I am going to speak to a branch of the Stand Up Parenting organization in the next few months. I am quite amazed at the quality of what they offer for parents in terms of learning skills to work with teens and adult children. It definietly translates to parents of children with bipolar disorder.

http://www.standupparenting.org/

A dear friend of mine has a 14 year old son who is really acting like a 14 year old! He said to me, “Where are the groups for parents who are great parents who need more skills to deal with teens!”

I look foward to speaking to the group here in Portland, Oregon.

Julie

Parents of kids with bipolar disorder..

I often feel sorry for my mom. She has to deal with so much concerning this illness. I’m having a super tough day today and she knows it.  I always tell her what I’m going through.  I am very honest:  “I’m sick today.  The depression is really bad.”

My mom has used the Health Cards for seven years- this means she knows what I need, but it doesn’t make it easy. She knows I am safe and that I know how to take care of myself. But it must just break her heart to see her child so sick.

I’m lucky that she was willing and able to learn my system. It has saved our relationship – and my life! many times.

I have options, as we all do- when I’m this depressed. On some days, I really do need to see friends and hang out. But friends aren’t always available- on some days, like today, I know that working is my best recourse. I always feel better when I work. A lot of my depression comes from work situations that don’t work out- or that cause too much stress- so when I get things done and do them well, the stress is less!

It’s important to look at what is going well. It feels impossible to do this when you’re depressed, but it’s possible.

• I see my nephew this afternoon
•  It’s not raining!
• I have work ideas that will be successful

For now, I’m going to get to work. No list making, no wondering what I should be doing, no crying and feeling sorry for myself. That is depression, not me.

I promised on my last post that I would write down my accomplishments before I go to bed tonight. I will do this.
I’m glad my mom has the Health Cards- I need her help today and she knows exactly what to do!

If you have a child with bipolar disorder, it’s NOT easy to know what to do. The parenting skills that work with non bipolar kids don’t necessarily translate to kids with the illness.  You have to learn a new set of skills, as my mother did with the Health Cards!

Julie

I just received an excellent question from Mike:

Julie, I love these blogs but I have an 8yr old girl with bipolar disorder and everything is about adults. Her anger just gets worse and worse and I don’t know how to teach her the stuff i read from you. the hcp has her on depakote and risperidal, please tell my wife and I how we can help her. I feel so bad that she has to feel this way.

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I will answer this question either tonight of tomorrow. I thought I had time right now, but I am off to a meeting to interview a potential speaker for the Latino Mental Health event that my friend Gayathri Ramprasad is doing here in Portland, Oregon.

The childhood bipolar questions are so important and I want to give this a lot of thought before I answer.

 UPDATE: I have not forgotten this question- I have just been in one of those hard to function at work episodes. I did get other projects done, so I can be proud of this- but this question is next.

I just received the following email from Jan regarding her 15 year old daughter. I have included my reply in this blog:

Julie,
 I don’t know how to reach you other than through this blog, but I have a 15 year old daughter, diagnosed with bipolar disorder 1 year ago, who also has sleep problems, not the least of which is affecting her ability to function in life, period.  She is in a therapeutic school but we have been told as of yesterday that they can no longer manage her and we must make other arrangements.  We are desperate for info about programs for adolescents with bipolar disorder and are wondering if you can give us any suggestions or direct us toward people who can help???   Thank you.

Hi Jan,

I suggest you visit the following website- it has information on the Parry Center inpatient psych treatment program here in Portland, Oregon. They may have a hot line or other information available for similar facilities in your state.

http://www.trilliumfamily.org/about_trillium.php

I have friends who have great things to say about the Parry Center.

Good luck.  It’s a tough to go through this- but your daughter is young. I am so glad she was diagnosed early and that you have the resources to help her. Teens definitely get better once they learn to manage this illness. Please let her know that she can have a happy and healthy life- it will take time and she will have to work hard, but she can go to school, make friends and look forward to her future once the illness is managed successfully. I really mean this- it’s an illness like any other illness. It can be managed.

Julie

Hi, I just received this comment about my speech last week. I want to respond to it directly.

julie. . . .we attended your speech in Eugene on last Thursday night.  My daughter is having a hard time right now and any little “light” that she can see is SO important, so you can imagine how important it has been for her to be exposed to your hopeful messages, your time that you took to speak with us afterward!  We bought the health cards CD. Haven’t had time to look at it yet, but WILL. Many thanks. becky

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When I meet wonderful people at my talks, I’m always happy to see mothers and fathers with their child. There is so much fear, worry, and a desire for education. I  always feel good when I can chat with them. I have been there and my mother has been there.

Often the children are a bit stunned looking as they are in a crisis or just got out of the hospital. I can tell if someone is on a high dose of anti psychotics or if they are just worn out from a bad episode. I can also usually tell if someone has attempted suicide. Nothing surprises me as this is an illness with very set behavior. We all act the same when we have bipolar disorder- because it’s an illness.

