Teachers & Bipolar Children

Teachers educating children with bipolar disorder face a variety of challenges. Bipolar disorder is a mental disorder characterized by extreme fluctuations of mood and energy, from manic highs to depressive lows. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), bipolar disorder can be present in children as young as 6. Children with bipolar disorder require extra amounts of attention and care to help them learn.

Features

• Children with bipolar disorder may behave in the classroom in a way that is disruptive. Inappropriate behavior may reflect symptoms of bipolar disorder or may be a side effect of medication. Children with bipolar disorder also may have some form of learning disability that may be a challenge to teachers. A child with bipolar disorder may be easily distracted, overly talkative, have difficulty remaining still and display anger and hostility toward teachers and peers. Children with bipolar also may perform below their potential and be unmotivated.

Teacher

• Getting to know the bipolar student will help to establish trust and security in the classroom. Being familiar with the student also can help the teacher recognize the student's symptoms and the ways in which those symptoms affect the student's schoolwork. The BPChildren website recommends that teachers with bipolar students remain positive, flexible and compassionate.

IDEA

• Just as bipolar disorder affects different people in different ways, children with bipolar disorder may require specific, individualized accommodations and classroom modifications to be able to function well in a regular classroom. Such accommodations are guaranteed for students diagnosed with bipolar disorder or any other type of learning disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Classroom

• By recognizing how a student with bipolar disorder responds to certain situations in the classroom, the teacher can make certain accommodations to help the student perform at his or her best. According to the Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation, children with bipolar disorder should be placed in as unrestricted a classroom environment as possible. Children with bipolar disorder often have difficulty processing new information in an environment that is overly stimulating, according to the BPChildren website. Accommodations might include limiting the student's exposure to noise, commotion or bright overhead light in the classroom and allowing the student to work independently in a quiet area.

Schools

• If a child's bipolar disorder is severe to the point that she cannot adapt to a regular classroom, she may need to be placed in a therapeutic day school, which has staff specifically trained to teach children with mental disorders. Therapeutic day schools offer individual and group therapy as well as social skills training. If an appropriate school cannot be found, parents may consider homeschooling as an option.

Communication

• The BPChildren website recommends that teachers communicate often with the parents of bipolar children. Parents can offer insight into their children that can help teachers best meet the child's particular needs. Communicating directly with the bipolar student and finding out from him what makes them most comfortable may produce useful information.

Considerations

• According to the NAMI, bipolar disorder among children can be hard to distinguish from attention hyperactivity deficit disorder (ADHD). Hyperactivity, poor concentration and anger are symptoms of both bipolar disorder and ADHD. Symptoms specific to childhood bipolar disorder, and rarely seen in ADHD, include displays of sexuality inappropriate to the child's age and inflated self-esteem.