The Julian Campbell Foundation supports the academic progress of children with bi-polar disorder through secondary education enabling them to study at Universities and Colleges of Higher Education.

Around 30% of our students study from depression at one point during their schooling at secondary schools.  However, the statistics do not distinguish between depression or bi-polar disorder.  Currently, bi-polar disorder is not commonly diagnosed until the later teenage years i.e. around 16 to 17 in the UK.

The symptoms of bi-polar disorder include two extremes of behaviour; depression and mania: - Depressed children may not appear to be sad.  Instead they may withdraw, not want to play, need more sleep than usual, display chronic irritability, or cry for no obvious reason. Children may also talk of wishing to die and may need to be hospitalized for harm to themselves or others. Symptoms of mania may include elation, grandiose thinking, racing thoughts, pressured speech, hyper sexuality, and decreased need for sleep. Since hyperactivity can be seen in both bipolar disorder and ADHD, a growing number of researchers believe that many children who are diagnosed with “severe ADHD” may actually have undiagnosed bipolar disorder.

Commonly seen behaviours of young people with bi-polar:-

• crying for no apparent reason
• an expansive or irritable mood
• depression
• rapidly changing moods lasting a few minutes to a few days
• explosive, lengthy, and often destructive rages
• separation anxiety
• defiance of authority
• hyperactivity, agitation, and distractibility
• sleeping too little or too much
• night terrors
• strong and frequent cravings, often for carbohydrates and sweets
• excessive involvement in multiple projects and activities
• impaired judgment,
• impulsivity, racing thoughts, and pressure to keep talking
• dare devil behaviours
• inappropriate or precocious sexual behaviour
• delusions and hallucinations
• grandiose belief in personal abilities that defy the laws of logic (ability to fly, knows more than the teacher or principal)
• extreme irritability

Recent brain imaging studies show biological differences in patients with bipolar disorder. The disorder affects learning in a number of ways, ranging from difficulties with sleep, energy, school attendance, concentration  and cognition or learning.
 
Side effects from medications can affect the child’s learning and energy. Moreover, while many of these children are uncommonly bright or creative, they often have co-occurring learning disabilities.
Even when moods are stable, the condition often causes challenges to learning, including the ability to:
• Pay attention
• Remember and recall information
• Think critically, categorise, and organize information
• Employ problem-solving skills
• Quickly coordinate eye-hand movements
 
In addition, bipolar disorder can cause a child to be at times impulsive, talkative, distractible, withdrawn, unmotivated, or difficult to engage. Medications to manage the illness can cause cognitive dulling, sleepiness, slurring of speech, memory recall difficulties, and physical discomfort such as nausea and excessive thirst.
Despite all these challenges, a student with bipolar disorder can succeed in the classroom with the right support.

The Julian Campbell Foundation focuses on young people from 14 years old through to 19 years old, offering them support in academic and vocational subjects during this time frame.

The trustees of the Julian Campbell Foundation have a commitment to education for all. My younger brother, Julian, was an extremely intelligent young man and could pass any examination easily. However, due to his fluctuating moods, he found it difficult to sustain the necessary commitment to any courses lasting more than two years.  He found it extremely difficult on entering higher education to sustain progress over the four year degree course. If Julian had support during this time, his life would have been very different. The impact of him completing his higher education course successfully would in turn have an impact on the quality of his life as well as his life purpose. We, the JCF, want to support young people with bi-polar disorder from a young age, to empower them to achieve the live of their dreams through supporting them throughout their study.  This will enable them to choose (and enjoy) a career and life of their choice.

Each young person really needs a TEAM of people around them to ensure that they are successful in their education endeavours and life. Therefore, we have a TEAM of trained individuals who will contribute towards each young person’s education, personal, social and psychological well being to empower them in their lives. This TEAM will also empower the family members of each young person to enable each family to operate as a team. Below is a summary of how we do this:-

• We provide mentoring of younger bi-polar students alongside older, experienced men and women suffering from bi-polar disorder. The more experienced will mentor the younger bi-polar students and contribute much valued advice and support 
• We provide empowerment courses enabling young people with bi-polar disorder to distinguish their illness from themselves, thus enabling them to be free to make decisions about their lives and their future
• We provide academic support for young people through academic mentoring or extra tuition to ensure successful completion of GCSE and AS/A2 examinations
• We provide support to the family living with bi-polar disorder to enable them to maximise the potential of their child
• We provide the wider community with greater awareness of what it means to have bi-polar disorder and what we can do to support them
• We provide teachers and educators with greater information, knowledge and support to maximise the achievement of young people with bi-polar disorder

Much of this support will take place in our local community centres and schools. Our local community centres will provide support from extra tuition, empowerment courses with local schools being places that academic mentors and mentors with bi-polar disorder can visit younger students, thus giving them the daily support they need.