Hi all,

I'm new to this board. My daughter is being tested for ADD. I was just wondering if anyone knows about bipolar disorder in children. I have read that it presents much like ADD in children. My family has a long history of bipolar disorder.

funny u said that. i have a 8 yr old daughter with adhd (2yrs diag.)and i have bipolar and my brother has bipolar also. my daughter mimics many of my symptoms especially mood swings and irritatbility. some say in the teen years i will be able to tell if this is true,but dont qoute me on that .feel free to e-mail me. i find this interesting.

Do either of you know of a bi-polor support Forum for people who live with a family member with bi-polor? Thanks!

There is a new book out called Healing ADD by Daniel Amen. He lists six different types of ADD/ADHD and one of them does mimic Bipolar, called Type 6 "Ring of Fire". It starts on Page 141 and goes for a whole chapter. It lists some of the symptoms as:
Is angry or agressive
Is sensitive to noise, light, clothes or touch
Has frequent or cyclic mood changes (highs and lows)
Is inflexible, or rigid in thinking
Insists on having his or her own way, even when told no multiple times.
Has periods of mean, nasty, or insenstive behaviour.
Has periods of excessive talkativeness.
Has periods of excessive impulsivity.
Exhibits unpredictable behaviour.
Displays grandiose or "larger than life" thinking.
Talks fast
Has the sensation that thoughts go fast
Appears anxious or fearful.

Does this help?

Angie E

I'm kind of new here so I don't know if you're still looking on info on bipolar disorder and ADD. My 7 yr old was diagnosed a year ago with ADD and a depressive disorder. They're not sure yet if he's bipolar because his symptoms are between bipolar and major depression. Initially it can be hard to distinguish between the two because depression is often a side effect of the ADD. The path we took was to treat with a medication that has potential to help both.
My mother was bipolar. My husband's Dad was an alcoholic so that makes him suspect. I have major depression. If you have a history of bipolar disorder that's a big possibility though again its hard to distinguish the two, especially in kids. Good luck.

My son is diagnosed with ADHD, Bipolar, OCD,and several other things. An awsome site about children with Bipolar is: www.bpkids.org (http://www.bpkids.org)
A truly excellant site with lots of info.