Bipolar disorder (BPD) is a psychiatric illness characterized by severe and cyclical mood swings, irritability, sleep disturbances and unusually high rates of substance abuse and suicide. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, between 1 and 2 percent of children and adolescence are believed to suffer from the disorder, similar to the prevalence in adults. While the number of juveniles diagnosed with BPD has risen dramatically over the past two decades, it often remains overlooked and its symptoms are commonly attributed to other conditions; the Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation (JBRF) reports that bipolar disorder initially manifesting in juveniles goes undiagnosed for an average of 10 years.
National Organizations
The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) is an organization with chapters throughout the U.S. that offers comprehensive information about all aspects of bipolar illness, and features surveys, support-group locations, videos, a discussion board, volunteer opportunities, a crisis hotline, an event calendar, educational opportunities and more.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is similar to the DBSA in that it is a nationwide organization with subgroups in various locations, but it touches more strongly on patient-advocacy issues and boasts an annual national convention.
Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation
As the name implies, the CABF focuses specifically on juveniles with BPD. It assists in putting parents in contact with both clinicians and "family response teams" that include parents experienced in dealing with children with BPD, offers resources for clinicians and educators, and provides downloadable MP3 files of celebrities discussing their personal mental-health experiences. A section of the site called Flipswitch is aimed specifically at under-20 visitors and features pertinent podcasts, YouTube videos addressing BPD and other mental illnesses and current-events stories with a mental-health angle.
Books
There are a variety of books and publications that specifically address juvenile BPD, among them "The Bipolar Child" by Demitri and Janice Papolos, "Pediatric-Onset Bipolar Disorder: A Neglected Clinical and Public Health Problem" by Gianni Faedda and colleagues, and "Bipolar Disorders in Children: Misdiagnosis, Underdiagnosis, and Future Directions" by Elizabeth and Ronald Weller. Parents are strongly encouraged to read these and other materials in order to be fully informed about their children's mood disorder.
Websites
Organizations with websites offering information on juvenile BPD include, in addition to those already noted, STARFISH advocacy, Bp Magazine, Psych Central, Daily Strength and Pendulum Resources. Many of these in turn direct parents toward support groups in their communities, offer up-to-date information about BPD research and treatment, and provide bulletin boards and chat rooms that allow parents to connect with one another and share encouragement and juvenile BPD resources.
