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.
Bipolar Disorder Symptoms for Children
One big issue as far as diagnosing bipolar children having mania is telling them from the children that have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The symptoms of both show up as hyperactivity, irritability, and get distracted easily. So with children, these symptoms are not a good gauge to tell if children have mania. Take the symptoms of grandiose behaviors, not sleeping much, unusual sexual activity, jubilant or euphoric moods, also flight of ideas are specific to mania and not to ADHD.
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.
Bipolar children and bipolar adolescents with mania also show increased signs of unusual sexual activity and can be very flirtatious for their age. They may also try to touch others, including adults, in private areas and they may use very explicit sexual language.
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.
Treatments for Children with Bipolar Disorder
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.
Medication must be sought only after the child has been properly and thoroughly diagnosed. Telling the difference between ADHD and bipolar symptoms can be very, very difficult, because these two symptoms can overlap each other. Doctors who have experiences in treating bipolar children disorder must be sought when dealing with these important issues.
Bipolar Disorder Symptoms for Children
One big issue as far as diagnosing bipolar children having mania is telling them from the children that have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The symptoms of both show up as hyperactivity, irritability, and get distracted easily. So with children, these symptoms are not a good gauge to tell if children have mania. Take the symptoms of grandiose behaviors, not sleeping much, unusual sexual activity, jubilant or euphoric moods, also flight of ideas are specific to mania and not to ADHD.
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.
Bipolar children and bipolar adolescents with mania also show increased signs of unusual sexual activity and can be very flirtatious for their age. They may also try to touch others, including adults, in private areas and they may use very explicit sexual language.
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.
Treatments for Children with Bipolar Disorder
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.
Medication must be sought only after the child has been properly and thoroughly diagnosed. Telling the difference between ADHD and bipolar symptoms can be very, very difficult, because these two symptoms can overlap each other. Doctors who have experiences in treating bipolar children disorder must be sought when dealing with these important issues.
About the Author:
Ken P Doyle has been well versed on the subject bipolar disorder for a long time now. For more useful information on bipolar disorder children, check out his online resource site now.
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