Early Signs of Bipolar Disorder in Very Young Children:
Symtoms, Assessment, and Treatment
Ira Glovinsky, Ph.D., Lori Radner, M.S., Valerie Timko, M.S.,
Norma Wolford, M.S., Marita LaPalm, B.S.
Pediatric bipolar disorder is a highly controversial diagnosis in children. We are beginning to understand that it is not a single illness, but rather a spectrum of conditions (Findling et al. 2003). Classic manic-depression, a disorder in which there are clear episodes of mania, followed by depression, and well-periods (euthymia) between episodes is rare. Carlson (2004) states that:
Children with problems with executive functions, i.e., trouble paying attention inhibiting impulsive responding, planning, organizing, transitioning from one activity to another, and controlling emotion are relatively common and comprise the bulk of children being called bipolar (p. 15).
Greenspan and Glovinsky (2004, in unpublished) have presented a developmental bio-psychosocial model that describes “bipolar patterns” in terms of functional emotional developmental milestones. They describe a “signature” that children with bipolar patterns exhibit in the context of each of the developmental functional emotional milestones. The “signature” includes: (1) hypersensitivity and being easily overloaded by sensory information, particularly sound and touch; (2) being extremely tuned into their environments; (3) craving sensations; (4) going into “active mode” when overloaded.
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