Amanda Bynes Troubling Behavior

Amanda Bynes is a tough nut to crack... focusing on her makeup smack in the middle of the happiest place on Earth.

Amanda is still at Disneyland ... where apparently she chose mascara over the Matterhorn.

Amanda's parents were along for the ride, keeping a watchful eye on their daughter.

Disneyland's not far from the Orange County campus of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, where she'll be attending fashion design classes

Look closely ... Amanda's not strapped in -- she's clearly had enough of that.

Amanda Bynes is wasting no time trying to rebuild her life after rehab ... and plans to hit the books at a private design school because she wants to become a fashion designer, TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Amanda tell us she's enrolled as a student at FIDM -- the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising -- registering under an alias for 2 classes at the Orange County campus.

As we reported ... Amanda was sprung from rehab in Malibu last week and released to her parents' care. She was being treated for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

We're told ... the people close to Amanda believe school will help ease her back into society by giving her some sort of structure for her life. She's taking a light class load -- by design -- and will be escorted to and from her classes.

We're also told ... the treatment that began in rehab will continue during the school year ... Amanda will juggle her classes with 4-times-a-week therapy sessions.

Amanda Bynes is coherent and accepting compliments from the paparazzi again ... and sounds better than she has in more than a year.

Bynes took the family dogs for a walk with her parents today ... after she was sprung from a Malibu rehab facility earlier this week. She'd been getting treatment there for mental illness since September.

We asked Amanda all sorts of questions ... but there was only one topic she really wanted to discuss. Check out the video.

Amanda Bynes has been sprung from the Malibu rehab facility where she'd been getting inpatient treatment for her mental illness.

As TMZ first reported ... Amanda's meds and counseling had stabilized her condition -- bipolar disorder and schizophrenia -- to the point where doctors felt she could be released to her mother's supervision.

According to the attorney for Amanda's mom -- the actress is now at her mother's house, and will still be receiving outpatient treatment.

Bynes had been at The Canyon treatment center since September ... following her stay at UCLA psych ward.

Amanda still has to deal with a DUI charge. As we told you, a judge has ruled her competent to stand trial ... though a plea bargain seems likely.

Amanda Bynes is mentally capable of understanding the nature of the criminal charges she faces, and as a result the road is now clear for her to stand trial for DUI.

Amanda's case was in Mental Health Court this AM, and the judge read the court-ordered medical evaluation of the actress, and determined she is now competent to face the DUI charges.

Amanda's lawyer, Rich Hutton, did not object to the findings so the criminal case -- which was put on hold -- will now go forward.

Sources say the ruling will have NO impact on her conservatorship. Fact is ... even though Amanda is capable of understanding the nature of legal proceedings, she is nowhere close to being able to care for herself.

As for the DUI case ... no way will it go before a jury. It has plea bargain written all over it.

As we first reported ... Amanda has been diagnosed with Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Nickelodeon star Drake Bell has a two-word message for his former co-star Amanda Bynes ... and he tells TMZ, he wants to deliver it personally just as soon as she's allowed to have visitors.

Bell -- who co-starred with Bynes on "The Amanda Show" from 1999 to 2001 -- was at LAX when he stopped to talk about Amanda ... and our story that she would be released from rehab -- and back with her family -- by Christmas.

Drake says he reached out to his good friend a while ago ... and "as soon as she's allowed to make contact again I'd like to make sure she's alright."

Amanda Bynes will be home in her own bed by Christmas ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected with her treatment tell TMZ ... Amanda's meds and psychological counseling have sufficiently stabilized her so her doctors will let her leave the Malibu rehab facility where she's been held since September.

As TMZ first reported ... Amanda was released from the UCLA psych ward and went to the rehab facility because the psych ward was freaking her out and preventing her from improving.

Doctors will release Amanda to her mom, who will then take her to the family house and provide supervision. The move will take place sometime next month.

We're told -- aside from the fact that the meds and therapy appear to be working -- doctors are concerned that Amanda is going stir crazy. She's not allowed to go outside because paparazzi are hanging out at the facility and the staff is worried if Amanda is around other patients and pictures are taken, it will compromise the others.

Calls to Amanda's parents' attorney, Tamar Arminak, were not returned.

Amanda Bynes has been moved from the psych ward of a major hospital to a ritzy rehab place in Malibu for her own good ... so say her parents.

Rick and Lynn Bynes are responding to our story that Amanda was moved 3 weeks ago from the UCLA Medical Center to The Canyon rehab facility in Malibu.

Amanda's parents -- through their lawyer Tamar Arminak -- say the move was on the advice of doctors at UCLA, and that she is making "great strides towards recovery."

Sources close to Amanda tell TMZ, "Amanda was stuck with people in much worse condition than her. She was scared, afraid and did not leave her immediate room area." The lawyer adds, at the rehab place, "She is getting specialized psych care, one on one treatment, not drug rehab."

Our source says Amanda is able to walk around the grounds, see the ocean and ride the horses.

Amanda Bynes left the UCLA Medical Center, where she was getting treatment for a serious mental illness, and is now ensconced at a fancy Malibu rehab center that caters to celebs ... TMZ has learned.

