I went through this with my son, starting at 8, although at the time they were refusing treatment until he was sixteen. Initially they diagnosed him as depressed and he was put on Tofranil. It had the usual effect. A year later he went manic.

It's hard to be told your child can't be medicated to help with all the problems they face. I finally found a pdoc who would listen and told him that this wasn't fair to my son, and that I considered suicide to be a higher risk when he was manic than when he was depressed and paralyzed.

Still, we had to wait until he was 12. I did what I could, learned what I could, and asked school authorities to help and be more understanding. They were amazingly cooperative.

Therapy can help. Family therapy also helps everyone to help and deal with the disorder in a child.