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Raising Special Kids is Changing to My Special Kids

Raising Special Kids site is coming down soon - by the end of the month, but don't worry, I am putting together a brand new site from Raising Special Kids - and because that brand is already in use by www.raisingspecialkids.org, I am changing my site to www.my-special-kids.com. I will have the index page up and will rewrite and post the pages as I go along, updating and adding new information and experiences. Stay tuned!

Bipolar Parent Tips

Ideas and Tips for Parents

Raising Special Kids with Bipolar


Bipolar Parent Tips

Here are some ideas and tips for parents who are raising special kids with bipolar  disorder. Remember that the best bipolar parent tips are the ones you learn from  experience that work - from yourself or other parents going through the same kinds of  challenges everyday that you are. Finding other parents to talk with and exchange ideas really helps! Here is a link to more information on how to find parent support groups: Find Parent Support Groups 

Share Your Experience

If you have tips and experiences that you would like to share with others, please use the  contact page and tell me about it. This site is here to help parents raising special kids  and the best way we can do that is to help each other. Click here for the contact page:Contact Us Page 





Tips for Parents for Finding a Good Doctor

Finding a doctor who "gets it" is the key. There are many things which you will find that  you have little or no control over (like what your insurance will actually pay for), but you  will usually (insurance permitting and the crick don't rise) will be able to choose not only  your primary care physician, but also select among the various specialty doctors. You  are hiring them to work for you, so be sure to interview each one until you and your child  are comfortable and you know they will provide the support you and your child needs.

Look for a doctor who:

  • Has expertise in mood disorders, strong in psychopharmacology (psych drugs), and keeps up with latest research on Bipolar Disorder
  • Isn’t convinced that he or she know all the answers
  • Actually listens to you and considers you are the expert on your child
  • Communicates with minimal jargon to educate child and family, answers questions openly, empathetic understanding of what the family is going through
  • Is aggressive and not afraid to initiate new medication trials to achieve stability
  • Wants to work along with the family, not blame them
  • Is willing to wage battle with managed care (insurance) companies to see to it that the child gets all the care he/she needs. Is also willing to speak with the school or come to IEP meeting s to ensure the proper educational modifications or programming
  • Values parental input, has a good rapport with the child. Ask your child what they think of the doctor

Note: Use basically the same method of finding a good doctor for a child with bipolar that you would for just about anything else.

Ideas for Parents to Improve Success at School for  Children with Bipolar

 There is a lot that you, as the parent can do to help your child with bipolar to be successful at school. Research has shown that parent involvement and communication are the most important factors for success - for all children, but especially for children with disabilities.

Bipolar parent tips for working with the school

Prepare for the IEP (Individual Education Program)
  • Organize information in a binder
  • Rehearse the meeting – know what your child needs and how to ask for it.
  • Educate school staff about the disorder and how it affects your child. Tell 
    them the things that work at home.
  • Leave emotions at home
  • Use Educational Consultants if available, such as the ARC
  • Independent Education Evaluations
  • Peer support advocates
  • Education attorneys

Select Match with a Good Teacher

  • Flexible but clear structure
  • Emotionally sensitive
  • Strengths focused
  • Calm demeanor

Keep Communication between Home and School Open

  • Use email or faxes to communicate assignments and upcoming work to parents
  • Open communication is a key to a successful school plan
  • Discuss how you can reinforce what your child is working on in school at home
  • Agree on when and how to contact parents when behavior becomes 
    unmanageable
  • Develop a Crisis Intervention plan for when child gets out of control, 
    may do something impulsive or dangerous
  • Coordinate with School Counselor for regular, end of day “debriefing”
    and weekly sessions to help problem solve


School Education Labels for the Bipolar Child

These bipolar parent tips help you to understand what "labels" or special
education classes of eligibility your child with bipolar may qualify under for
special education. To be eligible for special education services under the
Individuals with Disability Education Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004), a child
must meet the criteria under at least one of these classes and have a need for special education and related services. Bipolar Children are most often classified under:
  • “Other Health Impairment” (OHI): chronic or acute health problem that results in limited alertness, adversely affects educational performance.
  • Specific Learning Disability (LD): skills significantly weaker in specific subject than what is expected on measured ability tests.
  • Serious Emotionally Impaired (SED) (ED/EI): who display an unexplained inability to learn, or to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers or teachers. They display inappropriate types of behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances, general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression and a tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.


Modifications and Strategies

Here are some bipolar parent tips to clarify some of the modifications at school that may help your child be more successful.These are some school based modifications that can be written into the Individual Education Program (IEP) and may help your child with bipolar do better at school:
  • Seated away from classroom distractions, study carrel
  • Safe place outside of class to go on request
  • Sit in front row near teacher
  • Avoid arguments
  • Schedule breaks with physical activity (i.e. get a drink, run an errand)
  • Set firm boundaries with understandable consequences
  • Set up signal system with teacher that is private, but helps child 
    communicate if emotional intensity gets too high.
  • Allow student to finish tasks before moving on
  • Give warnings and prompts for activity
  • Extra time for testing and getting work done
  • Decrease assignments
  • Assign little or no homework
  • Eliminate work for concepts that are already mastered
  • Use manipulatives, hands on learning
  • Permit observation of the task before trying it
  • Encourage creativity
  • Provide social skills classes with peers
  • One to one problem solving
  • Educate peers about special needs through disability awareness


Things to Watch During the Teen Years

Bipolar parent tips for the TeensThe teen years are always a difficult time for anyone,  but  can be a dangerous time for teens with bipolar disorder. These are areas that all  parents  are watching out for their not-quite-yet-matured teens, but need extra  vigilance (eyes in the back of the head and x-ray vision) for teens with bipolar as the  disorder makes them highly susceptible to these  problems.

Alcohol and Drugs

  • High risk of becoming addicted
  • Suffer a worse course of illness (more irritable and paranoid)
  • More serious reactions to affects of drugs
  • Educate the teen about the risks/dangers and the illness

Sexuality

  • Episodes of hypersexuality where the drive is much stronger
  • Watch for signals in sexually provocative dress/behavior or preoccupation
  • Get blood levels checked, medication levels may have dropped and or this is medication non-compliance
  • Keep home from school until meds are stabilized
  • Limit attendance at dances/parties or other social functions
  • Make sure sexuality is not attempt to get attention/love because of low self esteem.
  • Educate and seek to obtain birth control

Reckless Driving

  • Establish a written contract for driving privileges (take meds as prescribed, wear seat belts, drive speed limit, don’t drink and drive, meet curfews)
  • Include that child should not be passenger if friend is drunk or using drugs, stipulate they should call to be picked up – parent will NOT ask questions

Curfews

  • Bipolar teens need regular bedtimes so that irregularities in the sleep/wake cycle do not trigger the illness. Need to negotiate a balance between social life and getting to sleep at decent time of night.

Support Groups

Support groups are an invaluable part of treatment. They are a good source for information, tips and to meet other parents. Support groups are a part of taking care of  yourself first so that you are able to better care for your children. One of the best  bipolar  parent tips is to find a parent support group in your area and go!

Click the links below for information on how to find parent support groups in your area:

Find Parent Support Groups


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