School Considerations in the US

SCHOOLING OPTIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS 

Now that he's back to a more stable position we are looking into a Charter School which has more project and creative based learning. Both of which fits his personality more than the traditional school setting. There are so many options to try for education. 

• Homeschool (parent led) 
• Homeschool Co-op (parents and other homeschoolers) 
• Homebound (School provides tutors and maintains records) 
• Online Schooling (Internet based learning) 
• Shortened Day /Traditional School with Accommodations (504) 
• Traditional School with no accommodations needed 
• Private School 
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Within public school system of the United State,  there are laws in place to ensure a free appropriate education for students with disablitlies. Below summarzes what your options are as a parent of a child with a health condition that could qualify them for services, depending on the severity. When appoaching school systems make sure your child doctors document the condition and what limitions your child has and how it is likely to effect his or her education. 
Click link below to read more about

504 and IDEA Comparison Chart 

With a well documented diagnosis of Cyclical Vomitng syndrome MOST if not all children in the US should qualify for a 504 plan mentioned above. The term the school will use is Other Health Impaired. IDEA states that: 

Other health impairment means having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that— 

(i) Is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia, and Tourette syndrome; and 

(ii) Adversely affects a child’s educational performance. [§300.8(c)(9)] 

When Health Affects School Attendance 

It’s not uncommon for a child with an OHI to have periodic absences from school, sometimes even lengthy ones, especially if hospitalization is necessary for whatever reason. During these times, the public school remains responsible for providing educational and related services to the eligible child with OHI. Because IDEA specifically states that special education can be provided in a range of settings, including the home or the hospital, states and school districts will have policies and approaches for addressing children’s individualized needs and circumstances. 

The school, therefore, is the best source of information about what local policies govern how services are made available to children with OHI who are home-bound or hospitalized. When the child is at home, the school may arrange for a homebound instructor to bring assignments from school to home and help the student complete those assignments. When hospitalized, services may, in fact, be provided by the hospital, through arrangement with the school, although this will vary according to local policies. (In any event, the hospital is likely to have policies and procedures of its own, and it’s important for the family to find out what those are.) The hospital may want to review the child’s IEP and may, with the parent’s permission, modify it during the child’s hospitalization. Then, after the child is discharged, the hospital will share a summary of the child’s progress with the school, in keeping with whatever local school policies are. 

http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/ohi 

504 Accommodations (as they might relate to CVS kids) 

• Reduced Day (more time to adjust to full day or make best use of limited energy if applies) 
• Reduction in homework load (to enable kids to be able to get the rest they need and still have a quality life outside of school or extended time to get it done) 
• Ability to type rather than handwritten if hand weakness is an issue. 
• Snacks or Water throughout the day 
• Extended time to work on test or advanced knowledge of projects so that things get done on time (factoring in the probability of a hospitalization that might disrupt timeline) 
• Excused sick days that might be numerous and avoid truancy charges. 
• Have rest breaks at school as needed in the nurses office 
• Open communication with Parents and teachers about warning signs of cycles coming ( i.e dark circles under eye, poor eating or extreme mood swings) 
• Make sure school knows what to do if cycle starts at school (quiet dark place, call mom/ dad ASAP and give abort meds if they can be given orally, teach child to do own suppository or nurse to do IM injection) 
• Have plan set up that after x days out school will provide tutor come and help out or help set up peer tutoring. 
• Get the name of at least 1 other students in the class for your child to communicate with about assignments. 

All students success and positive experiences hinge on excellent parental and teacher communication. Proper health is also a foundational aspect ,that so many teachers and students take for granted.  Education is also about more than test scores and grades. Its about learning and personal growth and achieving skills. Do not let grades or state standards dictate what your child must learn when. Often a sick child need to learn how to live with repeated hospital stays which is both physically and emotionally draining. This can be viewed as learning experience as well  because they do very often become familiar with medical terms and treatments that other kids do not. There's no state standard for that... but it's often a very real part of our children's lives. 

Learning is all around us. As parents do need to advocate for our children, and remember we are the primary educators. We have the freedom (in most countries) to make decisions of how, where and what our kids learn.  As a parent of a chronically ill child, we do have to very often get creative in the ways in which this happens, and make many sacrifices to see that it happens. We may opt out of public education for a period of time to regain basic health. We may opt for a different style of learning  in charter schools etc. We may opt to stay in public school and fight for tutors and homebound education.  

There are so many options out there... so its important not to feel boxed into only 1 choice because more often there are other options out there. Also remember this plan can be flexible and change as the needs present themselves. To think differently is not about failing to be keep the "norm". Its about working with what we have for the best for our children who live with Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome. Do what's best for the child, even if that means thinking outside of the box. I'd bet we get more than one doctor out of this bunch... and I'd bet they might be the one to find better treatments options for CVS.