Bipolar disorder is a term you often hear to describe adults who suffer from bouts of depression and mania.

But can children also have the disorder?

Diagnosing kids with bipolar disorder is becoming more common, but it comes with controversy.

"If I try to control him, I'm going to get hurt because there's kicking, there's punching, there's biting," says Rebecca O'Bannon.

Parenthood is more challenging for her than it is for most. Her son Ian was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when he was six years old.

"Sometimes, like now, a couple of kids at my school call me 'special ed' and 'stupid' because I'm special ed, so it's not fun," Ian admits.

A diagnosis of bipolar disorder in kids is more common than ever. One recent report reveals the diagnosis increased 40-fold among children and teens between 1994 and 2003.

"The fact is that it has gone up so incredibly in the last 10 years, it's hard to believe all those are true cases," says Gabrielle A. Carlson, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at
Stony Brook University School of Medicine.

Doctor Gabrielle Carlson, who has studied this topic extensively, says one in every five children referred to her for bipolar disorder actually has it.

Susan Resko, who heads the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation, says the increase in cases could mean there's just more awareness.

"There is certainly also under-diagnosis for those that don't recognize it, and there's misdiagnosis, which means it may not end up being the classic bipolar, but it's something," Resko explains.

Rebecca says the disorder is very real in her son. She worries about the future but still has goals.

"My hope for Ian is that he'll be able to live as normal of a life as possible," Rebecca says.

The battle ahead will be difficult, but his mom says it's one worth fighting.

Kids with bipolar disorder are given the same powerful meds as adults.

They can cause extreme weight gain, thirst, acne, excessive hair growth, and may increase the risk of infertility in adolescent girls.

Ian hasn't had any side effects.

BIPOLAR KIDS, A NEW BATTLEFRONT: REPORT #1565

BACKGROUND:

Bipolar disorder is a brain illness that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy and ability to function. The disorder used to be called manic depression because it is characterized by bouts of depression and bouts of mania. Patients experience dramatic mood swings.

The symptoms of bipolar disorder can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance and even suicide.

About 5.7 million American adults or about 2.6 percent of the population aged 18 and older have bipolar disorder in any given year. Like diabetes or heart disease, bipolar disorder is a long-term illness that must be carefully managed throughout a person's life.

BIPOLAR KIDS:

Until recently, bipolar disorder, which tends to run in families, was seldom diagnosed in children. It was believed to begin in late adolescence or early adulthood. However, a study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry found bipolar disorder in children and adolescents has risen 40-fold since 1994.

The study revealed the disorder was found in 1,003 of every 100,000 office visits from children and adolescents between 2002-2003 compared to 25 of 100,000 office visits between 1994-1995. The diagnosis of bipolar disorder among adults increased two-fold during the same period of time.

IS IT OVERDIAGNOSED?

No one knows for sure whether the disorder is being overdiagnosed or misdiagnosed in children. Some experts say the increase could mean there is just greater awareness about the disorder, so more young people are being diagnosed.

Others say it could be something different. Ellen Leibenluft, M.D., from the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda,
Md., says brain imaging reveals differences in brain function between kids with bipolar disorder and those with a condition called severe mood dysregulation.

Children with severe mood dysregulation are extremely irritable and hyperactive, but they do not suffer from mania.

"It turns out that the clinical kind of presentation, the very, very irritable child who is kind of hyper is much, much more common than bipolar disorder itself," Dr. Leibenluft told Ivanhoe.

MORE CASES, MORE DRUGS:

Some say the increase in diagnoses is a boom to drug makers because treatments typically include medications that can be three- to five-times more expensive than those used for other disorders like depression or anxiety.

Children with bipolar disorder are typically given the same drugs as adults with the disorder. Some of the serious side effects of these meds include weight gain, thirst, acne, excessive hair growth and an increased risk of infertility in adolescent girls. Despite these potential risks, many experts believe these drugs are effective if used correctly.