What are some of the reasons that call goes unanswered, especially for children with bipolar disorder?
In addition to a motor and sequencing difficulty, a child with bipolar disorder may also have difficulties with the mechanics of writing (periods, commas, and capitals may be very late to arrive in any written product), working memory, intention (let’s get it done), and sustained attention. In a hypomanic state, the thoughts may race and ideas pour out faster than the motor or organizational controls; conversely, in a depressed phase, there may be a slow-down of thought and a paucity of ideas. We spoke with Dr. Dana Luck, a neuropsychologist in New York City and she explained: Writing is a directed task and very different from speaking. Verbally, we can all mention thoughts, circle around them, move off in different directions, and hopefully get to the point somewhere along the way. Writing, however, is much slower and very much more precise. It is straight processing and it is a task of drafting, and re-drafting, revision, elaboration and polishing. Children with bipolar disorder ofte
