A Guide to Helping Children and Adolescents.
This book helps parents and professionals recognise, treat, and cope with bipolar disorders in children and adolescents. It covers diagnosis, family life, medications, talk therapies, other interventions, insurance, and school.
Until recently, bipolar disorders were almost never diagnosed in children and rarely recognised in adolescents. Psychiatrists now recognise that manic depression has frequently been misdiagnosed as ADHD. According to recent data, 23% of children currently diagnosed with ADHD will eventually be diagnosed as having a bipolar disorder.
Families and communities pay a heavy toll when this disorder is not recognised and treated. Suicide is a possible outcome, as are school failure, limited job prospects, legal difficulties, and hospitalisations. Understanding and recognising the difference in the illness for children and adolescents is key for concerned parents and professionals. As author Mitzi Waltz notes, "With early intervention, the possibilities for these kids are limitless."
