I have read a bunch on the different symptoms of bipolar disorder vs. ADHD, but still wonder about DS, age 12, diagnosed with ADHD years ago.
He gets really, really expansive and can't seem to stop himself. I think it is the need for stimulation along with the lack of impulse control, but really, when the mood hits, he can run around singing nonsense at the top of his lungs ("J.G. Wentworth, 1-877-CASH-NOW!") for literally an hour or more, no matter who it bothers or how they respond. Or if he crashes into the door frame or nearly breaks his toe on the barstool, etc.
We had one of these episodes last night and it started to escalate to a shouting match (me & DH: find something ELSE to do! him: poke, poke, la,la,la,la,) but we turned the corner by wrapping him in two blankets and putting a futon mattress on top of him (he loved this!). A little sensory integration therapy?
Still, he spent another half hour wiggling on the floor under the pile of stuff, trying to see if he could get a cracker out of a box using only his mouth. He was delighted. (It was loud.)
Now, is this ADHD? Is this a little mania? It was so relentless!
S
Sorry I can't help much but I had a 9 yr old son who is adhd (and I think ODD too) but I have researched, wondered and even raised it with specialists if my son could have bi-polar and they say too young to say and more than likely not.
My son wet the bed till 7 yrs old and had bad night terrors some time ago and this is a trait of bi-polar. My main concern was my sons temper tantrums....could last for an hour.........full on screaming, name calling, banging and kicking his bedroom door, weeing on the floor. It seems like he can't control himself when he gets in that state.
My son also gets rather excitable, giddy, silly, boisterous etc..... and we find if he reaches a certain point, he cannot stop himself either.
I don't know if its a sign of bi-polar or adhd related but the specialists all dismiss it when I mention bi-polar so maybe I just read too much and analyse too much.
I hope you can find someone here that can help somewhat. Have you takne your son to see a specialist for a diagnosis?
Best of luck
Hi, Tara -- yes, that point of no return can be scary, especially if we're out and about when it hits!
Night terrors here too. DS used to scream for hours about going to bed. Hours. You hear about people waiting it out, but he would outlast us every time, or end up throwing up he'd get so worked up.
He stays up late as a 12-year-old; I think he just *can't* fall asleep early and it drove him nuts when we tried to get him to.
Luckily, we homeschool, so he can sleep in!
Mostly we're really lucky to have a flexible lifestyle so we can recover from episodes like the other night by giving him tools to work with rather than punishments (which don't phase him anyway, never have). But sometimes I wonder about how much *more* he is in every way!!
I have always described my daughter to the doctors as a "Jekyll & Hyde" type personality. She would be just fine and then her raging meltdown out of the blue would happen. My daughter would not stop. She could continue this meltdown for hours. We have broken doors, holes in the wall, broken vacuum, etc.