The author, Mitzi Waltz 
Finally  a book about bipolar disorders in children and teens 
This unique book for parents, professionals, and teen patients combines the latest information from clinical research with the personal stories of families caring for a child or teenager who has a bipolar disorder.

Covering not only diagnosis, medical treatment, and therapy, "Bipolar Disorders: A Guide to Helping Children and Adolescents" addresses family life, discipline, insurance, managed care issues, obtaining special education help, and transition to adulthood.

This book was written to encourage understanding and knowledge among young people with bipolar disorders and the parents and professionals who work with them. It is, I hope, an empowering guide to growing and developing despite the challenge of mood swings and other difficult symptoms.

As the parent of a bipolar teenager, I can honestly say this is the book I wish I could have found many years ago. I hope it will give other families the help and hope they and their children deserve. 

Until recently, bipolar disorders were almost never diagnosed in children and rarely recognized in adolescents, even though between 20 and 40 percent of the two million or more adults diagnosed with bipolar disorders in the United States experienced the onset of illness in their teen years or before. Psychiatrists now recognize that manic depression has frequently been misdiagnosed as ADHD (or oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, or depression). According to recent data, 23 percent of children currently diagnosed with ADHD will evenutally be diagnosed as having a bipolar disorder. As many as a million children in the US alone may have childhood-onset bipolar disorder. 

Bipolar disorders are different in children than in adults. There are some diagnostic criteria unique to children. Some reckless behavior is limited by being a child and being under adult control. Families and communities pay a heavy toll when this disorder is not recognized and treated. Suicide is a possible outcome, as are school failure, limited job prospects, legal difficulties, and hospitalizations. Understanding and recognizing the differences in the illness for children and adolescents is key for concerned parents and professionals. 

This book covers the range of topics that parents need to know about in order to help their children: 

Description of the range of bipolar disorders 
Diagnostic criteria, current and proposed, including comparisons to common misdiagnoses 
Family life, including recognizing and preventing mood swings, safety, and support 
Medications, with special attention to the physiology and responses of children and adolescents 
Therapeutic interventions in various "talk therapies" 
Other interventions, such as improving sleep patterns, preventing seasonal mood swings, diet, and supplements 
Insurance issues 
school, including special education system and 504 Plans or EIPs
As author Mitzi Waltz notes, "With early intervention, the possibilities for these kids are limitless." 

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We wish we would have had this book sooner! 
We found this book shortly after our ten year old Daughter's Doctor diagnosed her as being Bipolar. It helped to explain a lot of questions that we had. We highly recommend this book to parents who have a child that may have been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. It is also quite helpful for parents whose children may have been diagnosed as ADHD when there may be additional problems. The book gives hope that early intervention, treatment, and education can help. 
A reader from California 

Absolutely Marvelous! 
This book is so long over due. It should be required reading for all health care providers, social workers, psychiatrist, psychologists, counselors, educators, juvenile courts, and anyone else who remotely interacts with children. 
I believe that if the above professionals read this book with an open mind, more children would get a better chance at success in life as opposed to life in prison.

It was so eerie yet comforting to hear my childhood nightmares in the pages of this book. I just assumed everyone dreamt in vivid color with graphic details of horror, blood, and died in their dreams as I have. The demonic dreams were especially disturbing to me and now I understand that I am not under attack by satan and that it is just another facet of the disorder I have.

I am now 35 years of age and still must have some type of light to sleep. This book helped me understand myself better as a child and will assist me in understanding my daughter (15), who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

It is so comforting to understand and be understood. It has allowed me to understand my mother, father, daughter, and self much better. Not only understand, but accept. This book has given me hope for the future stability of my family.

So often, psychiatrist and psychologists tell you what you have, but not what it means to have what you have. So many patients walk away not understanding the nature of the illnesses they live with daily.

I have lived with (bipolar I) my entire life and now, I finally know what it means. I finally know and understand the nature of my illness. This is just wonderful for me and my family.

Thank you soooo much Dr. Demitri and Janice Papolos! 
from Burlington IA 

A MUST READ... 
This easy-to-read book contains a wealth of information and guidance for anyone whose life is touched by a bipolar child. Medication questions, studies, charting samples, school (IEP) support, legal rights, how to get what you need for your child and other common sense answers for children suffering with mood/behavioral disorders are found in this book. Bipolar Disorder can devastate families and can cause parents overwhelming frustration in coping with/finding help for their children suffering with the disorder. In addition to the body content of the book, the resources listed at the back offer vital support options for parents. 
julesbai@aol.com   from Chapel Hill, NC 

Essential for any Parent 
Dr. Demitri Papolos and Janice Papolos (authors of Overcoming Depression) have given the equivalent of What to Expect When You Are Expecting for parents of children with a mood disorder. Written in language a frantically searching parent can understand, this concise and comprehensive guide captures both the emotional and clinical facets of this disorder. The organization of the work makes it well suited to thumb through and find information pertinent to a current situation. Divided into three distinct parts, it is a vital addition to a caregiver or professional’s library. I will be keeping it as a reference, although it was also fairly easy to read cover to cover. 
Beginning with stories of parents from the trenches, which give a perspective on the disorder, the first focus is on diagnosis and treatment. Following the stories are detailed descriptions of possible symptoms of Early Onset Bipolar Disorder. Wide arrays of treatments are also covered, including alternative therapies and possible benefits and drawbacks of treatment courses. In addition to an excerpt from Dr. Charles Poppers ADHD Vs Bipolar paper, I found one of the most useful references to be the comprehensive medication section. This section describes all medications that may be used to treat and the possible side effects, as well as a chart on drug interactions. 

