I have a friend whose child I have observed over the past several years, he is now 7. I have tried to come up with some idea of what his troubles could be but they present differently than any kid I have ever seen. I think he fits the profile of bipolar except that his behavior is just as bad at school as at home.(some reading I did mentioned that they hide it at school) He has always been difficult, especially with transitions and the word no. He will have terrible tantrums that last over just about anything. Including having to say goodbye to someone he briefly sees at the store. I knew he would have problems when he started school. He bit the kgarten teacher, destroyed the classroom (desks knocked over, everything) was suspended several times. He was tested ( I am not sure for what all), the conclusion was an IQ off the scale and ocd. He is in a school for emotional disturbed, has been suspended several times already this year and the last time he assualted the teacher there, she told the parents that she wouldn’t “press charges for assault “this time”.” I have mentioned to another friend who is closer to the parents than I that she really needs to have him seen by a ped.neuro. because I just don’t think what the school has come up with really fits the bill. I do know that she took him in when he was 4 to the doc because at the time he really showed a lot of signs of adhd and she was having trouble with him then. She couldn’t take him anywhere that is supposed to be fun, he would just freak when it was time to go.The doc told her he needs more discipline and that he wasn’t adhd. This child is violent at home and at school both with kids and adults. Academically I don’t know where he is. Even if he is gifted, the fact that he can’t function in the classroom and keeps being suspended means he isn’t getting an education. I was looking up symptoms in different places of different problems and was thinking either/and severe adhd and bipolar. Obviously I am not a doc, just trying to see what direction to move toward since things aren’t improving for this family. Also the parents are in denial, and have said they won’t give medicine. I am afraid this child may be doomed if neither the parents or the school is going to give this child any real help. Sorry this is so long, I was hoping to get some thoughts from you all. Thanks!
Re: friend's child
I am no physician, & maybe there is multiple diagnosis needed for your friends child,(behavioral, physical or mental conditions) but thought I’d share an example of adhd. My niece exhibited the same behavior - was blown away by your comment about the “goodbye to anyone” scenes/ temper tantrums- its alot more than the average child who is upset when a parent drops them off. Exactly the same with her since toddler years. Unfortunately, ADD/ adhd was not as common as it is now & she didn’t receive a diagnosis until middle school. She couldn’t make friends, social skills were terrible. Very aggressive nature, moody and extremely impulsive. Transitioning to anything was difficult for her. I have met alot of Add/adhd children, and not one can be compared to the severity of her case. Sounds alot like your friend’s child. My sister-in law was so relieved to get a reason for her wild behavior. She was put on meds., but it was no miracle cure. She also had LD’s but was unable to learn because of the adhd “behavioral problems”. Unfortunately, by High School she quit. Maybe your friends aren’t ready to know yet. I know this seems like their ignoring it, but maybe they aren’t ready to deal. Also, my understanding is Add/adhd can be clearly found with a neurological test. I wonder why the physician wouldn’t test even if it was to rule it out ? note: my niece is in her 20’s now & the magnified behaviors seem to have drastically decreased. She is no longer taking meds. A lot of the problems get enhanced with stress. ie school, peer interaction etc. This is a very sad story.
Re: friend's child
I found some links that might be helpful, also:
http://bipolar.about.com/msub-add.htm?once=true&
http://www.adhdnews.com/bipolar.htm
Hope that helps!
Lori
ADD or Bipolar or both?
Greetings amyf,
Your concern for your friend’s child is commendable. If his parents are in denial, it will be difficult for your to convince them otherwise, but like you, I would have to make the attempt.
I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the work being done by Dr. Daniel Amen, an ADD expert known for his theory of 6 different types of ADD which can be physically documented with a SPECT scan. In his book Healing ADD, Dr. Amen discusses a type of ADD which he calls “Ring of Fire”. This type strongly mimics bipolar disorder and frequently goes hand in hand with BP. The descriptions you have provided about your friend’s child defintely fits both the profile and the case studies provided in the book (3 of the 4 case studies are about boys ages 8-9). The following is an excerpt from his book, p 150:
“Differentiating Ring of Fire ADD from Bipolar Disorder is generally difficult in children and easy in adults. In children bipolar disorder resembles severe ADD. Bipolar children tend to be cyclic in their mood and behavior problems. They have times when they are awful, irritable, and aggressive, and they have times when things are relatively normal. “Ring of Fire” ADD kids tend to have problems on a more consistent basis. Adults with bipolar disorder have manic episodes, while people with “Ring of Fire” ADD do not. Their behavior tends to be consistent over long periods of time. One can have both “Ring of Fire” ADD and bipolar disorder, and some studies suggest that as many as half of the people with bipolar disorder also meet the criteria for ADD.”
For more information, I would encourage you to check out Dr. Amen’s website at www.brainplace.com. Complete the Dr. Amen checklist questionnaire. While it is not meant to provide a diagnosis, it serves as a guide to help people begin to identify problems and get further evaluation for them. Also, check the professional list to see if there is a doctor who adheres to Dr. Amen’s theory in your area. As you said, this boy needs immediate help. If left untreated many children with this type of ADD have both homicidal and suicidal thoughts and are highly prone to substance abuse. His overtly aggressive and oppositional behavior is cause for great alarm.
May God bless your efforts on behalf of this child. momo
Re: ADD or Bipolar or both?
Amy,
Sounds like the child has executive function issues. He has trouble shifting focus from his agenda to someone elses. Take a look at the following site:
http://www.tourettesyndrome.net/ef.htm
and also the book “The Explosive Child” by Green deals with this type of child.
Helen
Re: friend's child
I’m no expert, but there are several things I would look at:
1. food allergies - especially milk and wheat products
2. sleep problems - you know how we are if we don’t get enough sleep - and this ties in with allergies
3. What is this child’s diet like? Is he eating a lot of junk food and pop? This could affect his behavior
4. How much tv is this child watching? There have been studies that have shown that when parents turn the tv off or limit watching to only 30 minutes or an hour a day, their children’s behavior improves.
Re: friend's child
Thanks so much for your replies, it confirms what I had thought about. Something I forgot to mention that is pretty important too is that he still wets and soils himself (at 7 yrs) during the day and will refuse to go even if asked if he needs to. I will send on the info you all gave me and I hope for this kid and his family’s sake that they will at least read it. Since all the stuff with my kids and reading as much as I can, I have become a lot more compassionate about kids and adults with troubles, I seem to always try to look a little deeper when I see someone with troubles. I figure there’s gotta be a reason.Thanks again y’all. What would I do without you?
This sounds EXACTLY like my son. He’s 12 now, and dx’d as bipolar. He was dx’d as ADHD when he was 4, but I knew there was more to it than that. He was hospitalized at age 7 for being out of control at school and at home. I called a meeting at the hospital with the head of the psychiatric ward and other doctors and convinced them with various things people from the BPSO and ADDParents list sent me, and other research I had done, that he was BP. They were SUCH stick-in-the-muds and insisted that BP doesn’t show up until teens/early adulthood. I convinced them otherwise.
Check out the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation website for more info:
http://www.cabf.org/
Hope that helps.
Lori