Chronic Illness Workbook Blog » The Rise in Childhood Chronic Illness: Impacts on Education

The Rise in Childhood Chronic Illness: Impacts on Education

On March 6 I’ll be in San Antonio presenting at the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development conference. My colleagues Ann Fantauzzi, Paula Leitz and I will be talking about ways to educate students with chronic illnesses, as we did a couple of weeks at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education in Atlanta.

As more students come to school with chronic conditions like diabetes, asthma, autism, and autoimmune diseases, as well as diseases precipitated by the rise in childhood obesity, this issue will grow in importance. A recent study in JAMA reported that chronic illness in young children — ages 2 to 8 — doubled in just 12 years, to 1 in 4 children in 2006, up from 1 in 8 in 1994. Students with chronic conditions are at higher risk for school absenteeism and drop-out. In addition, dropouts are more likely to suffer from illness or disability in adulthood.

Clearly, chronic illness has serious impacts on schools, teachers, families and students, as well as our nation. It’s crucial that we find solutions to the problem of chronic illness and student absenteeism and dropout.

For more information about the rise in childhood chronic illness, see:

New York Times

WebMD