Table 4.
Examples of developmentally typical and atypical behaviors
| Symptom | Typical | Atypical |
|---|---|---|
| Elated mood | A 7-year-old who is highly energetic and happy at her aunt’s birthday party when she sees her cousins |
A 7-year-old who dances around her classroom, singing about how wonderful the world is |
| Irritability | A 9-year-old who slams his bedroom door when told he needs to turn off the computer and go to bed not stay away chatting online with friends |
A 9-year-old who knocks all of the figurines off of the bookshelf and stomps on them because his mother asked him to help clear the dinner table |
| Grandiosity | A 10-year-old boasts that he can swim faster than the other kids at the pool |
A 10-year-old insists he will be the first pick in next year’s NBA draft and looks at places to live in several likely cities |
| Flight of ideas | A 13-year-old who returns to school after winter break and excitedly talks about the gifts she received, jumping from a new cell phone to a cute skirt, to perfume from the guy she has a crush on to the texts she has gotten on her phone |
A 13-year-old confuses his friends during his energetic and haphazard description of what he wants to do over summer vacation, how he has to study for his algebra test next week, and a phone call he got the previous night |
| Decreased need for sleep |
A 8-year-old who cannot sleep the night before the first day of school and bounds out of bed at 6 am to get ready, but nearly falls asleep at dinner that night |
A 8-year-old stays up until 1 am and wakes up his mother at 6 am to go for a walk with him and the family dog before school several days in a row |
| Increase in goal- directed behavior |
An 11-year-old zooms around his house gathering up his clothing and football equipment the night before his first game |
An 11-year-old gathers his football equipment, organizes and shines his toy car collection, and starts several school homework assignments without finishing any of these projects |
| Distractibility | A 13-year-old has difficulty keeping her mind on her work the day her family is going to pick up their new kitten |
A 13-year-old who is usually quiet and respectful, interrupts the teacher ten times during her explanation of a poem and taps his pen until a classmate snaps at him |
| Hypersexuality | A 9-year-old girl titters with her friends when her handsome substitute teacher walks by |
A 9-year-old girl turns in a provocative love note for her teacher with her homework |
| A 16-year-old girl gossips online with friends about which boy in their class has the best body |
A 16-year-old girl sets up dates with three different guys in one weekend and plans to have sex with all of them |
|
| Involvement in risky behaviors |
A 12-year-old plays hooky with friends to see the new adventure movie opening at the theater |
A 12-year-old packs his belongings into a backpack and is caught walking to the bus stop planning to go across the stated to spend the weekend with his aunt, whom he has never met face-to-face |