We’ve been hearing a lot about this lately, and it’s not surprise to most of us. But today it’s making news again, from my hometown paper to the New York Times. And when The Times covers it, it’s big news.
Bipolar Illness Soars as a Diagnosis for the Young.
I am not comfortable with this at all. In the past we’ve had several discussions about child and youth diagnosis of bipolar disorder here on BipolarConnect.com, and I’ve taken some criticism about my stance. But I stand by it, not from the standpoint of a medical or psychiatric expert, but as an experienced parent. I have 5 children in various stages of rearing, from ages 25 to 8, including one (that we know of) with bipolar disorder. In addition, I also suffer from bipolar disorder.
"The number of American children and adolescents treated for bipolar disorder increased 40-fold from 1994 to 2003, researchers report today in the most comprehensive study of the controversial diagnosis.
Experts say the number has almost certainly risen further since 2003.
Many experts theorize that the jump reflects that doctors are more aggressively applying the diagnosis to children, and not that the incidence of the disorder has increased.
But the magnitude of the increase surprises many psychiatrists. They say it is likely to intensify the debate over the validity of the diagnosis, which has shaken child psychiatry."
Children are, by nature, unpredictable. I get a kick out of parents that say, usually with a smirk, “my child would never do that." Unless parents have squashed the child’s ability to think independently, or vanquished their free will, there is no way to say that a child will or will not do something. That is the crux of my concern about the jump in bipolar disorder diagnosis in children: That given the already unpredictable behavior of children, accurate diagnosis is a dice roll.
I completely understand the desire to catch bipolar disorder as early as possible. There is a possibility that if my son’s bipolar disorder was caught earlier, school, and perhaps life in general, might have been much easier for him. But I also think his childhood would have been significantly different. He was a good athlete, strong as a horse and fast as a deer. While still in high school he ran 2 full marathons (26 miles each), winning his age group in one of them. He was active in music and theater, performing in a regional theater group, and in select singing groups. He had drive, motivation, creativity, and imagination. He was also different right from the start. As a baby he never slept more than a few hours at a time. His sleep habits are still not good. He struggled in school, and many things were very difficult for him. His temper was explosive, and his perfectionist tendencies were almost crippling in school. But if we’d started him on Risperdal, for example, when he was 8, his life would have been much different. Weight gain, loss of aggressiveness, a drop in creativity and motivation – all would have changed the things he accomplished – the things he valued back then, and what he looks back on today with fondness. Perhaps those activities and accomplishments would have been replaced with others just as rewarding. But when I ask him about it, he wouldn’t trade those experiences for all the stability in the world. Granted, I’m taking liberties with my assumptions, but it’s what he believes, and I can’t argue.
I am gravely concerned about children being diagnosed because of behavioral issues that may not be actually behavioral but more the adult's inability to cope with the child or the teacher's inability to control their classroom. It is much simpler to take the child to the pdoc and get he/she drugged.
The drugs on a developing brain, what will that give us down the road? What will a "label" do to the child's self-esteem? We see some of that with the issues regarding teenagers and young adults now - I bet most were labelled and given drugs as young children.
I'm not saying that there aren't children who have a sincere form of mental illness or a neurological inbalance. I'm not. Yet, I doubt the majority of the numbers being drugged are sincerely ill.
I worked for a local MH center and I transcribed evaluations and notes for the child pdoc. She saw over 150 kids during the 2 years I worked there and transcribed. All but 1 of the children were given meds - all but 1. I say this because the 1 stood out to me.
It was so prevelant that I could actually type the dictation when it came down to the meds before I even heard her speak into the tape. That is because once she noted the diagnosis, I knew from 100s of transcription what the med regimen was.
Most were referred to her by the school system, a few by their actual guardian.