How to deal with a child that has ADHD and Bipolar Disorder

Children with ADHD and Bipolar Disorder can have a lot of the same symptoms, and can be misdiagnosed very easily. Many children that have this, are sometimes just depressed about one thing or another, and act out on what they are feeling at the time. ADHD usually comes in after the bipolar disorder is already there. Bipolar disorder is most generally found in children that have manic states that will co-exist with ADHD.

Children with bipolar disorder will have behavioral problems and mood swings. They can go from having fun and being silly in the "normal" kid way to being overly silly and obnoxious to very nasty and mean to others. They go from one extreme to another in a instant. For example, you are doing something with your child like playing a game and he/she gets very angry because you won the game. The child lashes out at you, calls you names, or throws the game pieces. These behavioral problems and mood swings can last up to a week at times depending on the child.

When a child has ADHD, they are less likely to stay on task with what they are doing either at home or in school. They tend to drift off and start one thing, then go to another, and back to the first one, with out ever finishing what they actually started. They have a difficult time waiting for things and have a tendency to blurt out comments or answers with out being asked. They also find it difficult to sit still anywhere. They are constantly fidgeting with things, or have to be constantly in motion.

Children with these effects when combined can get into a lot of trouble in the home and at school. They fight with peers, teachers, parents, and siblings.

There are medications that can help with both of these disorders that the doctor can prescribe. Counseling helps with the over all of the disorders. It teaches them to relax and calm themselves to a point so they can finish a task or talk about things that may be bothering them if they are depressed. Children usually feel more comfortable talking to someone other than family members or friends. This is because they wont feel like they are being ridiculed or yelled at for something. Once a child is in counseling for more than a year, you will start to see results. They will become calmer, and easier to handle in the long run.

A good stable household also helps the process of them getting better. If you have a household that knows about how the child will react to things, you can work through it much better and recognize what the problem may be. The child will feel much better when he/she realizes that the ones that they live with are not against them but for them and they will open up more and more as time goes on.

The biggest thing with kids is that they have to have something or someone they feel safe with. If a child feels safe, he/she will talk about their feelings, and understand more about them self. The more a person pushes a child to talk tho, the more they push them away and it makes it harder on everyone involved. So, by letting the child be in control about talking will essentially give whoever they are talking to the upper hand because they will know more about the child, know what triggers them, know how he/she feels, and look at them in a different but good way.

All children deserve to have the courtesy just like adults to be heard. Yes sometimes, a child can get out of hand and deserve a spanking, but over all, after its all done and over with, talking about what happened will make everyone feel a lot better, and everyone will have the respect that they deserve.