I can't speak as a parent because I'm not one. However, as a student around the time I was Bipolar, I wasn't forced to drop classes or lower my expectations. In fact I ended up being constantly pushed to exceed because I was in the top groups for everything (for example, I got an A in a Chemistry module exam and was told it wasn't good enough - I should aim for an A* next time, because that was my predicted grade). I ended up barely scraping any grades because I was forced to drop my education due to the level my illness reached.

There's a point to what I'm saying. I do fully believe you're doing the right thing by not having unrealistic expectations of what he can achieve whilst battling a mental illness and not pressuring him into doing something that can have a serious impact on one's mental health. I think if I was given the support and understanding that you are displaying, I'd have come out of education with all of my qualifications (albeit at lower grades than predicted) and wouldn't be suffering now and undoubtedly for the rest of my life due to the inability of getting a good job as a direct result of having only three grades out of the 14 I was on track to achieve.

You seem to be a wonderful mother and that is something you can be proud of, at least.