Your Mental Health and School
Get help speaking up
What happens if you experience challenges with your mental health while you’re in school? The outcome will depend on how long your symptoms last and how intense or troublesome they are. If a mental health condition is interfering with your ability to do your work or activities in school, you should talk to your parents or guardian.
Begin by Talking to Your Parent or Guardian
Remember that you are not alone. Before you make decisions about speaking with teachers or administrators at your school and determining what you tell them, speak to your family first. If you are seeing a counselor or therapist, discuss this with them, too. If your school needs to be notified about your mental health condition to request accommodations, like adjusting your schedule or enrolling you in a specialized program, your parent or guardian will need to start that process.
Federal law requires public schools to make what are called “reasonable accommodations” for any ongoing health issue, including mental health, that impacts your ability to perform well at school. However, that can mean different things in different situations and varies from school district to school district. Your parent or guardian will be your best advocate in helping you secure the services you are entitled to from your school.