It's shocking ... the facility does not have the psychiatric facilities available at UCLA, and we're told she's still in a desperate state. It's all the more shocking because she's under a special hold -- called an LPS -- which doctors got because they were so concerned about her well-being.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Amanda checked in to The Canyon approximately 3 weeks ago. She interacts with people very little and rarely leaves the area where she's living.

Amanda is not wearing her wig and is "paranoid" the paparazzi will find her.

The Canyon got in big trouble in 2011 ... after an employee allegedly sold confidential information about Brooke Mueller during her stay. We're told Brooke settled her lawsuit against the facility for somewhere around $250k.

Amanda Bynes' mom is dropping her bid to get a permanent conservatorship, but not because she's turning her back on her very ill daughter ... it's because she already has the ammo she needs to protect her.

Amanda's mom was slated to go to court Monday to make the temporary conservatorship permanent. But here's the deal. Amanda is currently on an LPS hold -- translation, doctors have a tighter rein on Amanda than her mother would have with a conservatorship.

And there's a twist. Doctors have given Amanda's mom the power to make medical and financial decisions for her daughter under the LPS hold.

The mom has already exercised her power by getting Amanda admitted long term to UCLA Medical Center.

Bottom line. There's no need for a conservatorship anymore, so she's withdrawn her petition.

And finally, and sadly, we're told there has been no real improvement in Amanda's condition.

Here's how bad off Amanda Bynes is ... it looks like she could be in a mental health facility for a year and a half.

Amanda's lawyer was in a NYC court today ... in connection with the case where Amanda allegedly threw a bong out the window of her apartment.

Her lawyer, Gerald Shargel, asked for a postponement for up to 18 months while she got psychiatric treatment.

Sources tell TMZ ... the likelihood is ... the case will be plea bargained ... there are major weaknesses in the prosecution's case. Translation -- the case could possibly be dropped altogether.

Amanda Bynes is mentally unfit to stand trial ... this according to her lawyer in her DUI case ... TMZ has learned.

Amanda was supposed to appear in court today for her DUI arrest in West Hollywood back in April, 2012. Amanda's lawyer, Rich Hutton, told the judge Amanda did not have the mental capacity to understand the nature of the legal proceedings.

The judge apparently had concern ... and transferred the matter to the mental health court. The judge in that court will conduct a hearing to determine Amanda's mental competency.

Meanwhile, Amanda is getting long-term treatment after being placed under a conservatorship.

Here's video ... of a noticeably unstable Amanda climbing into her Range Rover last year.

Amanda Bynes is ensconced at the UCLA Medical Center -- where she'll be for at least 60 days and worst case scenario a full year. And guess what it costs ... $3,500 a day.

Sources involved with Amanda's treatment tell TMZ ... the cost is so high because it covers not just treatment, but living expenses as well. To put this in perspective, you can get a deluxe executive suite at the Four Seasons Hotel in nearby Beverly Hills for $815 a night.

TMZ broke the story ... a judge ruled on Friday that doctors could keep Amanda on a long-term hold for up to a year, although the goal is 60 days ... after which she'd go home to her mom.

Now for some lump sums. 60 days at UCLA Med Center will cost $210,000. A full year would cost $1,277,500. As for Amanda's insurance, she's a member of SAG but we're told the policy will only cover a small portion of the cost.

Amanda Bynes could be confined to a mental health facility for up to a year ... based on a ruling that was just handed down by a judge ... TMZ has learned.

Doctors at the facility where Amanda has been held asked for a long-term hold, and they got it. Sources tell us the doctors then transferred control of the hold to Amanda's mother, who is currently the temporary conservator.

Sources tell us ... it's unlikely Amanda will be held for a year. In fact, we're told the plan is to keep her in a facility for 60 days to stabilize her and then transfer Amanda to her mom's home.

As for where Amanda is going ... we're told she is right now en route to the UCLA Medical Center for the long-term hold.

Amanda Bynes has been transferred to the UCLA Medical Center for further treatment of her mental illness ... TMZ has learned.

Amanda was shielded by a blanket as she was taken Thursday from the psychiatric facility in Ventura County to UCLA. We're told her mom -- who is now Amanda's temporary conservator -- wanted the actress admitted to UCLA because it has one of the best psych facilities in the nation.

Our sources say Amanda would have been transferred earlier but a bed wasn't available until Thursday.

As TMZ first reported ... we're told Amanda has shown clear signs of schizophrenia ... but doctors continue to perform tests to evaluate her condition.

Doctors for Amanda Bynes got a 30-day extension on her psychiatric hold ironically because she's doing better -- and surprisingly it involves a cascade of tears ... TMZ has learned.

We previously reported the Rx cocktail doctors have concocted to treat what appears to be her schizophrenia seems to be working. We're told in the last few days, Amanda has had a breakthrough.

Specifically, she's showing emotion -- something many schizophrenics don't show at all. We're told Amanda was crying on Wednesday and Thursday night, saying she was scared about the Friday court date -- which she did not attend. Patients who cry are viewed as improving, because sadness is typically not in the playbook.

And we're told Amanda spent Thursday night confiding in one of the nurses about her future, saying she's fine and did not need confinement in a hospital. We're told the doctors believe her ability to form clear thoughts is progress.

It seems a little inconsistent that she's doing better yet doctors sounded the alarm that they needed to keep her for an additional 30 days because she was "gravely disabled." We're told doctors insist they were honest about her condition and feel they can help her with more time.