The second section focuses on the medical aspects of Bipolar. It explores different theories of the causes of the disorder and the genetics of it. This was actually the hardest section to read. It was quite technical, but well worth the time I put into it. 

The third section is one of the best. It is about day to day life and coping. It has a model IEP. It talks about school, hospitalization, and the social aspects of Bipolar Disorder. I cried while reading the first chapter, "The Impact on the Family." I was moved by the similarity to my own life, and it explored areas I prefer to forget normally. It has an excellent chapter on adolescence, hospitalization and insurance as well. 

This well-written book truly delivers on the subtitle: The Definitive and Reassuring Guide to Childhood's Most Misunderstood Disorder. I felt like my life was bared on those pages, for the world to see, understand, and eventually accept. I give it 5 stars and will be buying copies for anyone that works closely with my child. 
Krista Long-Shroyer   from Flagstaff, AZ

For any caregiver experiencing life with a bipolar child, Demitri and Janice Papolos's The Bipolar Child will be an indispensable reference guide. The material is presented clearly, with lots of helpful charts and lists to aid in receiving proper diagnosis, treatment, and long-term care. All medical information is relayed with the aim of helping parents to ensure effective treatment for their children and includes journal-tracking formats to help caregivers provide accurate information to personal physicians. Importantly, many pages are devoted to discussions about the emotional upheavals that living with a bipolar child can bring, and how parents and children can cope most effectively. The book is filled with families' stories that do a beautiful job providing comfort and inspiration to others. A detailed chapter on hospitalization covers everything from insurance to types of treatments. The authors provide excellent information regarding improved educational practices, with step-by-step instructions for goal-setting with your child and communicating your child's needs to school personnel. The Bipolar Child is a satisfying and wise read. --Jill Lightner 

Book Description

From the authors of the classic text Overcoming Depression, here is the first book about early-onset bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder--manic depression--was once thought to be rare in children. Now researchers are discovering that not only can bipolar disorder begin very early in life, but also that it is much more common than ever imagined. Yet the illness is often misdiagnosed or overlooked. Why?

Bipolar disorder manifests itself differently in children than in adults, and in children there is an overlap of symptoms with other childhood psychiatric disorders. As a result, these kids may be given any number of psychiatric labels: "ADHD," "Depressed," "Oppositional Defiant Disorder," "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder," or "Separation Anxiety Disorder." Too often they are treated with stimulants or antidepressants--medications that can actually worsen the bipolar condition.

This book demystifies this disorder of childhood. Drawing upon recent advances in the fields of neuroscience and genetics, the Papoloses convey what is known and not known about the illness. They comprehensively detail the diagnosis, tell how to find good treatment and medications, and advise parents about ways to advocate effectively for their children at school. Included in these pages is the first Individual Education Plan--IEP--ever published for a bipolar child. The book also offers critical information about the stages of adolescence, hospitalization, the world of insurance, and the psychological impact the illness has on the child.

The Bipolar Child is rich with the voices of parents, siblings, and the children themselves, opening up the long-closed world of the families struggling with this condition. An invaluable resource for parents whose children suffer from mood disorders, as well as the professionals who treat and educate them, this book will prove to have major public health significance. 

From the Back Cover 
Advance Praise: 

"Demitri and Janice Papolos have broken important new ground by taking on the challenging problem of bipolar (manic-depressive) disorder in children and adolescents. . . . Their new book balances scientific and clinical knowledge with moving personal accounts of experiences of real families. Their efforts are welcome."
--Ross J. Baldessarini, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Bipolar & Psychotic Disorders Program, McLean Division of Massachusetts General Hospital

".... a well-organized, practical, and authoritative book by highly knowledgeable authors. As the first book on this subject it fills a huge void and will be extremely helpful for families
--E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., Executive Director, The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Research Institute

"The Papoloses have somehow managed to climb into the minds of the parents of bipolar children and answer our tremendous number of questions. . . . Finally, parents of bipolar children have a book that will help them find hope!"
--S. M. Tomie Burke, Founder, Parents of Bipolar Children and the BPPARENT Listserv

"This book should make the public as well as the field of psychiatry rethink their perceptions of this devastating illness of childhood. It is a book whose time has come."
--Victoria Secunda, author of When Madness Comes Home

".... will help families understand the out-of-control child. It includes moving, well-written, and sensitive accounts from many families who have experienced early onset of this very disabling disorder. The good news is, however, that there is treatment and it works."
--Laurie Flynn, Executive Director, The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Research Institute

About the Author 
Demitri Papolos, M.D., is an associate professor of psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City and the codirector of the Program in Behavioral Genetics. He is the medical advisor for Parents of Bipolar Children, an on-line support group, and the chair of the professional advisory board of the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation. Janice Papolos is the author of three books, all recognized as definitive in their field. The Papoloses live in Westport, Connecticut. 
 
 

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