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[quote=Anonymous]Sometimes kids who were perceived to be ADHD as children show symptoms more in line with bipolar -- either during teen years or during early adulthood (i.e. 20s).

NAMI is great.  I highly recommend their 12 week Family to Family course to learn about mental illness.  It can help you with your daughter as well as other family members.

The Bipolar Child is a considered the bible for child-onset bipolar -- but that often has a component of more rage-filled behavior than you might see in a teen.

For teens, it can be hard to differentiate between what is the "normal" risky behavior of teenage years and the "risky" behavior that is due to the mania or hypomania of bipolar.  Note that mania is not always frank (i.e. disconnected from reality) nor is it always euphoric (happy).  Dysphoric mania can be quite irritable.

The good news is that involvement with a supportive psychiatrist and psychologist and family education can help a bipolar person maintain stability.  IMO, the keys are finding a good medication (one of the gold standard mood stabilizers like lithium or Depakote) and a good psychologist to help with the adjustment to the diagnosis and focus on maintaining habits that promote stability (like proper sleep). [/quote]

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