Throughout their childhood, children of all ages may be faced with a serious illness or injury to themselves, a family member, friend, or classmate. How schools and families respond to these situations will directly impact the child’s ability to cope with the potential emotional and academic challenges these situations may create.
Students living with cancer, brain trauma, and other chronic illnesses and injuries are in your schools and classrooms. Teachers need information and assistance to help not only the ill or injured student, but the rest of the class (or school) respond appropriately. School counselors, social workers, and psychologists are important resources within the school setting to assist with these difficult situations. It’s important to recognize that many of the illness and injuries have long term effects on the student functioning and therefore may impact their schooling many years after the incident or initial diagnosis.