Mental Illness in Children - Part III

By Michelle Trudeau

Published September 23, 2003 at 9:00 PM PDT

Bipolar disorder can occur in children as young as five or six years old. The disorder is also known as manic depression, for the mood swings that shift -- sometimes quickly and often -- from manic highs to deep depressions. In the third story this week on children and mental illness, NPR's Michelle Trudeau reports that bipolar disorder in children may have particularly severe symptoms.

Michelle Trudeau

Michelle Trudeau began her radio career in 1981, filing stories for NPR from Beijing and Shanghai, China, where she and her husband lived for two years. She began working as a science reporter and producer for NPR's Science Desk since 1982. Trudeau's news reports and feature stories, which cover the areas of human behavior, child development, the brain sciences, and mental health, air on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

See stories by Michelle Trudeau