Seeing the children reminds me of myself over the years and of what my mother has been through. But I’m always positive. If I can stand there helping them after all of these years of hell and fear, then they can do the same.  There were many, many years I didn’t think I would make it, but I did. Bipolar disorder is a treatable illness. When parents get out with their children and look for help, their child’s chance of stability grows and grows. We do get better. Yes, it’s a life long illness at this time- but these guys are young and I really believe better treatment is coming in the future as we learn more about the genetics of bipolar disorder.

If you as a parent have the Health Cards and your child is still ill, do the cards yourself and then use them with your child when they are more stable.  A child with bipolar disorder needs so much love and support.  There is no one more important in life than my mother, so it means a lot to me to see al of you parents when I speak!

Julie

  PS: Thanks for your kind words Becky!

I have a friend who has done everything possible to help his son find a diagnosis. The recent diagnosis was bipolar disorder. His son lived in a treatment facility for a year, went to a special camp in the country, learned more effective communication techniques and truly tried hard to fit in with his family. I have been amazed at how hard my friend and his partner have worked to find out what is happening to their child. The bipolar disorder diagnosis was a catch all- as it often is. It’s not that the diagnosis was wrong, it’s just that it was so vague.

Finally, some answers: My friend just wrote and said that his son has a new diagnosis that makes more sense. It’s called Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Here is what I just read in Wikipedia:
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The diagnostic category pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), as opposed to specific developmental disorders (SDD), refers to a group of five disorders characterized by delays in the development of multiple basic functions including socialization and communication. The most commonly known PDD is (1) Autism, with the remaining identified as (2) Rett syndrome, (3) Childhood disintegrative disorder, (4) Asperger syndrome, and (5) Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (or PDD-NOS).

Parents may note symptoms of PDD as early as infancy and typically onset is prior to 3 years of age. PDD itself generally does not affect life expectancy.

There is a division among doctors on the use of the term PDD. Many use the term PDD as a short way of saying PDDNOS.Others use the general category label of PDD because they are hesitant to diagnose very young children with a specific type of PDD, such as autism. Both approaches contribute to confusion about the term, because the term PDD actually refers to a category of disorders and is not a diagnostic label.

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Wow, that is not exactly the same as bipolar is it! My friend’s son had symptoms of explosive anger, inability to socialize, trouble following rules, inappropriate behavior, etc. Or course, that comes with bipolar as well. I think the main difference is the delay factor. I’m not sure that children with bipolar disorder are delayed in these areas as much as they have problems in these areas. The bipolar disorder diagnosis in children is so very nebulous, who knows what will happen in the future.

What matters is that my friend now has some answers. PDD will be treated very, very differently from bipolar disorder. A correct diagnosis, such as whether a child has bipolar or just severe ADHD is essential for correct treatment.

Let me know what you think on this one. I am SO happy for my friend.

Julie

The following is a copy of an excellent WEB MD article on bipolar disorder diagnosis in children.When people ask me about childhood onset bipolar disorder, I always have the same answer: I believe that what we call bipolar disorder in children is VERY different than what we consider bipolar disorder in adults.

One of the main differences is the level of anger, irritation, tolerance levels and duration of screaming, crying, and out of control mood swings. Another very imporant distinction is the ADHD behavior of these kids. They have more of the hyperactivity part of the ADHD than adults who are usually diagnosed with ADD.My heart goes out to these kids as I know they have a lot of troubling symptoms, but like many people in this industry- I question these bipolar disorder diagnoses.

This is a looonnnggg article- which is why I’ve put it in two posts, but the information is extremely helpful. It’s very important to note that this about the diagnosis of children with bipolar disorder, not the teenage, early 20’s onset that most of us experience.

Here is the article:

1 Decade, 40 Times More Bipolar Kids

Child Bipolar Explosion — or Rampant Misdiagnosis?

By Daniel J. DeNoon

WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDSept. 4, 2007 — Today’s children and teens are 40 times more likely to have bipolar disorder than were the children of 10 years ago.

That’s 20 times faster than the growth in diagnoses of adult bipolar disorder over the same decade. Are we only now discovering a huge reservoir of untreated psychiatric illness? Or is there an epidemic not of disease, but of misdiagnosis and overtreatment?

The study that provides this alarming data doesn’t answer this crucial question, says study researcher Mark Olfson, MD, MPH, professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center and New York State Psychiatric Institute.

“We found a striking national increase in the treatment of young people for bipolar disorder: from 20,000 youths in 1994 to 800,000 youths in 2003,” Olfson tells WebMD. “The study does not tell us why so many more kids are being diagnosed and treated for bipolar disorder. But it gives us clues.”

Those clues:

Bipolar disorder is often a lifelong condition. More bipolar disorder in children should mean a corresponding increase in adults with bipolar disorder. Olfson says that isn’t happening. This means we’re either discovering previously unrecognized bipolar disorder in children, or that we’re misdiagnosing children.

Youths diagnosed with bipolar disorder are more likely than adults to also be diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

Most adults diagnosed with bipolar disorder are female. Most children and teens diagnosed with bipolar disorder are male.

“It is my sense that most of these people are boys around age 12, and many have ADHD or at least are treated for that with stimulants,” Olfson says.

During the 10 years covered by the study, the diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder have broadened. “Many adults and young people who would not have been considered to have bipolar disorder now are,” Olfson says.

Part two of the article is below…..