This is so interesting. And, like the "surges" in the diagnosing of autism and ADD, we always wonder whether something environmental is going on, or whether our tools for diagnosis are getting better.
I hope it's the latter. But I have to admit that the thought of diagnosing very young children and medicating them makes me uncomfortable. Will it help them manage their symptoms from a young age, and therefore enable them to learn more and progress further? Or will it, as the doctor above says, be an automatic signal to the child (or those around the child) that there is something "wrong" with them?
Tough questions. I wonder if bipolar adults can think back and remember how they felt as children, either diagnosed or undiagnosed, and weigh in with their thoughts here?
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This is so interesting. And, like the "surges" in the diagnosing of autism and ADD, we always wonder whether something environmental is going on, or whether our tools for diagnosis are getting better.
I hope it's the latter. But I have to admit that the thought of diagnosing very young children and medicating them makes me uncomfortable. Will it help them manage their symptoms from a young age, and therefore enable them to learn more and progress further? Or will it, as the doctor above says, be an automatic signal to the child (or those around the child) that there is something "wrong" with them?
Tough questions. I wonder if bipolar adults can think back and remember how they felt as children, either diagnosed or undiagnosed, and weigh in with their thoughts here?
September 18, 2009 - 5:19pmThis Comment
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