(Long) query about InterHigh or other online schools

[Phaedra11]

I have just read about InterHigh on the aibu thread and am wondering if it would be suitable for DS.

He suffers from chronic migraines but they rarely start at home. His main triggers seem to be teachers shouting or (less frequently) bright light coming in from the school windows. He is too self-conscious to wear shaded glasses at school.

He has been prescribed triptans and propanol (betablockers) but neither worked and the betablockers had nasty side effects, so he was keen to come off them. Apparently the next thing would be to try sanomigran/pizotifen, but looking at the potential side effects I'm wary.

DS is now in Year 8. The migraines have got gradually more frequent and recently he's missed over 50% of school. Despite that he's still managed to achieve good SATs levels and I have been told that he's reached 8c in maths. He was chosen to represent the school in the recent Team Maths Challenge, which I thought was an amazing leap of faith for the school, given his attendance record.

I can't see how he can carry on like this and complete GCSEs. The school's HoY has been brilliant and has changed his classes on occasions, but it's a huge comprehensive and he can't seem to avoid "shouty teachers" for long.

I have considered home schooling but am worried that I would let him down academically. I think it's a bit late in the day to take the "de-schooling" approach though I was attracted to it when my DC were younger. Online schooling sounds like it could be the answer. I know it would involve a lot of looking at screens but this does not seem to be a migraine trigger for DS. I would love to hear about anyone's knowledge or experience.

I have read a few more threads after doing a Mumsnet search. On one thread there was uncertainty whether you were taught to A/A* standard. This would be important to me, not because I'm a pushy parent, but because I (and his current school) think DS is currently working towards this level.

Does working on a Computer for a long time trigger Migraines for your son?

Is your son generally anxious? I wonder how many other things are triggering his migraines other than "shouty teachers", I would suspect he is generally anxious at school and this he has focused onto "shouty teachers".

Yes InterHigh and others do teach to A/A* standard - there is also the free Weyecademy which if it gets funding may start in Autumn 2015.
I would suggest you contact the online schools themselves and ask your specific questions.

Thanks mummytime. I have found some other threads with more info as well.

I know "shouting teachers" does sound a bit of a simplistic reason but loud noises are a trigger for DS2 and he comes home with a migraine after every class where there has been a lot of noise and the teacher has felt the need to shout over the kids.

DS otherwise likes school and gets frustrated when the migraines prevent him attending. I mentioned online schooling to him but he thought he would miss his friends. He and I would love him to continue at his present school but he comes home, or is sent home, so frequently with migraines that take him over for around four days. I can't see how that can continue in Years 10 and 11.

Working on computers doesn't seem to be a trigger. In one of the recent holidays he spent a lot of time learning basic computer programming, but was migraine free. When he has had migraines over the holidays it has been when he has been dehydrated, hungry, somewhere with weird lightning or somewhere with loud noise.

You might want to try posting on the Home Ed board here, I suspect there will be people with good advice & experience of online schools. Could your ds not find ways to see his friends out of school time given that he has a good established group?

Thanks Takver. I've found a really helpful thread from last year about InterHigh on the Home Ed board, so feel a lot more informed now.

Good luck - DH suffers from migraines, and I know how awful it is (for the rest of the family, too).

One point you might make to him is that as he & his friends get older, it will be much easier to maintain a good social life outside of school hours as they'll be that much more independent. DD has a couple of HE'd friends, and they certainly don't seem to have any problem finding opportunities for socialising with their schooled peers.