Six Tips to Keeping School Grades Up - My Child's Serious Illness

Children who are going through medical procedures and dealing with chronic diseases want to be the same as their peers. That means doing what their peers are doing and going to school. Keeping your child's grades up is an important goal so that your child will not fall behind in school. It is devastating for a child to undergo a medical treatment and also to have to repeat a year in school.

1. To keep in touch with your child's school, talk with the school principal, secretary, teacher, counselor and any other professionals involved in your child's life. Let them know what is happening and how they can keep you in touch with school life. The more people that understand your situation and know how to help your child, the better it is for your kid.

2. At school you can have a primary contact person who understands the child's illness and is sensitive to his/her needs. Often the school nurse is the contact person but it can be any staff member.

3. The challenges that a child may face could be physical, cognitive, social, or academic. The support group that a child has is important to a child's success. The support group would include the school team, medical team, family and friends.

4. The school health plan is crucial as it describes the chronic illness or disability and lists medications given at school. It outlines medical procedures and describes accommodations that are needed for the success at school. The school health plan can be a 504 Plan or an IEP. The 504 is a civil rights statue that prohibits discrimination based upon disability. It is a written plan for students with disabilities requiring only reasonable accommodation. The 504 refers to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The IEP is a more legal document that sets out the duties and responsibilities of the school. Individual Education Program in a federal law IDEA 2004 which is Individual with Disabilities Educaton Improvement Act. It provides funding for special education.

5. The first step parents need to take is to request a Child Study Team Meeting to decide if the child is eligible for an educational plan. That is an IEP or 504 Plan. Have every conversation and discussion in writing so that you can document it later if necessary. Anyone who works with the child in the school setting along with the parent can be a part of the Child Study Team. Some parts of the country will call this team a different name ie., Student Success Team.

6. The Child Study Team or Student Success Team will decide if any of the following evaluations are needed-- medical, psychological, educational, social history, speech/language, occupational therapy and physical therapy. Accommodations can then be made that the child needs to succeed at school. Examples include the following

•Student excused from testing at P.E.
•Student allowed extra time for test taking or homework
•Student be given an extra set of books
•Student given bathroom, clinic or other passes as needed
•Student granted a rest period during the day
•Student assigned a buddy to help take notes or write if necessary.

Taking these steps will ensure that your child gets what they need in terms of help at school and this in turn increases the overall recovery.