Homeschooling a Bipolar Child

Have you had an ARD meeting? It sounds like he would benefit from a smaller classroom- like self contained. Is there a TU teacher at his school? PM me if you would like more information. I never taught special education, but I can give you some pointers.
Good luck to you both!

Hi D.,

I have been in your shoes. My son, now 17, is not only Bi-polar but has Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD, OCD and ODD. I had a fleeting thought about homeschooling him but my husband quickly brought me to my senses because he (and I) knew that I wasn't qualified to teach him. Special needs children need to be taught in classes specificaly suited for their needs. I'd suggest that you fight the school to develope a good IEP.

I'd also suggest that you call for an IEP review and request that the School District Officials be invited, and have your child's therapist (if you have one) or someone else to attend with you and take notes. You can tend to be nervous at these meetings and a different pair of ears may hear something that you didn't. You have every right to call for a review at any time. You also have the right to have SD Officials present, they can even bring an advocat for you who will translate anything you don't understand and be a support for you and an additional advocate for your child. At one of the IEP meetings we had for our son we invited a college student, who was getting her masters in special needs education, to attend with us. She was not only available to take notes, but she asked questions for us that we hadn't even thought of. She didn't charge anything but we did give her gas money. You might want to contact a local college or univercity and ask if you can post a message on their bulletin board concerning your need.

BTW, you have every right to request a copy of the proposed IEP prior to your meeting so you'll have time to read and digest it. You can also highlight the areas you have concerns or questions about thus reducing the chance of forgetting to address that issue.

My son struggled in main-line classes due to the distractions. Plus his IQ was lower than everyone else's and they were dumbing down the information for him only and he stood out like a sore thumb in the classroom. He under went teaseing and bullying because he was different. It wasn't until he was placed in full special ed classes that he was able to concentrate.

My suggestion is become that advocate for your son. Attend support groups, you'd be surprised at the other's difficulties that they face. Many times we came away thinking, "Wow, we don't have it so bad!"

I have just recently started a blog in my aim at becoming an advocate for parents of, and children with developmental disabilities. It's in the construction stage but I invite you to visit and leave me a message. I'm no expert. I do have, however, have alomst 17 years of experience with my son, 11 years with IEP's, support groups, classes and finding helpful resources online. I want to share all of that with parents, family and friends of children with developmental disabilities. The url is http://shortnsweetsreflections.blogspot.com/ I am by no means an expert, just a concerned parent who wants to make other families roller coaster ride a little less bumpy.

Good luck and blessings,
W. Q

Check out these groups... they're both for parents homeschooling bipolar/ adhd/ Aspie/ 2e (twice exceptional... LD & Gifted)/ dyslexics/ dysgraphics/ tourettes/ and other special needs kids. We're an adhd homeschool household... and since bipolarity and adhd overlap a GREAT deal I'm more than willing to share tips & tricks & philosophies that work for us (just PM me)... but rather than also share what I've learned from friends and efriends HS'ing their bipolar kiddos... here's straight from the horse's mouth:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HomeschoolingExtraordinaryK...
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homeschool_SpecialNeedsKidz/

Secular HS'ers is SUPER active, however, with a huge base (several thousand active members)... and while not special needs specific... many of us on there are dealing with adhd/ bipolarity/ autism spectrum/ etc. as well... so I'll send that link to you also.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/secular_homeschoolers/

You'll need a yahoo ID, and to await approval by the moderator (groups are moderated to avoid spammers), which usually take a day or so... but they've been amazingly helpful.

R
In our 3rd year, and loving it, cross-eyed days and all :)

Hi D.,

You have received lots of advice, but I want to encourage you to pursue homeschooling if you really feel like you are being called to do it. I've homeschooled for 4 years and my kids do not have any learning difficulties, so I can't relate to your circumstances, but homeschooling is amazing. My kids have thrived. They are 5th, 2nd and 2nd graders this year. Even though they don't have learning difficulties they all have their own learning style. It has kept our family close (especially my kids and my relationship with each one of them). There are SO many resources for homeschoolers, Texas is one of the easiest states to homeschool in, homeschooling takes 1/2 the time each day that they spend in public schools doing the same thing or less because it is one on one.

