Question

Bipolar disorder is becoming increasingly diagnosed in children. What is bipolar disorder in children? How does it differ behaviorally and neurologically from bipolar disorder in adults? If you were charged with developing an intervention (treatment/behavioral) plan for a child with Bipolar disorder, what components would you include in your plan?

Answer 1

Bipolar disorder in children is a controversial diagnosis as the symptoms in children is very different from adults. The manic symptoms are not clearly seen in most children, which makes it difficult to diagnose it in children. However, some children do show clear cut symptoms of mania followed by a depressive episode. But, in most children the mood rapidly shifts, where they may have anger outbursts, temper tantrums and irritability one moment and the next moment may be depressed and stay aloof . As the mood constantly shifts, they do not stay in mania or depression for a stable amount of time. Another major difference is that children do not have grandiosity in a manic episode, which is a requirement for diagnosis according to Diagnostic and Statistical manual.

The treatment plan would consist of first visiting a psychiatrist, who may prescribe medications which have to be taken regularly. The family should be provided complete psycho education about bipolar disorder in children, in which they should be educated about the disorder and how they can help the child. A proper schedule should be designed for the child and implemented so that they have a schedule for various activities at a fixed time.