Would a Bipolar Child be better off in a private school which takes care of kids with special needs?

Hi, Cindy. I'm not a parent, but I have talked to hundreds of parents, plus numerous experts. Also, as a kid, I was very much an outsider. See how this resonates with you:

 

1. Private school has the obvious advantage of providing a protective environment for your daughter and for vastly increasing her chances of making friends. It's also going to cost you a fortune.

 

2. You have an enlightened school system, with obviously enlightened teachers and administrators. But it is the real world and the real world is tough. But the real world is what your daughter is going to eventually going to have to come to terms with. Every small accomplishment in this environment is going to be an enormous triumph. If she makes just one friend at a public school, this is a major breakthrough. Moreover, public school is a lot easier on the wallet.

 

I hope I have helped clarify the pros and cons for you. Also, I strongly recommend Papolos and Papolos "The Bipolar Child," and the forums at www.bpkids.org.

 

Hello, after raising a child with BiPolar I Disorder who is now 19-1/2 years old--if I could have afforded to do so I would have placed her in a private school. Although, I also agree that she will have to face the real world someday there are many children who attend private schools all their lives also who do not have a disability and they are fine too afterwards. I say this as a parent. I found my daughter getting lost in school when she first was diagnosed at age 12. She rapid cycled which lead to many in school suspensions and out of school suspensions which subsequently lead to missing school work, classes, failing grades, repeated 7th grade, you name it. The best school I found for her was an alternative school when she was in 10th grade that had only 125 students in the school which she got individualized attention, understanding of her needs and more patient, her grades increased along with her self esteem and she never missed a day of school the whole school year. On September 2 she will be attending a private college with a class size no more than 15 and she is actually excited to be going to school. She also just recently got out of a residential 30 day stay. I found it frustrating in a regular school setting as mine had an IEP also but was not in special classess or ESE classes. Also, you can try getting the McKay Scholarship to help out the cost of your daughter to attend an alternative school. I live in Florida but maybe this scholarship is also available to people in different states. Look it up on the internet. Hope this was helpful.

Forgot...I also read the book "The Bipolar Child" and this is my bible as sometimes when I have gotten frustrated and feeling alone I went back to this book and it helped me to know that there are alot of other people out there dealing with the same issues I am with their child. I believe that summer camps have the right to have your child asked to leave.