenagers also use similar medications to the ones often prescribed for adults. Mood stabilizing agents have been thought to be useful in the treatment of bipolar disorder children. These include valproate, lithium and Tegretol (carbamazepine). The long term use of medication in children though has been an area of concern. Therefore, more studies are being done on this.
Before medicating your child, ensure that the proper diagnosis has been given to him or her as it is difficult to distinguish the difference between ADHD and bipolar disorder as the symptoms can sometimes overlap. You must also ensure that your child is being treated by a doctor who has a background in bipolar disorder especially bipolar disorder in children.
