HSC's & BPD

[Mbfwt]

My daughter - aged 16 and in Year 11 - missed most of school last year and got very behind in her studies.  She has now returned to Year 11 with the hope of starting afresh with her HSC's.  Unfortunately she is finding the classes very hard and being at school 5 days a week.  She is saying it is making her ill again and is really worried about being hospitalised again.  She would like to drop one subject and we were just wondering if this is possible.  I remember an old therapist telling her there were special circumstances for children with a diagnosis.  Her diagnosis is Boarderline Personality Disorder, Major Depression and Social Anxiety.  We have a meeting with her school on Friday but I would like to go in with some ammunition :-)

[JAKGR8 · Accepted solution]

How brave of your daughter to try again. It could be very overwhelming for someone without a diagnosis so her choices are highly commendable. It may be very difficult to support her through this and I hope you can find some help.

Most education systems are set up to accommodate various needs. For example, a year 11 student doesn’t always need to study a full subject load, however, they may need to do well at the subjects chosen. Also, many schools allow students to do part of their studies through distance education so they can do some work independent of school. What does the school guidance counsellor say?

Is she prepared to take longer to complete senior studies? The school can set up a variegated load for her. It helps to remember a school’s goal is to help get your daughter to get to where she wants to be, to achieve her goals. It takes a lot of communication and compromise but there is a way. If not, Distance Ed is often a good choice for children with different learning styles. It can help to keep school staff feeling positive as they are judged because of govt guidelines, so keep questions open and your goals clear.  Involve your daughter in this where possible.  The school will also have an idea of external agencies available to assist as each state varies but when accessed can be a wonderful support. 

Does she want to got to Uni? If not, she can do more vocational subjects. It can also help to remember that there is more than one way to get into Uni. High School results become redundant rather quickly so she might like to take a gap year to stabilise her health after year 12 anyway. 

There are always options so it can help to talk to a variety of school staff, career advisors and, if necessary, university admissions. 

BPD is tough to live with and, as you stated, often accompanied by other mental health concerns so I wish you all the best. I hope your darling daughter can find her bliss and that you can stay strong in your support.  

[Taylor-RO]

Hi @Mbfwt,

Thanks for sharing. Sorry to hear about the situation that your family is in at the moment. Unfortunately, I am not sure of the answer to your question and it may be dependent on the school itself which needs to remain anonymous. We really hope that the meeting goes well, please keep us updated! Hopefully the school is able to develop a plan to assist your daughter  I will tag other parents for support and advice @sunflowermom @JAKGR8  @Faob_1  @compassion  @Orbit64  Just keep in mind that while this is an Australian service, we do have international users too. 

[JAKGR8]

My reply keeps disappearing but will try again. Just hope it doesn’t show up 100 times. 😬

[JAKGR8 · Accepted solution]

How brave of your daughter to try again. It could be very overwhelming for someone without a diagnosis so her choices are highly commendable. It may be very difficult to support her through this and I hope you can find some help.

Most education systems are set up to accommodate various needs. For example, a year 11 student doesn’t always need to study a full subject load, however, they may need to do well at the subjects chosen. Also, many schools allow students to do part of their studies through distance education so they can do some work independent of school. What does the school guidance counsellor say?

Is she prepared to take longer to complete senior studies? The school can set up a variegated load for her. It helps to remember a school’s goal is to help get your daughter to get to where she wants to be, to achieve her goals. It takes a lot of communication and compromise but there is a way. If not, Distance Ed is often a good choice for children with different learning styles. It can help to keep school staff feeling positive as they are judged because of govt guidelines, so keep questions open and your goals clear.  Involve your daughter in this where possible.  The school will also have an idea of external agencies available to assist as each state varies but when accessed can be a wonderful support. 

Does she want to got to Uni? If not, she can do more vocational subjects. It can also help to remember that there is more than one way to get into Uni. High School results become redundant rather quickly so she might like to take a gap year to stabilise her health after year 12 anyway. 

There are always options so it can help to talk to a variety of school staff, career advisors and, if necessary, university admissions. 

BPD is tough to live with and, as you stated, often accompanied by other mental health concerns so I wish you all the best. I hope your darling daughter can find her bliss and that you can stay strong in your support.  

[Mbfwt]

Thank you for your reassurance JA. Her school is very accommodating so I am sure they will come up with a good study plan for her. She doesn’t want to go to uni, she just wants to get some qualifications under her belt before leaving school. Your comments have really helped

[Mbfwt]

Thank you

[JAKGR8]

Good luck today.

[Mbfwt]

Thank you JA.  The meeting went well.  Year 11 & 12 have to follow the NESA Guidelines so unfortunately she is unable to give up a subject but now the school know how much she is struggling they will help her wherever possible with homework extensions etc.  

Year 11 seems to be a very hard year to transition into even for the confident kids.  Apparently there are only 3 Terms in Year 11 and they have to cram so much in.

Hoping all the kids out there make it through ok.

[JAKGR8]

Yes Senior is tough. They really cram everything into 1 year. I’m surprised that she isn’t allowed to drop a subject and have a study session. Otherwise, it sounds like a great result. I personally repeated yr12 and it was tough but it worked. I will be looking forward to updates. Good luck.

[Jess1-RO]

Hi @Mbfwt,

Great to hear that the meeting went well and the school are supporting your daughter moving forward.

One thing I did want to add is that there is also the options of doing “pathways” in year 12 which is where you do a final year over two years. It is an option available to you if your daughter wants a smaller workload to focus on in her final year.

You raise a really good point about year 11 being a short year- it can be a real adjustment in workload. We would love to hear how your daughter goes throughout the term and any suggestions you have for other parents negotiating support options with schools