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How to Diagnose Bipolar in Children

Bipolar behavior is often difficult to diagnose in children because it can mimic other common childhood disorders such as ADHD, Tourette's syndrome, obssessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, among others.

Although there is no specific psychiatric test available to diagnose bipolar disorder in children, parents, teachers and mental health professionals can look out for several behaviors.

Things You'll Need

  • Experienced, qualified child psychologist
  • Lithium, anticonvulsants or atypical neurleptics (depending on what is prescribed)
  • DSM-IV test
  • School records
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Instructions

  1. How to Diagnose Bipolar in Children

    • 1

      Identify the symptoms of bipolar disorder. Parents, teachers and mental health professionals must be aware of and familiar with the symptoms associated with this often misunderstood and under-diagnosed disorder.

      Symptoms that indicate bipolar disorder may include excessive and severe temper tantrums, irritability, difficult behavior, rapid mood changes, risky behavior, impulse control problems, aggressive behavior, poor self-esteem, excessive tiredness followed by periods of insomnia or hyperactivity, anxiety, overly-emotional reactions, night terrors, hallucinations, destruction of property, obsession or fascination with violence, hyper-sexual behavior, obsessive compulsive behavior, tics, depression and suicidal thoughts.

      Many of the above symptoms are present in other common childhood disorders, but a child who expresses extreme or multiple symptoms may have bipolar disorder.

    • 2

      Seek an evaluation from a mental health specialist to determine if the child's symptoms and history are compatible with bipolar disorder. An experienced and qualified child psychologist must determine if the child's symptoms and history are compatible with bipolar disorder. The psychologist should talk to the child and the child's family, evaluate the child's behavior over time, examine the child's family history and review school conduct records.

    • 3

      Administer the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV). Although there is no specific psychological test to diagnose bipolar disorder in children, according to HealthyPlace.com, all requisite symptoms of adult bipolar must be present in children for an affirmative diagnosis to be made. As of now, the only universally-accepted psychological test for bipolar disorder in children is the DSM-IV. However, a group of researchers and experts at the University of Washington developed the "structured diagnostic interview, known as the Wash U KIDDIE-SADS diagnostic method. This testing tool is highly sensitive to specific subcategories or manifestations of behaviors often present in childhood cases of bipolar disorders but not adult cases.

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