If you want to go with a free online public charter school, one other one that I didn't see mentioned is K-12. I have friends who have used them. Because they are a public school and your child needs to do 30 hours of school at home, they do almost twice as much as their public school counter parts because a child one on one can accomplish so much more than a class of kids can so it may be more stressful to him than if you just did a regular homeschool curriculum with him. It does not have to be expensive to homeschool either.

If you want more info feel free to contact me and I'll be happy to answer any questions for you. Good luck!

Hi D.,

We have been homeschooling for the last 4 years. I just wanted to comment on Lori's suggestion for using "TXVA (Texas Virtual Academy). It is considered a public school done at home...The school will follow your child's IEP or 504 plan...They do have to work 30 hours a week."

The only concern I have is that I have is that it is so restrictive. I think that for kids with no issues whatsoever, TXVA is a fine program. But, you definitely need to check in on that IEP with them. This program is on a schedule, like they are in Public School. There are due dates and restrictions on needing to log in. If TXVA will make adjustments to the program for your son, then I say go for it! It's a free solution that is definitely worth checking into.

I'm just saying all this because I want you to know there ARE self-paced programs out there. If you would like more information on the program we are using, Florence Academy, which is entirely self-paced and online, please feel free to PM me.

Best Wishes!
W. in Carrollton

Haven't dealt with bi-polar, but I did have two different experts suggest that I should NOT homeschool one of my sons.

We decided to give it a try and go back to school the next semester if it did not work out. Well, not only did it work out great but our children also flourished (each for different reasons).

Homeschooling is very difficult sometimes - but then again, so is traditional school. You might be surprised at what the removal of all that extra stress does for your child. Just make sure to get lots of support around you and seek out other families doing the same thing. Give it lots of prayer (if you're religious) and thought.

Good luck to you and your son.

I do not have enough information to make a suggestion about homeschooling a bi-polar child. I do know and have experienced a lot with bi-polar children and adults. so I will ask you some questions that might help in making this decision.

Do you have other children? If so I suggest home schooling this one child will take too much time away from the other children.

Do you work outside the home or at home? If so, how will you find the time to home school?

Are you familiar with the requirements of home schooling? Do you have a curriculum in mind? Do you have support from friends and family for home schooling your child? Does this support include respite time for you?

If you're married or living with someone is that person in agreement about home schooling?

Do you have time and the skills to deal with a high needs child? Are you now able to successfully deal with the melt downs so that they stop rather than progress in violence? Are you able to do so without becoming overly stressed?

Do you already have in place a workable schedule that you can modify for teaching?

Can you remain emotionally healthy while dealing with an emotionally ill and immature child full time?

Dealing with this mental illness is very difficult, as I'm sure you've experienced. The anger only increases over time unless the right balance of medication and behavior therapy is found. I hope that your child and you are already involved with professionals and have a treatment plan in place.

As to having an IEP. Both of my grandchildren have IEPs. My grandson has speech and behavior difficulties. My granddaughter has ADHD. Their IEPs have worked well. My daughter is a part of the team that wrote the IEP. She has access to various people who understand the difficulties that her children have. She receives some training that helps her be a more effective parent. She is glad that she is a member of a team instead of having to figure things out for herself.

Even tho my grandchildren do not have the extreme meltdowns that your son has my daughter could not deal with her children full time. I'm experienced and trained and I find dealing with sudden mood changes that result in anger difficult. I need breaks of several hours.

I was the foster mother of a child who was diagnosed as having Bi-polar disorder as an adult. At that time the experts did not want to diagnose chidrren with this. It was extremely difficult. If it were me I would not home school a child with Bi-polar Disorder. Not only because of the stress levels that I would feel but because the child needs to learn how to get along in the "real" world. This child did attend a regular school and learned how to get along there. Mostly the Bi-polar anger came out at home, where it was safe.

I suggest as a thought, that it might be possible that if you weren't involved so much at school and let the school staff find a way to deal with your son he may be able to do OK at school. I say this not knowing how involved you are or what you do. Conferencing with school staff is important. Sharing ways that have worked for you when dealing with melt downs is helpful but in the end they have to find a way that works for them.

The most important piece in this situation is that your son is receiving the appropriate medication that will help him have less meltdowns.

I do sympathize. I know how difficult mood swings are especially the angry ones. Is your son getting therapy to learn how to deal with his anger? A combination of medication and therapy can make a difference..

