bi-polar

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Home : 2002 : March : 20

bi-polar
By Kim

I taught a student with bi-polar disorder last year and he was a challenge. I used many of the techniques that you would with a child with ADHD. Some of the techniques worked a week while others worked good all of the time.
As someone else replied, you must keep a good schedule for this child. I used a picture schedule and it included break times and reward times. It was important for this student to receive a break from work when he (or I) felt he needed it. He was given 4 "break" cards to be used throughout the day. I gave him reward cards when a completed a rather difficult assignment without any

outburst or when he was able to control himself. You can't expect him/her to be responsible for their actions, because often times they don't remember what they have done. I used social stories to teach basic classroom rules and social skills.
I wish I had a happy ending for my student, but we ended up shortening his school day to 3 hours a day because he just couldn't handle it. Good luck with your student!