About.com
wrote that the first edition of The
Bipolar Child was "the shot heard around the
psychiatric world" as this book began to change the way child psychiatry
understood children suffering with these symptoms, and how they should,
(and should not be) treated. In the book, the Papoloses were the first
to sound a national alarm about the dangers
of using antidepressant and stimulant drugs with this population
of children. A second edition was published in 2002.
Now,
in a substantively revised third edition, The Papoloses continue to
provide the cutting-edge information that parents and professionals
have come to rely on.
They
comprehensively detail the diagnosis, explain how to find good treatment
and medications, and advise parents about ways to advocate effectively
for their children in school. In this edition, a greatly expanded education
chapter describes all the changes in educational law due to the reauthorization
of IDEA 2004, and offers a multitude of ideas for parents and educators
to help the children feel more comfortable in the academic environment.
Also included to these pages is a new IEP and
a highly focused list of accommodations that can easily be incorporated
into that document. Sample letters that jumpstart the IEP process and
that introduce a child warmly to new teachers can also be found in this
chapter.
Because
written expression difficulties
so dog these children and make school and homework assignments such
a nightmare, a complete discussion recommends specific testing as well
as specific accommodations and remediation.
The
book also contains crucial information about the importance of neuropsychological
testing (with a recommended battery of tests, and a detailed explanation
of the updated test of general intellectual ability--the WISC-IV)),
hospitalization, and the world of insurance.
Included
in these pages is information on promising new drugs, greater insight
into the special concerns of teenagers, and additional sections on the
impact of the illness on the family. These children easily become bored
and provocative with siblings and parents; they can go into "mission
mode" when requests cannot be gratified instantly; and many suffer
sleep inertia--they simply cannot
get up in the morning--causing parents to start each day with dread
and agitation. Techniques to modify these behaviors will help the children
gain control and make home life less stressful.
In
addition, an entirely new chapter focuses on major advances taking place
in the field of molecular genetics and offers hope that researchers
will better understand the illness and develop more targeted and easier-to-tolerate
medicines.
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. Already proved to be an invaluable
resource for parents whose children suffer from mood disorders, as well
as for the professionals who treat and educate them, this new edition
is sure to continue to light the way.
