Excerpt from: Psych Central (click for full article)
Approximately 1.5% of the population, worldwide, bipolar disorder is not uncommon. However, bipolar disorder in children presents differently than it does in adults, an important difference which is not addressed in our current diagnostic manual (DSM-IV-TR). As a result, it is frequently misdiagnosed.
59% of persons diagnosed with bipolar disorder experienced symptoms as a child. And, a significant number of children are identified as having other psychiatric difficulties as young children; 25% of children with ADHD and 33% of children with depression are later diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Children typically cycle multiple times per day. They do not typically exhibit the depression/mania pattern that adults do; the pattern associated with adulthood bipolar disorder does not typically emerge until mid to late adolescence.
Children with bipolar disorder often present as tired in the morning with increasing energy as the day progresses.
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