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Treatment of Bipolar Disorder in Children and Adolescents

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Identifying, Assessing, and Treating Bipolar Disorder at School

Part of the book series: Developmental Psychopathology at School ((DPS))

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Abstract

The growing interest in the diagnosis of bipolar disorder in youth has sparked subsequent interest and controversy related to the appropriate treatment of the disorder in this population. As such, authoritative bodies like the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) have recently published practice parameters regarding the treatment of early-onset bipolar disorder. These guidelines advocate for first-line, primary psychopharmacological treatment with adjunct psychosocial therapy (McClellan et al., 2007).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A comprehensive discussion regarding the multitude of potential adverse effects of each of the medications used to treat bipolar disorder is beyond the scope of this text. However, it is crucial for school psychologists and other educational professionals to be aware of these effects. It is recommended that these professionals educate themselves through available individuals (e.g., psychiatrist, nurse) and resources (e.g., medication websites) on a case-by-case basis, and to ensure that a child’s educational team is consistently reminded of these effects.

  2. 2.

    It seems to be common practice to develop a draft of the IEP, including goals, prior to an IEP meeting. The US Department of Education strongly recommends that if a draft is constructed, parents are provided a copy prior to the IEP meeting, so that they have an opportunity to review the recommendations and are better able to engage in full discussion of the proposals for the IEP (34 C. F. R. § 300, pp. 46678; Department of Education, August 14, 2006). In the case of a student with bipolar disorder, this is a particularly important consideration, as these IEP meetings may be fairly involved.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bloomberg School of Public Health Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Shelley R. Hart

  2. Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, School Psychology and Deaf Studies California State University, Sacramento, Sacramento, CA, USA

    Stephen E. Brock

  3. Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

    Ida Jeltova

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  1. Shelley R. Hart
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  2. Stephen E. Brock
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  3. Ida Jeltova
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Hart, S.R., Brock, S.E., Jeltova, I. (2014). Treatment of Bipolar Disorder in Children and Adolescents. In: Identifying, Assessing, and Treating Bipolar Disorder at School. Developmental Psychopathology at School. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7585-9_7

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