I do have experience teaching my child at home. We are just finishing her 2nd year at home. We enrolled her in TXVA. It is considered a public school done at home. They send you the computer and all the materials. You would be the learning coach. You will also be assigned a teacher. You do the main teaching and guiding through the curriculum. Your daily assignments are on the computer. The school will follow your child's IEP or 504 plan.

It is nice because you can pick the time of day your child works. They do have to work 30 hours a week. The other cyber schools in Texas are Connections Academy and IQ Academy.

L.

I feel for you and for your child dealing with the Bipolar as a Child - that has to be so difficult.

I researched homeschooling quite a bit last year because I had seriously thought about homeschooling my daughter who has a heart transplant, and therefore a very low immune system. I decided not to however, because I have Bipolar Disorder and Adult ADD and it would just be far to difficult for me to teach her. I did find that homeschooling is a wonderful way to go if you are up for the challenge.

I can see that homeschooling would be a good option for a Bipolar child, because yes instructions can be overwhelming and when you are bipolar and you get overwhelmed you can have very bad meltdowns. Stress is not good for people that are bipolar. At home he can study at his own pace.

I don't know what part of town you are in, but there is a really good homeschooling group in Plano called PEACH - the website is http://peachonline.org. You should check it out, they have a lot of good info about homeschooling. If you are nowhere near Plano, check your area, there is probably a homeschooling support group nearby.

You should check out this book - "100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum". Its about choosing the right curriculum and approach to homeschooling to match your child's learning style and your teaching style. I found it very good.

Like I said, homeschooling could be a great opportunity for a Bipolar child, but just make sure you are up for it. Think about it long and hard. If not - that is okay. He will do well in a special class too. I know I felt really bad when I came to the realization that I just couldn't homeschool my daughter, but she ended up in a good school. All is well.

Good luck!

My son (now 16) was diagnosed with bipolar when he was in 5th grade. He has been in public school, charter school and homeschool. Homeschool has worked out the best (though not easy by any means). We started homeschooling when my son was in Kindergarten. He started off in public school and we just homeschooled him after we had moved to a different state. We put him in public school in 4th grade because he was so difficult, but he was out by 5th (what a nightmare!). Because homeschooling was a challenge (and I have other kids I homeschool as well), I tried a charter school. Not nearly as bad as the public school was, but still caused more problems than if he were at home. For my own sanity, I decided we'd just continue to homeschool. Teaching him requires ME to be creative. The BEST thing about what we've accomplished is a MUCH more stable young man who is no longer raging (that happened when he hit 13). Because he isn't so agitated all the time, I have more opportunities to work with him (on behavior choices, as well as academics). I have 2 daughters who have already graduated from our homeschool and are honor students in college. My son is very smart, but he struggles with traditional methods of learning. He is different than my other children and requires a different style of education (even with them all being homeschooled, I did things differently with him). I just keep plugging away and working with him. It isn't easy because it requires a lot of patience. I didn't start out with a lot of patience, I learned it as time went on. I don't have all the answers because we haven't "arrived" yet, but I will say that he is SO much more enjoyable than he was in his younger years (which is not what many parents can say about even typical teenage kids). I highly recommend ordering and watching "Educating and Nurturing the Bipolar Child." http://www.bpchildresearch.org/dvd/index.html

Feel free to send me a message if you have any additional questions and I will try and help you if I can.

Hi D., I just had to share that if you are interested there is a safe and effective nutritional supplement that will and can help your son with his bipolar, so he can focus and attend class as well as have enjoy life. I will be happy to connect you with other moms who have benefited. I am a mom and feel for you and just wanted to help.

Best wishes,

A.

I started homeschooling my son in February it is so rewarding. He is 8 and was in the second grade and cycling came about every one and half months crying didn't want to go to school and triggered bipolar symptoms. It takes a while to adjust... but truly seen a difference! Good luck on working with school in forming what your child needs to be academically successfull! If you have educational testing and testing proving he has bipolar the school has to provide him with a 1:1 aide. The web site Juvenile Bipolar research foundation has suggestions on things to suggest in IEP. Find you a child advocate that will help you in getting what your child needs, they will go to IEP meetings with you Remember if you do not agree with IEP you don't have to sign it!