ADHD / ASPERGERS /BIPOLAR Is there a link to alcahol / drug abuse

A recent question i asked to Professor Cinda Johnson and her amazing daughter Linea:



Hi Linea and Cinda





I have a lot of theories into the whole mental health / Aspergers / Bipolar issues



One I have which im hoping you can clarify for me is as follows





Is it so that a childhood illness like ADHDA / Asperser’s / Giftedness / ADD / Depression etc is left undiagnosed and un treated that your body is so chemically imbalanced that it is a high risk of forming Bipolar disorder.



I will explain



I know of a girl (several to be honest) who had ADHD type hyper behaviour as a child, it was extreme when she was younger. She was very intelligent and yet refused to co operate in class. Her teachers always suspected something more serious than just being difficult as an issue but the mother could never get any help for the child.



Later in her teens, the child started to experiment with alcohol; this seemed to be a quick fix until her body got fed up and craved more intense chemicals. She then went onto light weight drugs before finally turning to heroin. She spiralled so out of control and had many suicide attempts and over doses



The girl then became manic and could take on the world and succeed before she became so down that she would quit before she finished her projects



Now my theory, she had undiagnosed ADHD or/and Aspergers syndrome. Her body was starved of intervention and cheap cialis of any kind so it went onto the next best chemical, alcohol; again not good enough so craved light drugs, and then the final blow out heavy duty chemical drugs.



She is now diagnosed with Bipolar 2 and had an underlying intellectual disability which can no longer be recognised in her and there for diagnosed. She is on a serious amount of cheap cialis for the rest of her life. When she dips after being manic, she is so violent and could kill all in her way and has almost done so to her mother,



She is still dipping with drugs constant and has taken to being involved with a heroin supplier and thinks she is ready for the next big adventure, A BABY. She is also paranoid beyond belief that her mother is talking about her and her boyfriend one minute and then the mother’s best friend again 2 months later. Mother gives in as too worn out not to.



My big question, Is it possible that if you have an undiagnosed and untreated illness in childhood that you are high risk of Bipolar disorder and that it can be prevented with early diagnosis for original problem and treatment



I will post with her permission the answer she gives to me, if and when she can