How to Tell if Your Child Has ADHD or Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a severe mental illness characterized by intense mood changes. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is a common illness marked by difficulty focusing, inattention and impulsiveness. Bipolar disorder and ADHD share many symptoms, including mood instability, bursts of energy and restlessness, talkativeness, and impatience, according to Additude Magazine. Bipolar disorder should be treated first, as ADHD treatment can lead to mania or worsen the course of bipolar illness in other ways.

Instructions

• 1

  Note whether your child has experienced mania. Mania is characterized by increased energy, euphoria and grandiosity and is experienced by some people with bipolar disorder but not by people with ADHD alone. Children who experience mania may be prone to bullying, according to Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Online, or dbpeds.org. Manic children often have a decreased need for sleep.

• 2

  Determine whether your child's hyperactivity is consistent or episodic. People with bipolar disorder are more likely to have episodic hyperactivity, according to dbpeds.org.

• 3

  Watch for rapid cycling. Children with bipolar disorder often experience rapid, intense mood changes throughout the day.

• 4

  Look for symptoms of elation, grandiosity, flight of ideas/racing thoughts, a decreased need for sleep and hypersexuality. These symptoms distinguish bipolar mania from ADHD, according to dbpeds.org.

• 5

  Note how often symptoms are present. ADHD symptoms are chronic, while bipolar episodes may alternate with normal moods, according to Additude Magazine.

• 6

  Be aware of mood triggers. Intense mood changes in people with ADHD are triggered by life events. People with bipolar disorder may experience intense mood changes without an identified cause.

• 7

  Consider the possibility that your child has both conditions. As many as 20 percent of people with ADHD may also have a form of bipolar disorder, according to Additude Magazine.

• 8

  Take your child to a health care professional to make the final diagnosis. Only a professional can determine whether your child has bipolar disorder or ADHD or both.