In my previous post, I recounted Angela's travails concerning her seven-year-old son. The boy attempted suicide twice and engages in self-harm. The provisional diagnosis is bipolar disorder.

Angela had two posts, spaced a month apart. Her first post drew 48 replies, many of them suggesting other possible alternatives to the bipolar diagnosis. This raised the issue of the complexity of finding a correct diagnosis in kids. Accordingly, Part I of my reply to Angela dealt with some of these diagnostic concerns.

It was clear that Angela had researched her topic and that she was comfortable in the knowledge that the bipolar diagnosis best explained what was going on with her boy. Moreover, after four months of treatment and counseling, the boy’s condition showed clear improvement.

But whether we are adults with the illness or have kids with the illness, there are always other things to look at. Part I looked at those issues.

Now it’s time, Angela, to focus on the bipolar. You are on a bipolar site, after all. The tenor of your two posts strongly indicated that you are seeking enlightenment on both the illness and how it applies to your boy.

Here goes:

As you know, Angela, there is a lot of controversy surrounding diagnosing kids with bipolar. A lot of this stems from legitimate concerns about applying diagnostic and treatment overkill when other solutions may be available.

Unfortunately, individuals promoting an antipsychiatry agenda have gotten into the act, along with a badly-misinformed media. A lot of these people contend that bipolar in kids does not exist, and that the diagnosis is a big pharma plot to sell more drugs.

Sadly, Angela, none of this will make your life any easier. Even well-meaning individuals are going to question your judgment and even your parenting skills.

Be assured, Angela. I’m in your corner. I’ve listened to the people who have pioneered researching early-onset bipolar as well as the real experts - the parents of bipolar kids.

Believe me, bipolar in kids is real. One doesn’t need to be voting age to have the illness.

The best advice I can offer you at this early stage is to be thoroughly informed, and you are clearly on the right track. The parents I have talked to invariably know way more than those who treat and counsel their kids.

As a first port of call, you might want to read the three-part series I wrote on my website, mcmanweb.com:

http://www.mcmanweb.com/bipolar_child.html
http://www.mcmanweb.com/bipolar_child2.html
http://www.mcmanweb.com/bipolar_child3.html

It also pays to check out my article on what you need to know about treating kids with psychiatric meds:

http://www.mcmanweb.com/meds_kids.html

By now, Angela, you are probably familiar with the Papolos book, The Bipolar Child (3rd edition). Two words: Read the book. (Oops, that’s three words.)

The Bipolar Child put the illness on the map, and is unquestionably the best book available. But more are being published. Just yesterday, in fact, a review copy entitled The Bipolar Teen arrived in the mail ...