Attentive parents are a bipolar child’s best chance at getting vital treatment. If you answer yes to the majority of the following questions, consider having your child evaluated by a child psychiatrist or clinical therapist who specializes in bipolar disorder.
| Does your child have rapidly alternating moods that fluctuate numerous times a day from being elated to being extremely irritable? Is your child incredibly hard to wake up and equally hard to get to sleep? Have other parents warned you that your child tends to be aggressive with their children or does your child get into fights? Is your child explosive at times? Would you describe your child as unstoppable once he or she gets a notion to obtain something? (i.e. Have you ever gone out to pick up pizza, ice cream or a video just to stop the tension your child is causing in the home?) Does your child often describe activities that are enjoyable to most children as boring or not stimulating enough? Have others described your child as withdrawn? Is your child often sad without a reason? Does your teen drive erratically or engage in other highly risky behavior (i.e. Promiscuity or substance abuse)? Has your child been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or depression, but doesn’t seem to respond well to treatment? Does your child have trouble maintaining friendships? Has your child been in trouble numerous times at school? Has your child ever been in trouble with the law? Is there any family history of mood disorders and/or substance abuse? |
| * Remember, no one of these symptoms by itself constitutes bipolar disorder. And, most importantly, in order for any problem to reach the level of a psychiatric disorder, it needs to be interfering with the child’s life. The bottom line is that parents must ask themselves if their child’s behavior is causing him or her not to function at home, at school or with friends. |
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