A few years ago, a ground-breaking book hit the shelves. The book? The Bipolar Child: The Definitive and Reassuring Guide to Childhood's Most Misunderstood Disorder by Demitri Papolos, M.D. and Janice Papolos. Of this work I wrote, “This is an absolutely fantastic book for those who have a child with early onset bipolar disorder, who suspect it in their child, or who work with bipolar children. It is a toolbox weighted with resources for these families.”
Prescriptions for Treatment
All stability starts with the proper diagnosis and thoughtful and expert prescribing of medications. This chapter provides information about:
- Newer atypical antipsychotics and the current discussion about their long-term metabolic effects
- Novel drugs (riluzole, pramipexole, and agomelatine) that may be effective for the treatment of bipolar depression
- New genetic tests to determine drug response and dosage
- The seasonality of episodes and the importance of medication adjustments to ensure continuing stability
In July of 2005, the laws that protect students with bipolar disorder and other disabilities changed dramatically. These changes are discussed comprehensively and parents will understand how the changes will affect their children, the IEP process and potential due process hearings. This edition includes:
- A discussion of which classification is best for a student with bipolar disorder - and why
- A new IEP and a highly focused list of accommodations that can easily be incorporated into the document
- Sample letters that help parents jumpstart the evaluation process, and then introduce the child to his or her teachers
- A due process timeline with a sequential walkthrough for parents
The Neuropsychological Testing of a Bipolar Child
The Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children, Third Edition (WISC-III) has been replaced by the WISC-IV which taps different domains of cognitive functioning and calculates the scoring differently:
- Walks a parent through each subtest and explains the specific aspect of cognitive functioning each is designed to measure
- Explains why the WISC-IV is harder and why most children (especially bright children) will score lower on it than they did on the WISC-III
- How written expression difficulties impact a child's performance at school
- Which tests pinpoint these difficulties
- Which assistive technology helps
- Which accommodations ease the stress while remediation efforts are made
The Family Chapter
This chapter has always been the heart and soul of this book and it is now greatly expanded to be more helpful than ever. Readers gain a greater insight into a child's inner world and will learn:
- Why these children become easily bored and subsequently provocative to siblings and parents
- Why they go into "mission mode" where their needs become so urgent that they must be gratified instantly - no matter what - wearing down the parents in the process
- Why these children and adolescents can't get up in the morning and get to school on time?
- How to deal with the hypersexual behavior that often accompanies episodes of mania without shaming the child
Again from Janice, “Before we close, may we say how grateful we are to you, our readers, for giving us so much support through the years, and for your many emails that have helped inform so many of the changes in this book. It is truly a privilege to pass this new edition onto you.”
