Kids & Bipolar: Planning for Academic Success

School success starts with a correct diagnosis, proper treatment and support, and an appropriate learning environment—with clinicians, teachers, and parents working together as a team.

By Adelaide Robb, MD

Other than home, school is where children spend most of their time. Many parents have concerns about how to make the relationship between their child’s bipolar disorder and his or her functioning at school a positive and successful one.

What can I do about my child’s frequent absences for appointments?

Ongoing treatment is necessary to promote mood stabilization and minimize psychosocial dysfunction. Clinicians are often willing to work with families to minimize absences from school by seeing children very early in the morning before classes start or during after-school hours; sometimes weekend appointments are available.

Schools usually provide families with the full academic calendar at the beginning of the year. Look ahead for days when classes are not in session, and use those times to schedule tests and appointments when possible. Meeting with school personnel to inform them about the child’s diagnosis and the need for ongoing treatment is an important part of minimizing disruption due to recurring appointments.

My child’s mood seems more stable after his inpatient treatment, but he still has trouble with schoolwork. Why?

If the child continues to struggle academically after the mood is stabilized, educators and parents should evaluate for a comorbid learning disability, which may necessitate a different educational setting. Having educational supports in place, and being in a smaller school, can improve the child’s ability to learn and even flourish. Families may need to engage an educational advocate and have an IEP (individualized education program) meeting to determine the best learning options for their child.

Should my child tell her friends about her hospital stay or diagnosis if she wants to?

In these times of social media, sharing information that once was considered private has become more commonplace. Mental health diagnoses are not easy to discuss, however, especially for children in elementary and middle school. Being completely open and honest helps combat stigma, but it can sometimes be difficult socially for children. The easiest way to deal with this is to have some minimal information that you tell everyone, and then perhaps give more details to close friends and relatives. Several mental health organizations offer user-friendly resources to learn (and teach others) about bipolar disorder.

My son missed a lot of homework while he was ill, and now he’s supposed to make up everything before the quarter ends—help!

Recovery from a serious manic or depressive episode takes time. Very few teens are ready to resume their full academic course load right away, let alone make up all the work they missed while hospitalized or out of school due to symptoms. The best first step is for parents to meet with the child’s academic advisor or individual teachers to set up a reasonable reintegration schedule. Some schools may be more flexible than others; for example, in allowing a passing grade on state-mandated year-end testing to demonstrate mastery of knowledge for the entire course, or permitting some classes to be completed online or over the summer. It is always worthwhile to ask what the school is willing to do to prevent your child from failing due to illness.

How important is sleep?

Of the factors in managing bipolar disorder that are within your child’s control, sleep may well be the single most important one. People who have bipolar disorder need sleep. Pulling repeated all-nighters to write papers and cram for exams can easily precipitate a mood episode and result in academic difficulty.

Having bipolar disorder does not mean that a child cannot go on to be an academic star in a top college or university. Youth will need to avoid sleep deprivation, assess and plan their work load, and be organized in their time management in order to be successful.
 

Code: bphopekids
Printed as “An education in school issues,” Fall 2016