Why Is Bipolar Disorder So Difficult to Diagnose In Young Children?
It is difficult to “fit” the bipolar child into the adult definition of the illness. The first bipolar disorder criterion is a manic episode lasting for at least four days. In many such children mood and energy shifts occur several times each day. Except for certain adolescents who demonstrate the adult-type, prototypical onset of the disorder, young children often present very differently from the formal adult definition of bipolar disorder. This would include individuals with good functioning who experience an abrupt onset of mania, often requiring hospitalization. Instead, the bipolar child frequently has an ongoing, continuous mood disturbance that is a mixture of mania (defined as elation or agitation, accompanied by a high level of energy) and depression (defined as extreme sadness or irritability, accompanied by a low level of energy). This feature is called “rapid cycling” and it generally results in a kind of chronic irritability. Over time, there are fewer clear periods of th
